A women’s group coalition has charged the Federal Government before a Federal High Court in Abuja, claiming they were teargassed and stampeded out of the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja during the protest against rising cost of living in Nigeria which took place in August.
The groups suing on behalf of themselves and 500 women, include the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Enough Is Enough (EiE) GTE/Ltd, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and Ene Obi.
Others include Yemi Adamolekun, Sheilah Ibrahim Audu, Caroline Ene Oshaba and Emmanuela Azu.
It is claimed that the 500 women were physically harassed, teargassed and chased away from the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja by the police under the command of the IGP, despite obeying a court order restricting them to the area for the protest.
It was alleged that some of the women fell and sustained various degrees of injuries during the incident which happened on August 9.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), are listed as first and second defendants.
The plaintiffs in the suit with Ref No. FHC/ABJ/CS)1292/2024, and filed by their lawyer, Chino Edmund Obiagwu (SAN), are demanding N500 million for the violation of their rights to human dignity, freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, by themselves or their agents and servants from preventing them and any citizen of Nigeria from exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and movement in anyway whatsoever.
They also want the court to declare that the defendants violated their rights to human dignity and freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment guaranteed under Section 34 of the 1999 constitution.
The plaintiffs said that there was no provocation for the action of the police as there was no reason to prevent them from conducting peaceful protest in the stadium.
A date is yet to be fixed hearing.
