Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed an application seeking an interim injunction to stop the #EndBadGovernance protest on Monday.
The application was filed by 16 Nigerians, including Danladi Goje, Buky Abayomi, Adiza Abbo, and 13 others, who sought to enforce their fundamental rights against the organizations leading the protests.
The applicants sued 19 respondents, including Take It Back Movement, Concerned Nigerians, and the Social Democratic Party, among others. They also sued the attorney general of the federation and security agencies.
Justice Lifu dismissed the ex parte application, stating that it lacked merit. He noted that the #EndBadGovernance protest had already ended and there was no evidence to suggest that the protesters would reconvene. The judge also criticized the applicants’ lawyer, Tsembelee Sorkaa, for failing to provide the required affidavit to support the requests for an interim injunction and substituted service.
In the court documents, Sorkaa claimed that his clients’ rights to life, personal liberty, private and family life, and economic activities would be further breached if the respondents continued the protest.
He urged the court to restrain the respondents from continuing with the protest pending the determination of his motion on notice and appealed to the court to enforce the restraining order if granted.
The judge adjourned the hearing on the motion on notice to August 29.
