Court Declares #BringBackOurGirls Rallies illegal

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on
Thursday declared illegal and unconstitutional the police
ban of #BringBackOurGirls peaceful protests.
Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo made the ruling while
delivering judgment in the suit filed by the
#BringBackOurGirls protesters to challenge the ban on their
rallies by the then FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph
Mbu, on June 1, 2014.
Mbu, who is now an Assistant Inspector General of Police in
charge of Zone 7, Abuja, had banned the daily protests by
the group, though the ban was subsequently reversed by the
then Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar,
but the protesters insisted on proceeding with the suit.
Justice Aladetoyinbo in his judgment on Thursday upheld
the argument of the plaintiffs' lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN),
and declared that the pronouncement by Mbu was a
violation of the applicants' "fundamental rights to freedom
of conscience, expression, assembly and association as
guaranteed by sections 38, 39 and 40 of the 1999
Constitution."
He also held that the ban violated the provisions of Articles
8, 9, 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, 2004.
The court declared that Mbu's decision to ban protests and
rallies in the FCT with effect from June 1 was illegal,
unconstitutional, and null and void.
The judge, who described freedom of association and
assembly as the pillar of any democratic governance,
commended the former IG, Abubakar, for promptly over-
ruling Mbu's directive.
However, following the withdrawal of one of their prayers
seeking N200m against Mbu as compensation for violating
their rights, the court struck out the prayer in its judgment
on Thursday.
The court therefore made "An order of perpetual injunction
restraining the respondent, his agents and privies from
further preventing the applicants or aggrieved Nigerians
from taking part in protests and rallies in exercise of their
freedom of expression, assembly and association as
guaranteed by sections 38, 39 and 40 of the 1999
Constitution and Articles 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and
Enforcement) Act, 2004."
The court dismissed all the objections of the police as
canvassed by the their lawyer, Mr. Samuel Lough, who had
argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit
on the grounds that only the Federal High Court could
entertain the suit.
The lawyer had argued that the FCT High Court, an
equivalent of a state High Court, lacked jurisdiction to
entertain a suit in which the police, a federal agency, were
sued as a party.
The plaintiffs in the suit included a former Minister of
Education, Oby Ezekwesili, who is the 10th plaintiff; Hadiza
Bala Usman, Mr. Samuel Yaga, Mrs. Rebecca Yaga, Mrs.
Sarah Ishaya, Mallam Dunama Mpur, Lawan Abana, Dr.
Pogu Bitrus and Dauda Iliya.
Others are the Kibaku Area Development Association,
Maryam Uwais, Bashir Yusuf, Jibrin Ibrahim, Jibrin Ibrahim,
Saudatu Mahdi, Bukky Shonibare, Rotimi Olawale and
Florence Ozor.
The applicants and their group had engaged in daily protests
to demand more efforts by government to rescue the over
200 schoolgirls abducted from the Government Secondary
School, Chibok, Borno State, by members of the violent
Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on April 14.