Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana SAN, has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to quash a 60-day remand order against 49 Nigerians who engaged in a “peaceful protest” against the looting of public funds in Nigeria recently.
Falana filed the motion on notice in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1223/2024 on August 26, 2024, on behalf of Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo and 48 others who are currently remanded pending the conclusion of a police investigation regarding alleged terrorism.
The remand order followed an application filed by the Inspector General of Police against the respondents.
Applicants’ Motion
Justice Emeka Nwite had, on August 22, 2024, granted an ex parte motion filed by the IGP’s lawyer, Ibrahim Mohammed.
He approved the police’s request to remand the protesters pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Mohammed accused the defendants of alleged terrorism financing aimed at overthrowing the government in power.
The judge also ordered the underage defendants to be remanded in the Borstal Home of the correctional centre.
The case was then adjourned till October 23, 2024.
But Falana filed a motion (dated August 26, 2024) seen by Nairametrics.
He asked the court to set aside, discharge, and vacate the ex parte order regarding the remand of his clients.
In the alternative, he urged the court to grant bail to the applicants on liberal terms pending the completion of the investigation being conducted by the IGP.
Citing grounds for the application, Falana contended that the detention of the applicants for an initial period beyond 48 hours before the grant of the ex parte order is illegal by virtue of Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He argued that the judge “acted without jurisdiction when his lordship made an order committing the defendants to a correctional centre pursuant to Section 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.”
Moreover, he stated that the ex parte order brought pursuant to Section 66 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2022, was obtained by the IGP to legalize an illegal detention allegedly.
In an affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Paul Ochayi, Senior Litigation and Research Assistant at Falana & Falana’s Chambers, the first defendant, Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo, is a human rights activist and trade unionist with the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).
“Most of the other respondents/applicants were arrested in the course of the peaceful protest called to demand an end to bad governance and maladministration in the country, which includes but is not limited to looting of public funds, profligacy of public officers, and social injustices which have led to massive hunger and starvation in the country,” he deposed, asking the court to release his clients.
He stressed that in a letter dated July 26, 2024, the organizers of the peaceful protest had written to the Inspector General of Police and the heads of other security agencies in the country, informing them of the peaceful protest scheduled for August 1st to 10th, 2024.
He stated that the essence of the said letter was for the Inspector General of Police to provide adequate security for the peaceful protesters in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
What You Should Know
The protest in question was called “Day of Rage” and also ran under the X (formerly known as Twitter) hashtag #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria
The organizers aimed to raise awareness about alleged widespread corruption and poor governance in Nigeria.
The planned nationwide protests drew the attention of foreign governments, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom.
Kaduna was among the states where a curfew was declared amid the protest, following Kano and Jigawa states, but they eventually relaxed it.
Determined protesters continued their demonstration till the tenth day of the #EndBadGovernance and Hunger protest in major Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja, and Kaduna, despite President Tinubu’s speech calling for a suspension of the social demonstration at the time.
President Tinubu later addressed the nation, urging the youth and all protesters to cease their demonstrations and embrace dialogue.
In addition, Tinubu expressed his sorrow over the violent turn of the protests, which resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of property in states such as Borno, Jigawa, Kano, and Kaduna.
He extended his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and decried the looting and damage to public facilities and businesses, which he noted would require significant resources to rebuild.
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