Straightnews
Some prominent Nigerians have expressed shock and anger for the continued detention and trail of minors over the #Endbadgovernance protest by the Nigerian Government.
Among them are Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwakwanso and Omoyele Sowore including Amnesty International and Arewa Connect, among others.
Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party Presidential Candidate, wrote ‘‘I just watched the disturbing and condemnable scenes captured in a circulating video, showing 124 protesters—among them minors—appearing in court today as part of efforts to secure the enforcement of their fundamental rights.
Obi commented that ‘‘The footage reveals minors, some so weak that they could barely stand, others fainting from sheer exhaustion and lack of nourishment. These children appeared visibly malnourished and starved—a condition that should alarm the conscience of every citizen in our nation. From their look, they were poorly handled despite being in the custody of the federal government of Nigeria.
‘‘The offense being alleged against these suspects, including minors, is protesting against bad governance that was directly affecting their livelihood and which our constitution under a democratic dispensation guarantees them. Curiously, most of the people in government today leveraged this aspect of the Constitution standing as champions of good governance while in opposition. Moreover, our status presumes that suspects deserve some dignity, even in a correctional home as human beings. The reason why we should all be concerned about a situation like this is because we are part of a global community where human dignity should be respected.
‘‘May I appreciate the presiding lordship for halting the trial and saving the country further embarrassment it would have been to the World as a democratic nation? I would like to call on relevant authorities, especially the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, the Police, and the DSS, as well as the National Human Rights Commission, to thoroughly investigate such inhuman treatment of minors to avert such incidents in the future.’’
Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), in his X handle alos joined in condemning the action by the Federal Government.
He wrote ‘‘The Nigerian politicians who stole the funds meant for the future of these underaged kids are the same, prosecuting them for participating in protests seeking an END to BAD GOVERNANCE. #RevolutionNow.’’
Rabiu Kwakwanso, the Presidential Candidate, the 2023 Presidential Candidate of Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) equally is shocked by the action of the government.
In his X handle, he observed ‘‘I am shocked by the arraignment of 67 minors by the Nigeria Police Force at a court in Abuja, for alleged participation in the End Bad Governance Protest.
Kwakwanso noted ‘‘These children, who are obviously malnourished and need medical attention have been subjected to a cruel experience when they should be in school. The arraignment of such number of minors in their states is highly unusual and negates every tenet of the protection of human rights and dignity. As leaders, it is our duty to protect the most vulnerable among us, particularly children, women, old and the needy.’’
According to him, ‘‘And the government should not be at the forefront of this violation. I am particularly appalled by the stringent conditions set for their release, it is absurd that a teenager is ordered to source for 10 million Naira and a grade 15 civil servant for bail.
‘‘The Child’s Rights Act 2003, Section 11, protects the dignity of every child and protects them from any physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment. I request that the relevant authorities should immediately review their charges so that they can go back to their families and be responsible citizens.
‘‘Finally, I will like to call on the Federal Government to face the challenges of banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram, lack of stable electricity and excruciating economic policies rather than putting children behind bars,’’ he added.
On its part, Amnesty International Nigeria writing on on X handle said ‘‘#Nigeria: Putting minors through these horrifying detentions for participating in protests against hunger and corruption is — so far — one of the deadliest attempts to suppress freedom of assembly.
Moreover, @AmnestyNigeria condemned the action thus ‘‘President Bola Tinubu must unconditionally release minors detailed since August:
Similarly, Arewa Connect rejected the trial on its X handle this way, ‘‘We give the Government and the judiciary 48hours to release this children and provide them with food, shelter & medical care or we shall come out in mass for a peaceful protest’’
Drama during Court trial
Three minors and one person of adult age brought to face charges related to the August #EndBadGovernance protest slumped at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.
The four defendants, who looked malnourished and unkempt, slumped shortly after they were called into the dock to take their pleas. They are part of a total of 76 defendants brought from detention for arraignment on charges of terrorism, treason and arson in connection with the August protest.
The incident occurred when the minors were brought to court from various detention cells of the police force, including from the Intelligence Response Team unit.
The trial judge, Obiora Egwuatu, abruptly halted the proceedings at the turn of events on Friday.
In August, the court ordered the remand of the 76 individuals for two months based on the request of the police for more time for further investigations. The defendants, who have now been detained for about three months, were initially held in police cells before the police approached the court to obtain an order for their remands in August.
The incident occurred when the minors were brought to court from various detention cells of the police force, including from the Intelligence Response Team unit.
Meanwhile, pictures and videos of the incident seen by SaharaReporters on Friday show some of the teenagers, who have been locked up since August, writhing on the floor of the courtroom, with some of other detainees trying to help them.
In one of the pictures, a lawyer is seen trying to resuscitate one of the protesters who collapsed while standing in the dock.
The detention of the teenagers was ordered by Justice Emeka Nwite, who granted an ex-parte application by the police to keep them in custody for 60 days to conclude their ‘investigation’ against the protesters, who have been accused of attempting to overthrow President Tinubu.
It is learnt that 13 of them were brought to court from IRT cells while others were brought from cells scattered around other Abuja divisions.
The Network of Abuja Left Groups on Thursday called for the immediate and unconditional release of 76 protesters, including 32 minors, who were arrested during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in August.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 76 individuals were arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Gombe in connection with the 10-day protest which was held in many parts of the country from 1 to 10 August. The protest turned violent, leading to deaths in some northern states.
When proceedings started on Friday, the lawyer prosecuting for the police, Audu Garba, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment of the 76 defendants, who had been in detention.
Shortly after the defendants reached the dock, Usman Fatihu (21 years), Muhammed Yahaya (14 years), Muktar Ishak Alhassan (16 years) and Mustapha Ibrahim (18 years) slumped.
They are the 68th, 74th, 75th, and76th defendants facing 10 counts of treason and terrorism.
They were subsequently taken out of the courtroom to be attended to.
After some minutes, Mr Egwuatu returned to the courtroom to continue proceedings.
In August, the judge ordered the remand of all of the 76 defendants, including at least 28 minors who are below the age of 18, in prison for two months.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in the application for the detention order on 8 August, accused the detainees of “terrorism, treason, treasonable felony, arson, and other terrorism-related offences.”
He anchored the application on section 66(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, section 35(1)(C) of the Nigerian constitution, and section 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
The detention of the defendants has drawn widespread condemnation for the police’s attempt to criminalise protest, and particularly the charging of minors by the police.
The #EndBadGovernance protest
Protesters surged to the streets in major cities around the country between 1 and 10 August to protest against the economic hardship and bad governance in the country.
The protesters blamed the hardship on Mr Tinubu’s economic policies underpinned by the removal of subsidies on petrol and floating of the Naira.
