Sanitation: Adegboruwa Seeks Court Order To Prevent Lagos From Imposing Movement Restrictions
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has filed a motion requesting the Supreme Court to issue an injunction preventing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State from imposing movement restrictions on residents during the planned resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
Filed on Monday, July 22, 2024, the motion also names the Attorney General of Lagos State, the Commissioner for Environment, and the State Ministry of Environment as respondents.
The application is based on provisions from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Supreme Court Act. Specifically, Adegboruwa seeks an order to restrain the respondents from restricting the movement of Lagos residents on the last Saturday of every month or any other day designated for environmental exercises until the Supreme Court hears and decides the pending appeal.
Additionally, Adegboruwa requests an order preventing the respondents from arresting and detaining residents to enforce the environmental sanitation policy until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal.
The court has not yet scheduled a hearing date for the application.
This legal action follows news reports about the planned resumption of Lagos State’s monthly environmental sanitation policy, which requires residents to stay indoors for three hours on the last Saturday of each month.
In March 2015, the Federal High Court in Lagos, under Justice Mohammed Idris, ruled against the enforcement of this policy, prohibiting the Inspector-General of Police and other officers from making indiscriminate arrests for non-compliance. Although the Lagos State Government appealed the decision, it abolished the policy.
