The Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance (CACOBAG) expresses strong displeasure over the statement credited to Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, Hon. Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, claiming that the Lagos State Government can lawfully restrict people\u2019s movement on Environmental Sanitation Day.<\/p>\n
Mr. Pedro erred.<\/p>\n
It is unacceptable and indeed embarrassing that the Attorney-General of a State would misinterpret and misread the clear judgment of a court of law. It is unbecoming of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to twist judicial pronouncements for political ends.<\/p>\n
When judgments of courts are not respected, it is an invitation to anarchy. As Justice Hugo Lafayette Black of the United States Supreme Court famously declared: _\u201cThe courtroom is a place where justice is dispensed, and it is the last refuge of the common man.\u201d_<\/p>\n
It will be recalled that Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, also politicized the judgment of the Court of Appeal on the activities of Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) on Nigerian roads. By that subsisting judgment, which is yet to be set aside, no VIO or VIS official is permitted to operate on any public road in Nigeria. Their statutory duties are confined to designated vehicle inspection centres, not highways. I personally signed a statement to that effect.<\/p>\n
How could a Senior Advocate claim that the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal is territorially limited? Such a position is erroneous, creates a _lacuna_ in law, and is capable of misleading young lawyers, law students, and the general public.<\/p>\n
Mr. Pedro\u2019s current position on movement restriction during sanitation exercises is analogous to his earlier stance on the VIO matter. It is incorrect, a misapplication of judicial authority, and a deliberate political gimmick.<\/p>\n
CACOBAG is not opposed to a healthy and clean environment, nor are we against persuasion of Lagosians to stay at home to clean their compounds and residences. What we condemn is coercion anchored on a non-existent law to forcefully restrict the movement of Lagosians.<\/p>\n
Comrade Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, who approached the court on behalf of Lagosians, the masses\u2019 leader Comrade Femi Falana, SAN, CON, and the entire body of _Defenders of the Masses_ are not only disturbed by the Lagos State Government\u2019s movement restriction order but are also displeased that judicial pronouncements are being twisted for political reasons.<\/p>\n
This conduct is unacceptable. It is a disrespect to the rule of law, which is the main threshold of democracy.<\/p>\n
Environmental sanitation exercises may continue, but the Lagos State Government cannot restrict the movement of Lagosians.<\/p>\n
The grundnorm, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as altered is unequivocal. Section 41(1) provides:
\n\u201cEvery citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof…\u201d<\/p>\n
No government or political office holder can restrict the movement of Nigerians except by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction or as expressly provided by law. The Court of Appeal has affirmed this constitutional provision.<\/p>\n
Lagosians and indeed all Nigerians are encouraged to prioritize a healthy and clean environment through regular sanitation, not limited to a monthly exercise. However, any person whose movement is illegally restricted or who is arrested on Environmental Sanitation Day should contact the offices of:<\/p>\n
1. CACOBAG\u2013 Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance
\n2. CDHR\u2013 Committee for the Defence of Human Rights
\n3. CRD \u2013 Citizens Rights Defenders
\n4. CCHR \u2013 Campaign for Constitutionalism and Human Rights
\n5. CPD \u2013 Centre for People\u2019s Defence (Nigeria)
\n6. CACOL \u2013 Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders
\n7. TRP \u2013 The Rights Project
\n8. AABCHR-Alao Aka Bashorun Centre for Human Rights
\n9. CDWR-Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights
\n10. GFMNN-Gani Fawehinmi Movement for a New Nigeria
\n11. And other human rights defenders across the state.<\/p>\n
*Signed:*
\nToyin Raheem
\nChairman, CACOBAG
\n08023407814<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance (CACOBAG) expresses strong displeasure over the statement credited to Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-grassroots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21674,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21673\/revisions\/21674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}