Falana cited the landmark case of Faith Okafor v. Lagos State Government (2016), in which the Court of Appeal ruled that restricting movement during sanitation hours was unconstitutional.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has strongly criticised the Lagos State Government’s decision to reintroduce the monthly sanitation exercise, describing it as “contemptuous” and a throwback to the “primitive legacies of the defunct military junta in Nigeria.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, titled, ‘Reintroducing Monthly Sanitation Exercise in Lagos State is Contemptuous’, Falana argued that the restriction of movement for three hours on the last Saturday of every month cannot be justified, especially given the N236 billion allocated for environmental management in the 2026 Appropriation Law.
“The planned reintroduction of the monthly sanitation exercise cannot be justified in view of the fact that in the 2026 Appropriation Law of Lagos, the sum of N236 billion was earmarked for the environment, including urban waste management and sanitation,” he said.
“Instead of wasting precious time and resources on enforcing the illegal monthly sanitation exercise, the Lagos State Government ought to engage more cleaners and acquire mechanical sweepers for heavy debris and vacuum sweepers for fine dust and litter.”
Falana cited the landmark case of Faith Okafor v. Lagos State Government (2016), in which the Court of Appeal ruled that restricting movement during sanitation hours was unconstitutional.
He recalled that Okafor had been arrested, convicted, and fined for violating the directive, but later won her appeal.
In 2013, Okafor was arrested for violating the state’s monthly sanitation exercise, during which movement was restricted for a few hours.
She was taken into custody, arraigned, and fined N2,000 for wandering in defiance of the directive.
Okafor challenged her arrest at the High Court of Lagos State, claiming violations of her fundamental rights, including personal liberty and freedom of movement, but her application was dismissed.
She then appealed to the Court of Appeal, which ruled in her favour, declaring that restricting movement during the sanitation exercise was illegal and unconstitutional.
The court further clarified that a governor’s directive does not carry the force of law, making her arrest and conviction a violation of her rights.
Quoting Justice Biobell Abraham Georgewill’s contribution to the judgment, Falana noted: “It is my view that democracy thrives more on obeying and promoting the rule of law rather than the whims and caprices of the leaders against the lead.
“I find the conduct of the Respondent in not only persecuting the Appellant, yes that is what in my view it amounts to when a free Citizen of this great Country such as Citizen Faith Okafor, is put through the rigours of criminal process for an offence not prescribed in any written law but merely on the directive of the Governor of the Lagos State.
“An action which if allowed to thrive in a democracy such as ours could confer on such office holders infinite, absolute and autocratic powers contrary to the clear provisions of the Constitution of the land, to which both the leaders and the led are subject.”
“I refuse to allow such autocratic, absolute, and infinite powers to fester upon our nascent democracy,” the judge added.
Falana concluded that any attempt to reintroduce the exercise would amount to defying the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
“The Lagos State Government should not reintroduce the monthly sanitation exercise as it is highly contemptuous of the Court of Appeal,” he declared.
