Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has urged the Lagos State Government to suspend the proposed resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, arguing that restricting residents’ movement for the exercise would violate an existing court order.
Adegboruwa said the policy had earlier been nullified by the Federal High Court in 2015 and that the matter is still pending before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
As such, he maintained that the state government cannot lawfully proceed with plans to revive the programme.
The lawyer called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to immediately suspend the planned resumption of the exercise in respect for the rule of law and the authority of the court.
According to him, a Motion on Notice filed at the registry of the Supreme Court on July 22, 2024 seeks an order of injunction restraining the governor and other respondents from restricting his movement and that of other Lagos residents on the last Saturday or any other day of every month for environmental sanitation purposes, pending the determination of the appeal before the apex court.
The application also seeks an order restraining the respondents from arresting or detaining him and other residents for alleged non-compliance with the sanitation policy while the appeal remains unresolved.
Adegboruwa’s motion, signed by Oluwatosin Adesioye, Deputy Head of Chambers (Litigation) at Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa SAN & Co., lists 15 grounds in support of the request.
His position followed recent reports indicating that the Lagos State Government is considering bringing back the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
However, Governor Sanwo-Olu had reportedly stated that participation in the exercise would be voluntary rather than enforced.
The controversy over the sanitation policy dates back to March 16, 2015, when Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos (as he then was) struck down the programme.
In the judgment, the court restrained the Nigeria Police Force, including the Inspector-General of Police and other officers, from enforcing the policy through arrests of residents who fail to comply.
Although the Lagos State Government filed an appeal against the ruling, it subsequently discontinued the policy amid widespread criticism at the time.
Adegboruwa insisted that until the pending appeal before the Supreme Court is determined, any attempt to reintroduce the sanitation exercise in a way that restricts citizens’ movement would amount to a violation of the law.
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