A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ayotunde Ogunleye, has criticised #FreeNnamdiKanu protesters for disobeying a valid court order restricting demonstrations in parts of Abuja.

The senior lawyer, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, said citizens must obey court orders, even when they disagree with them.

“A court order must be obeyed, even if you do not agree with it. If you are dissatisfied, the constitution allows you to approach the court to set it aside,” he said on the current affairs show.

Ogunleye stressed that the constitution, which grants fundamental rights, also empowers courts to limit those rights in the public interest.

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According to him, disobeying judicial directives undermines national institutions and the rule of law.

The SAN argued that protesters should have challenged the order legally rather than taking to the streets. He also advised that those calling for Nnamdi Kanu’s release should pursue lawful options available within the justice system.

“If you are not satisfied with a court order, the Constitution allows you to approach the court to set it aside. But taking the law into your hands risks turning the country into a banana republic. No nation can survive unless its citizens protect its institutions,” he said.