The state governor and the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Justice and Public Order in Benue State are all Defendants in the suit.
Two human rights activists have filed a lawsuit against Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, challenging the recent public order law enacted by his administration.
The state governor and the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Justice and Public Order in Benue State are all Defendants in the suit.
The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, had signed the executive order establishing the Department of Public Order in the Ministry of Justice to coordinate government policies and matters relating to public order.
Alia said the decision was to curb the widespread criminality and political violence such as kidnapping incidents, murders, and intimidation at targeted groups or individuals leading to the emergency of local warlords and militia groups in the state.
During the ceremony at the Government House, Makurdi, Alia said the order was pursuant to Section 14 sub-section (2) of the 1999 constitution and Section 10 of the Public Order Act, CAP 382 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Sam Odeh, prohibited all acts of violation of public order in the state and called for strict adherence to the laws.
The proscribed public acts include ‘disobedience to traffic rules, child labour and exploitation, all forms of prostitution, indiscriminate dumping of refuse on road dividers, open defecation and urination, demanding of marching ground levy from developers, building on water channels or structures, kiosks, shanties on the right of way, hawking or selling of goods of any kind by the roadside or on the road’.
He asserted that any person or group wishing to hold a gathering beyond 10 pm are advised to first seek and obtain a permit from the Department of Public Order at the Ministry of Justice,” he added
The governor warned that any breach of the prescribed public rules would amount to a sanction between N20,000 and N500,000 fine or imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the offence.
However, the plaintiffs Bemgba Iortyom and Adebayo Ogorry during a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, argued that the law is a gross violation of fundamental rights and amounts to a "reign of dictatorship" that must be halted.
The duo described the law as controversial law that has been widely criticized as an attempt to stifle free speech and criminalize ordinary citizens.
The activists claim that the law is vague, oppressive, and targets vulnerable groups and perceived political enemies.
They called on the court to grant the following reliefs:
"We have brought an action before the High Court of Benue Holden at Makurdi, in which the Government of Benue State, the Executive Governor of Benue State and the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice and Public Order in Benue State are all Defendants, and we are seeking the intervention of the Honourable Court to declare as null and void the Executive Order proclaimed by Governor Alia recently which content are both a violation of the fundamental human rights of Nigerian citizens in Benue State, as well as they constitute abuse of power and are an attempt to exercise law making powers not donated to the governor by the constitution of Nigeria," the activists said at a press conference.
"We are convinced that our action is taken as a duty to save the state from the threat of Executive recklessness and authoritarianism manifest in Governors Alia's action, which if not nipped in the bud will undermine the cherished foundations and values of constitutional democracy upon which it is our hopes a just, strong and prosperous Benue State will be built.
"A declaration that the requirement of "first seeking and obtaining a permit from the Department of Public Order at the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Benue State, for the holding of rallies, wakes and other forms of public gatherings is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates sections 40, 41, 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.
"A declaration that the provisions of the Public Order Act, Cap. 382, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, upon which the Executive Order made by Governor Hyacinth Alia and signed on 27th February, 2024 was purportedly premised, is in itself illegal and unconstitutional as it contravenes sections 40, 41, 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.
"A declaration that the Defendants are not competent under the Public Order Act, Cap. 382, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, or under any law made by the National Assembly or the Benue State House of Assembly whatsoever to issue any permit for the holding of rallies, wakes or any such public gatherings after the hour of 10 PM."