Court restates order restricting protesters to two venues in Lagos

A Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere has restated an earlier order restricting protesters in Lagos State to Freedom Park in Ojota and Peace Park in Ketu areas of the state.

Justice SherifatSonaike gave the order following an application by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), for an extension order, having complied with the pre-action protocols for pre-emptive remedies ordered last week by another vacation judge, Justice Emmanuel Ogundare.

Pedro, who was represented in court by the Director for Civil Litigations, Hameed Oyenuga, told the court, yesterday, that service of the earlier court order had been served on all the respondents in compliance with the pre-action protocols for pre-emptive reliefs sought by the attorney-general against the representatives of the protesters.

He argued that though the respondents in the suit were yet to respond to the application, there is a need to restate the earlier restriction order of the protest to two venues so that the state could continue to enjoy the relative peace being experienced despite the ongoing protests across the country.

In her ruling, Justice Sonaike noted that she was satisfied with the AG’s compliance with the orders of Justice Ogundare and ordered that the restriction of the protests to Freedom and Peace Parks in the Ojota and Ketu areas of the state be extended until full compliance to the pre-action orders.

Justice Ogundare had last week while ruling on a preemptive ex-parte application filed by Pedro seeking to maintain and secure public safety and prevent irreparable loss of life and property in the state during the period of the protests, placed restrictions on the protesters.

Pedro, while moving his application before the court, had argued that as the Chief Law Officer of the state and having been privy to notices by different interests who are for and against the nationwide protest, there is a need to protect the critical infrastructures of the state and prevent an irreparable loss of life and property as witnessed during the #EndSARS protest in 2020.