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Court Extends Ban on Protests to Only Two Parks in Lagos

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A Lagos High Court has extended its earlier order restricting protesters of the #endbadgovernance in the state to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu.

The extension order became necessary after the state complied with the pre-action protocols for preemptive remedies ordered last week by vacation judge, Justice Emmanuel Ogundare.

Justice Sherifat Sonaike who takes over as vacation judge gave the order on Tuesday after hearing an application filed by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lawal Pedro.

The order is expected to remain in force until August 29 when the case is expected to come up again before the court.

At the proceedings today, the state AG was represented in court by the Director for Civil Litigations, Mr Hameed Oyenuga who told Justice Sonaike that service of the earlier court order had been effected on all the respondents in compliance with the pre-action protocols.

The respondents in the suit are Adamma Ukpabi and Tosin Harsogba (for Active Citizens Group); Comrade Juwon Sanyaolu and Hassan Soweto (for Take It Back Movement); persons unknown; and Commissioner of Police, Lagos State.

In his submissions before the court, Oyenuga also said that though the respondents in the suit were yet to respond to the application, there was a need to extend the earlier restriction order of the protest to the two venues, so that the state could continue to enjoy the relative peace being experienced despite the ongoing protests across the country.

In her ruling, Justice Sonaike noted that she is satisfied with the AG’s compliance with the orders of Justice Ogundare, and ordered that the restriction of the protests to Freedom and Peace Parks in the Ojota and Ketu areas of the state, be extended until full compliance with the preaction protocols.

On July 30th, Justice Ogundare while ruling on the exparte application filed by Pedro, had granted the order of preemptive remedy by way of an interim injunction, to restrict the defendants from converging and carrying out the proposed protests in Lagos from August 1 1-10th, except in the two approved locations from 8 am to 6 pm.

 

While moving his application before the court, the Attorney General, argued that as the Chief Law Officer of the State and having been privy to notices by different interests who are for and against the nationwide protest, there is the need to protect the critical infrastructures of the state and prevent an irreparable loss of lives and property as witnessed during the EndSARS protest in 2020.

 

Pedro also maintained that the Police in the State do not have sufficient manpower to provide security support for the protesters who planned to protest in all the local government councils and public highways and other areas of public access in the State.

 

He further argued that there is a need to prevent the protest from being hijacked by hoodlums who are prepared to breach law and order and cause destruction in different locations in the State in the pretext of public protest against alleged bad governance.

 

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Transfer: Real Madrid , Cucurella Reach Verbal Agreement 

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Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.

 

Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.

“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.

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Hakimi, Vinicius Barred From Speaking Spanish At World Cup

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FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

 

The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.

Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.

Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.

The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.

The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.

Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.

The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.

According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.

The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.

The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.

The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.

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It’s Illegal’…Falana’s Bombshell Indicts Govs, FG.

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Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.

 

According to Falana, the practice is illegal.

He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.

Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.

Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”

Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”

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