A group of human rights activists have dragged the Benue State Government to the High Court in Makurdi, the state capital, challenging the recent public order bill signed into law by Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The governor had on May 25, 2024, signed the Public Order Bill passed by the state assembly into law.
The controversial law, which placed a ban on hawking at public events after 10 pm, has been generating reactions from concerned citizens.
In the suit, the plaintiffs, Bemgba Iortyom and Adebayo Ogorry, argued that the law is a gross violation of the fundamental rights of citizens, stressing that it amounts to a “reign of dictatorship” that must be halted.
Governor Alia and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Barr Felix Mnyi, are all defendants in the suit.
According to the activists, the controversial law is “vague and oppressive,” alleging that it targets vulnerable groups of citizens and perceived political enemies.
Addressing the press in Makurdi on Sunday, the activists said they “are convinced that our action is taken as a duty to save the state from the threat of executive recklessness and authoritarianism manifest in Governor Alia’s action, which, if not nipped in the bud, will undermine the cherished foundations and values of constitutional democracy upon which it is our hope that a just, strong and prosperous Benue State will be built.”
The activists are seeking the court to declare the executive order null and void, describing it as anti-human.
