DAILY TRUST
Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, who gave the order restricting protesters of the just concluded #EndBadGovernance demonstration to MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, hails from Obi Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, like Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Chidi Odinkalu, a Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, drew attention to this, on Sunday.
“I didn’t really want to be the person saying it but the @fcthighcourt judge who gave the order to kettle #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters in the Moshood Abiola Stadium just happened to come from the same village as the Minister of the FCT, the plaintiff. Calculate the odds!” the professor tweeted.
Checks on the Federal High Court’s portal show Odinkalu’s claim is correct.
Oriji issued the order while delivering a ruling on an ex-parte application brought before the court by Wike, and argued by Ogwu Onoja.
Wike contended that the Federal Government was not opposed to the protest.
However, he noted that intelligence and security reports indicated that some elements within the leadership of the protesters intended to use the protest to cause havoc, damage public facilities, block roadways and disturb public peace.
The minister reported that when he contacted security agencies to ensure the protest does not escalate into criminality or disturbance, he was informed that they were not adequately equipped to manage potential crises on short notice.
Thus, it was deemed better to prevent the protest to avoid any issues.
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