Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has criticised the plan by the Lagos State Government to reintroduce the monthly environmental sanitation exercise that restricts residents’ movement for three hours on the last Saturday of every month, describing the move as unconstitutional and contemptuous of a subsisting court judgment.
In a statement on Sunday, Falana said the policy was a relic of Nigeria’s military era and had no place in a democratic society governed by the rule of law.
According to him, the decision to reintroduce the sanitation exercise where the movement of residents is restricted for three hours every last Saturday of the month was a reminder of what he described as one of the primitive legacies of the defunct military regime in Nigeria.
The senior advocate said the measure was unjustifiable, particularly considering the significant budgetary allocation to environmental management in the state.
He noted that in the 2026 Appropriation Law of Lagos State, the government earmarked ₦236bn for the environment, including urban waste management and sanitation.
Falana added that members of the Lagos State House of Assembly had unanimously supported improved waste management systems rather than movement restrictions.
Instead of enforcing what he described as an illegal exercise, the lawyer urged the government to invest in more efficient waste management strategies.
He advised the state government to engage more cleaners and acquire mechanical sweepers for heavy debris as well as vacuum sweepers for fine dust and litter.
Falana also referenced the case of Faith Okafor v. Lagos State Government, decided by the Court of Appeal in 2016.
In the case, a Lagos resident, Faith Okafor, was arrested on May 25, 2013, for allegedly violating the restriction of movement imposed during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
She was subsequently arraigned before a special offences court, where she pleaded guilty and was fined ₦2,000 for wandering and loitering during the restricted period.
After paying the fine, Okafor approached the High Court of Lagos State to enforce her fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, and freedom of movement, but the court dismissed her application.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, she appealed, and the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, ruled in her favour, declaring the restriction illegal and unconstitutional.
The appellate court held that a directive issued by a governor does not amount to a law and cannot justify the arrest, prosecution, or conviction of citizens.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Biobell Abraham Georgewill warned against allowing executive directives to override constitutional safeguards.
He stated that democracy thrives on obeying and promoting the rule of law rather than on the whims of leaders.
The judge added that subjecting a citizen to criminal prosecution for an offence not prescribed in any written law but based only on a governor’s directive could confer absolute and autocratic powers on public office holders.
Falana therefore urged the Lagos State Government to abandon the proposed policy.
He said the reintroduction of the monthly sanitation exercise would be highly contemptuous of the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
