The Federal Government on Monday, September 2, brought 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters before a federal high court in Abuja.
These individuals had been arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Gombe. They faced charges of treasonable felony, which is punishable by death and were accused of plotting to destabilize Nigeria.
The defendants, who were escorted to court under heavy security, pleaded not guilty to the six charges read out to them by the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite.
The defendants are Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye (also known as Lenin), Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi (also known as Yomi), Suleiman Yakubu, Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello (also known as Murtala), Nuradeen Khamis, and Abdulsalam Zubairu.
The arrested protesters challenged the court order that authorized their arrest and detention, asserting that President Bola Tinubu had no authority to detain them.
In a case numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/1233/2024, the protesters contested the August 22, 2024, Federal High Court order issued by Justice Emeka Nwite. This order allowed the Inspector General of Police to detain them for 60 days while the investigation into their case was ongoing.
In an affidavit sworn by Paul Ochayi, the protesters asserted that a protest is a right and that President Tinubu had led protests in the past without being harassed, detained or remanded.
They argued that the actions of the security agencies had unjustifiably threatened and violated their rights to life, dignity, health, and freedom of movement.
In a motion on notice filed on Monday, August 26, Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo and 48 others brought a lawsuit against the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, naming him as the sole respondent. The case was filed through a group of lawyers led by human rights attorney, Femi Falana.
In the motion on notice, the applicants argued that the ex-parte motion used to authorize their detention was based on the suppression and misrepresentation of key facts.
They claimed that the ex-parte motion represented a serious abuse of the court process and requested that the court annul, overturn, or nullify the order that permitted their 60-day detention.
Additionally, they sought a court order for their release on bail.
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