A human rights lawyer, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), says the President Muhammadu Buhari does not have the power to restrict movement without appeal to the National Assembly.

The president had earlier imposed a restriction on movement in Ogun, Lagos and Abuja while addressing the nation today, the 29th of March 2020.

Adegboruwa stated this in reaction to the President’s restriction of movement in Lagos and Ogun States as well as Abuja.

The senior advocate said, “The President has no powers to restrict the movement of persons without recourse to the National Assembly.

“The President has not invoked his powers under the constitution to declare any state of emergency, which must be approved by the National Assembly,” he said.

“We are running a constitutional democracy and it is illegal for the President to take over the affairs of any state of the federation without the express consent of the people of that state through their elected representatives.

“It is only the governor of the state through the House of Assembly of the state that can make any declaration concerning the people of that state.

He went on to say, “Little wonder that the President could not cite any law that he relied upon for his declaration.

He stated that as much as he supports measures put in place to curb the virus, said the law must be respected and so he called on the president to do the right thing.

Adegboruwa added, “I support every measure taken to contain the Coronavirus pandemic but such must be in accordance with the law.

“If we allow this to stay, then tomorrow the President may just impose a total restriction on all States of the Federation for whatever reason.

“I humbly urge the President to reverse the restrictions and work with the States concerned in accordance with the laws of our land.

“Also, there must be measures put in place to address the financial consequences of the proposed shutdown, especially for small scale businesses, those who depend on daily earnings and the needy and vulnerable members of the societies to be affected,” he added.