#EndBadGovernance: Falana Advises Governments Against Last-Minute Court Orders Before Protests

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, criticized the governments of Lagos, Ogun states, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration for hastily seeking court orders to restrict protesters to specific locations. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday evening, Falana argued that these court orders were issued just 24 hours before the protests began and were not served to the protesters, making them ineffective.

Reports indicate that the governments obtained court orders from individual state and Federal High Courts to confine protesters to designated areas: the Freedom and Peace Parks in Ojota and Ketu, Lagos; the MKO National Stadium in the FCT; and specific locations in Ogun, including the MKO Stadium in Abeokuta.

Falana pointed out that the lack of proper notification to the protesters, as well as the inclusion of “unknown persons” in the court orders, rendered them impractical to enforce. He suggested that the government should have designated protest venues in advance, as is done in other countries, given the two weeks’ notice they had of the planned protests.

He concluded by advising against rushing to court on the eve of protests, as it often leads to court orders not being effectively communicated to the targeted individuals or groups.