Adegboruwa Warns Lagos Against Sanitation Exercise, Cites Pending Case 

Wale Igbintade 

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has urged the Lagos State Government to suspend plans to resume the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.

He warned that any attempt to restrict residents’ movement for the programme would violate an existing court ruling and ongoing litigation before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Adegboruwa stated this in a statement in Lagos, where he appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to immediately halt the proposed policy in respect for the rule of law and the authority of the courts.

According to the senior lawyer, the issue of movement restriction for environmental sanitation remained the subject of a pending appeal before the apex court and was therefore subjudice, making it improper for the state government to proceed with the programme.

He noted that a motion he filed at the registry of the Supreme Court on July 22, 2024 sought an injunction restraining the governor and other respondents from restricting the movement of Lagos residents on the last Saturday or any other day of the month for the purpose of observing environmental sanitation exercises.

The application also sought an order preventing the arrest or detention of him or any resident of Lagos State for failing to comply with the sanitation policy while the appeal remained pending before the court.

Adegboruwa further asked the court to restrain the respondents from enforcing any policy that would limit the freedom of movement of citizens under the guise of environmental sanitation until the appeal was fully determined.

The senior advocate’s reaction followed recent reports that the Lagos State Government has reintroduced the monthly sanitation exercise, which was previously discontinued.

Adegboruwa insisted that any attempt to enforce compliance through movement restriction or arrest would amount to a violation of a subsisting court decision.