Former National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has raised concerns regarding the recent court order restricting hunger protesters to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
According to Odinkalu, the judge who issued the order, Justice S.C. Oriji, shares the same village with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who was the plaintiff in the case.
Odinkalu, who is also a Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, voiced his concerns on his X handle on Sunday. He suggested that Justice Oriji should have recused himself from the case due to his close ties with the FCT minister.
“I didn’t really want to be the person saying it, but the FCT High Court judge who gave the order to kettle #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protesters in the Moshood Abiola Stadium just happened to come from the same village as the Minister of the FCT, the plaintiff. Calculate the odds!” Odinkalu wrote.
A review of the FCT High Court website confirmed that Justice Oriji hails from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, the same as Wike. However, the website did not specify the exact village Justice Oriji comes from. The website states, “Hon Justice SC Oriji hails from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. He was called to Bar in 1990. He was appointed as a judge in the FCT High Court, Abuja in 2003.”
The controversy stems from a case where Wike sought an order from Justice Oriji’s court to restrict organizers of hunger protests to the National Stadium. Wike argued that allowing protesters to move beyond the stadium could lead to a breach of peace and potential chaos.
In his ruling, Justice Oriji stated, “In light of the above, the court finds it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are upheld while preventing negative impacts on other citizens’ rights to movement and ensuring that properties and public facilities are not destroyed.”
