Minors aaraigned for Treason in Abuja
By Victory Oghene
Amidst widespread condemnation by human rights organisations and majority of Nigerians over the arraignment of minors who allegedly participated in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests in August, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to review the treasonable felony charges brought against the underage and malnourished children before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Sources informed this newspaper on Friday that Tinubu ordered the AGF to review the cases and make recommendations accordingly after the Nigerian presidency came under scrutiny for maltreating underage children accused of bogus charges charges.
Recall that the court presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, had earlier granted stringent bail to over 70 persons including minors for their alleged roles in the protests.
Five minors out of the 76 defendants meant to be arraigned on Friday, however, slumped inside the courtroom and were rushed to the hospital.
The minors have been taken back to Kuje Prison following difficulties in meeting their bail conditions.
The court granted each of the defendants N10 million bail among other stringent terms.
However, one of the counsels for the protesters, Deji Adeyanju, lamented that the stringent bail conditions imposed by the court on the protesters who have been in custody since August, meant they had to be taken back to prison custody.
Human rights and advocacy groups across the country have asked the president to release the minors.
The groups said this in separate statements issued on Friday while condemning the continued detention and prosecution of #EndBadGovernance protesters.
The groups demanded the unconditional release of all detained protesters, especially minors; immediate suspension of all exorbitant bail conditions granted to the protesters; transparent investigation into the maltreatment of underage detainees, including starvation, physical abuse, and psychological trauma at IRT and other detention centers, and an end to the criminalisation of protests and dissent voices in the country.
One of the statements was jointly signed by Comrade Gerald O Katchy of the National Secretary Committee for the Defence of Human Rights; Omole Ibukun of the Creative Change Centre; Salako Kayode of the Revolutionary Socialist Movement; Hauwa Mustapha of the ASVAB and Comrade Destiny Destiny of the Civil Rights Council.
Others are Agena Robert Ande of Take it Back Movement; Maxwell Adeyemi of the Socialist Labour; Adekunle Gbolahan of the Democratic Socialist Movement and Youth Rights Campaign, and Chinedu Chinedu of the Movement for African Emancipation.
The groups said the arraignment of the protesters before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja exposes the gross and tone-deaf indifference of all arms of the Nigerian government to justice and the well-being of Nigerians.
