The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed the 24th of May for ruling on both the substantive suit and the federal government’s preliminary objection to the suit filed by the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) over alleged violation of its members’ rights during the January protest against the removal of subsidy on fuel.
The presiding Judge, Justice Steven Adah adjourned the matter for ruling after hearing the parties in the suit on Tuesday.
The SNG group is asking the court to award the sum of N100m against the respondents as damages for an alleged violation of its members’ rights by deploying troops to stop its protest on January 16, 2011. The group led millions of Nigerians during the five-days protest against the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, earlier in the year.
The protest was quelled on the sixth day by the massive deployment of military troops to the city of Lagos.
The respondents in the suit are President Goodluck Jonathan, the national security adviser, General Andrew Azazi; the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin; and Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike ihejirika.
Others are the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar; and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Bello Adoke.
Only the president, the IGP and the AGF, were represented by their counsel during the hearing of the suit on Tuesday.
Other respondents the national security adviser, the chief of defence staff and the chief of army staff did not file any response to the suit and were not represented by counsel during the proceedings.
