A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, under the jurisdiction of Justice Sylvanus Oriji, has extended an order that restricts participants in the #EndBadGovernance protest against the Federal Government to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja. The extension was granted on Tuesday following an application made by Dr. Ogwu James Onoja SAN on behalf of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

During the court proceedings, none of the 11 defendants were present or represented by legal counsel. The FCT Minister's lawyer drew the judge's attention to a statement by Damilare Adenola, in which she hinted that the nationwide protests might extend beyond the initially planned 10 days. The lawyer argued that since the defendants were absent and their next actions were unknown, extending the order was necessary to maintain peace in the FCT.

In a brief ruling, the judge granted the request, affirming that the order issued on July 31, 2024, remains in effect. The next hearing for the motion on notice is scheduled for August 22, 2024.

On July 31, Justice Oriji had previously granted an ex-parte application, which Onoja also argued on behalf of the FCT Minister. This application sought an interim injunction preventing the five leaders of the protesting groups from gathering or parading themselves along any roads, streets, offices, or public premises within the FCT from August 1 to August 10, or any other date thereafter, pending the hearing of the motion on notice. Another order was also granted, directing security agencies to prevent the protest leaders from gathering or parading themselves during this period.

The minister stated that the Federal Government was not opposed to the protests but claimed that intelligence and security reports indicated that some elements within the protest leadership planned to exploit the protests to cause significant damage to public facilities, block roadways, and disturb public peace.