By Makurdi and Peter Duru
The Executive Order issued by Governor Hyacinth Alia in February 2024 was declared unconstitutional and a breach of the state’s inhabitants’ fundamental rights by a Benue State High Court in Makurdi.
The aforementioned Executive Order mandated, among other things, that anyone planning to hold demonstrations, wakes, or other public events after 10 p.m. must first apply for and receive a permit from the Department of Public Order at the Benue State Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
Judge Theresa Igoche rendered the decision in Suit No. MHC/234/2024, which was brought against the Benue State Government and other defendants by the plaintiffs, Chief Bemgba Iortyom, the most recent State Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State, and Amb. Adebayo Ogorry, Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET).
In June 2024, the plaintiffs went to court to contest the validity of the Executive Order issued by Governor Alia, claiming that it unlawfully restricted rallies, wakes, and other public events throughout the state.
Sections 40, 41, and 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as modified) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which protect the freedoms of association, mobility, and peaceful assembly, were allegedly breached by the Executive Order, according to the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs additionally claimed that the Executive Order had already been used to interrupt public events, including religious worship services, arbitrarily close businesses, and arrest persons on alleged false charges prior to the complaint being filed.
They argued that the majority of those impacted were people and organizations thought to be hostile to or critical of the state government, which raised questions about possible abuse of executive authority.
The Benue State Government and the state’s Attorney General filed preliminary objections, but Justice Theresa Igoche dismissed them in her decision, calling them unfounded and based only on procedural technicalities.
The court determined that the Executive Order was unlawful and unjustified because the Public Order Act, which served as its foundation, had previously been overturned by the Supreme Court.
As a result, Justice Igoche granted all of the plaintiffs’ requests for relief and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the Benue State Government, its agents, and its privies from carrying out the Executive Order that was signed on February 28, 2024.
In response to the ruling, the plaintiffs stated that the lawsuit was brought to stop “executive recklessness capable of sliding the state into dictatorship if left unchecked.” They further stated that the measure was done to safeguard Benue State’s constitutional democracy.
They praised the decision as a triumph for the rule of law, claiming that it increased public trust in constitutional democracy and confirmed the judiciary’s authority to defend citizens’ rights.
