FCT Minister Dragged To Court for Allegedly Sealing Parks, Gardens

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been asked to restrain the Minister of the FCT from sealing recreational parks and gardens in the FCT.

The plaintiffs, members of the Association of Parks and Garden Owners in Abuja are also seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the minister, his privies, agents, workers, partners, representations, associates or howsoever from enforcing the purported regulation of 7p.m. as the maximum hours of daily operations of parks and gardens in Abuja, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

Besides, the association is also challenging the alleged planned ban on sale of alcoholic beverages in parks and gardens in the FCT.

The plaintiffs in the suit filed on their behalf by Mbanefo Ikwegbue disclosed that the parties are already before the court on account of their dispute in suit No: CV/408/2008.

They further contended that the dispute between the parties is therefore subjudice and subject of litigation before a competent court of law, adding that whilst the suit is still pending before the court, the defendant FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, proceeded to issue a directive on television threatening to enforce the purported regulation for Parks and Gardens in the FCT to close by 7p.m. as regulation time on daily basis.

Mbanefo pointed out that the plaintiffs (parks and gardens operators) were never consulted when such regulation was being deliberated upon let alone when passed as a law.

He averred that the defendant’s decision in promulgating the purported regulation was arbitrary and oppressive bearing in mind that the FCT is a secular city.

Mbanefo further contended that the ulterior motive of the said regulation was to stop the sale of alcoholic beverages in parks and gardens in the FCT.

In an affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Emeka Onuorah, the plaintiffs claimed that a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Minister on Monitoring and Enforcement, Mr. Ikharo Attah, had threatened in a broadcast to enforce a purported regulation directing all parks and gardens to close by 7p.m. on a daily basis or face arrest and incarceration for violation.

“The television broadcast by the defendant/respondent’s SSA on Monitoring and Enforcement was arbitrary and without cogent reasons. The actions of the defendant/respondent touch on issues that are subjudice and pending before this court.

“The defendant/respondent made the broadcast when the supervening issues of the main suit herein touch on any attempts at restricting the claimants. The hours of 5 to 10p.m. are the peak period of business for the claimants and the restrictions would hamper the claimants businesses greatly,” Onuorah averred.

The plaintiffs, while stating that all parks owners are tax payers to the government, noted that the directive in the broadcast would cause the claimants and the parks and gardens operators massive loss of earnings.

They submitted that: “The defendant/respondent’s SSA on Monitoring and Enforcement visited some parks and gardens in the FCT on July 4, 2022, at about 6.30p.m. and above in a purported enforcement of the obnoxious regulation embarrassing customers to go or face arrest.

“The purported action of the SSA on Monitoring and Enforcement is an affront on our judiciary considering that the said issue is pending before this court for determination. In the face of the directive in the broadcast, the claimants are helpless where an injunction is not granted to restrain the defendant/respondent.”

Plaintiffs, therefore, urged the court to grant the application and to avoid the destruction of the parks and gardens which they have invested billions of naira in and save the jobs of their staff who are at the risk of losing their jobs.