Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has approached the Supreme Court to restrain the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, from imposing movement restrictions on residents in the state during the planned monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
In a Motion on Notice filed at the registry of the Supreme Court today July 22 the lawyer sought an order of injunction to restrain Sanwo-Olu and the other respondents from taking steps to restrict his movement and the general public on the last Saturday or any other day of every month pending the hearing and final determination of the appeal at the Supreme Court.
Adegboruwa also sought an order restraining the respondents from arresting and detaining him and other residents of Lagos State on the last Saturday or any other day of every month.
Fifteen grounds were listed in support of the application signed by Oluwatosin Adesioye, Esq., Deputy Head of Chambers (Litigation) of Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa SAN & Co.
Just recently, there has been unconfirmed news of the planned resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation policy of Lagos State, which was occasioned by the outbreak of cholera in the country.
It will be recalled that on March 16, 2015, the Federal High Court, Lagos presided over by the Honourable Justice M.B. Idris struck down the environmental sanitation programme of Lagos State thus restraining the Inspector-General of Police and all police officers from enforcing the said policy through indiscriminate arrest of citizens for non-compliance.
Although, the Lagos State Government has appealed against the judgment, it nonetheless abolished the unpopular policy.
In a 17-paragraph affidavit in support of the application for injunction before the Supreme Court, Mr. Daniel Sidi Wamdzu, Litigation Executive in the law office of the applicant narrated the sequence of events leading to the case.
“ Sequel to the commencement of Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1690/2024 before the Federal High Court of Lagos State, sitting at Ikoyi, Lagos State, on 16th day of March 2015 judgment was delivered by the Federal High Court, Coram Honourable Justice M.B. Idris.
“By the judgment of the Trial Court, it was held that the rights of the applicant as guaranteed under Sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution had been infringed upon by the respondents and as such all the substantive reliefs sought by the applicant against the respondents were granted as prayed”.
Following the judgment, Lagos State government terminated the monthly environmental sanitation exercise which held on the last Saturday of every month. Thereafter, the state government appealed the judgement.
But in the recent time, due to the outbreak of cholera across the 36 state of the federation including Abuja the state government mulled the idea of re-introducing the monthly exercise.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed by theSupreme Court for the hearing of the suit.
