Nigerians have expressed outrage over the arraignment of 76 suspects, including 32 minors, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court Abuja for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protests in August.
Presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and that of Labour Party, Peter Obi, including civil society groups and rights activists slammed the police and the government over the matter.
The defendants, who have been in detention for three months, were arrested in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja); as well as Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states.
They were arraigned by the Inspector General of Police on 10 counts bordering on treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria and inciting to mutiny by calling on the military to take over the government from President Bola Tinubu, among others.
The minors, who looked unkempt and malnourished, were seen scrambling for water and biscuits in video clips that went viral on social media on Friday.
As proceedings commenced, the visibly unwell children were called to the dock to enter their pleas.
But in a sudden turn of events, four of the children suddenly collapsed and were rushed out of the courtroom, forcing the presiding judge to suspend the session until order was restored.
However, despite the whole drama that played out in court, the judge refused to acquit them, but rather declared that until they meet their bail terms, defendants who are 18 years and above should be remanded in the Kuje Custodial Centre while the minors (18 years and below) be remanded in the Borstal Centre in Gwagwalada.
Nigerians condemned the undue detention and arraignment of the defendants, describing them as a violation of human rights and an indication of the government’s approach to civil dissent.
READ ALSO: Court grants #EndBadGovernance protesters N760m bail
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, described the arrest and detention of the minors as a violation of their fundamental human rights.
“The Tinubu regime is making a mockery of our criminal justice system by parading minors in this manner. It reflects an unserious approach and tarnishes the community’s reputation,” he stated.
Effiong called for immediate action from the government, urging authorities to discontinue the charges against the minors and focus instead on rehabilitating them.
Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said the detention and prosecution of the minors had exposed the inhuman nature of the Tinubu administration.
Atiku, in a statement issued by his media team in Abuja, lamented that the pitiable sight of the children in the courtroom was reminiscent of the infamous Nazi concentration camp.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, also expressed dismay over the treatment of the minors.
“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,” Obi said.
The lawmaker representing Niger East (APC), Senator Sani Musa, called on the IG to investigate the inhumane detention and prosecution of the protesters.
Also reacting, the President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Debo Adeniran, said it was unexplainable that a supposed progressive government could maltreat children in the way it had done.
Adeniran stated that it was cruel to arrest and detain the minors for days without trial, adding that the ill-treatment meted out to the children was condemnable.
Reacting via its X handle, the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project condemned the detention of the minors, calling on President Tinubu to immediately release them or face legal action.
“The Tinubu administration must unconditionally release the 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters and drop all charges of ‘treasonable felony’ against them, or face legal action. No one should ever be punished for the peaceful exercise of their human rights”, the post read.
Credible News.ng
