A human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has asked the Supreme Court to restrain the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, from imposing movement restrictions on residents during the planned monthly environmental sanitation exercise in the state.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
In a motion on notice filed at the registry of the apex court on Monday, the renowned lawyer is seeking an order of injunction to restrain Sanwo-Olu and other respondents from taking steps restricting his movement and that of other residents of Lagos State, on the last Saturday or any other day of every month for the purpose of observing any environmental exercise pending the hearing and final determination of the appeal pending before the Supreme Court.
Adegboruwa, according to reports, is also seeking an order restraining the respondents from arresting and detaining him and other residents of the state on the last Saturday or any other day of every month whatsoever, for the purpose of enforcing compliance with the environmental sanitation policy of Lagos State pending the hearing and final determination of the appeal pending before the Supreme Court.
It would be recalled that Sanwo-Olu recently hinted that the state may reintroduce monthly environmental sanitation.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
The governor said the planned reintroduction of the exercise was due to what he described as the “appalling state” of uncleanliness observed in communities across the state.
In March 2015, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had revoked the ban on movement during environmental sanitation exercise and restrained the police from enforcing the policy through indiscriminate arrest of residents for non-compliance.
Subsequently, the state government terminated the excercise in 2016. The planned reintroduction of the exercise is coming nearly eight years after it was terminated.
According to the then Commissioner for Information, Steve Ayorinde, the decision to cancel the exercise, which usually holds between 7am and 10am on the last Saturday of every month, was adopted at the state Executive Council Meeting.
The commissioner explained that it was agreed by members that it was no longer appropriate to restrict movement of people for three hours in a megacity like Lagos.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the motion.
The state government had last Wednesday debunked reports that it has re-introduced the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a statement described the news, which made the rounds on social media, as the work of mischief makers who are keen on confusing residents, adding that the state is not starting any movement restriction by July ending.
The commissioner urged residents to disregard the content of the reports and go about their lawful business endeavour,
According to him, there will not be any restriction of movements on the last Saturday of July as “erroneously” stated in the reports.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
