Deborah Musa, Nathaniel Shaibu, Olufemi Adediran, Ismaeel Uthman, Imoleayo Oyedei, Ayoola Olasupo, Daniel Ayantoye, Muhammad Lawal, Tope Omogbolagun, and Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis

The arraignment of 76 individuals, including 32 juveniles, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court’s Abuja division for their involvement in the August #EndBadGovernance demonstrations has angered Nigerians.

Rights campaigners and civil society organisations attacked the government and police over the issue.

The defendants were arrested in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), as well as in the states of Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano. They had been in custody for three months.

The Inspector General of Police charged them with ten charges, including treason, inciting mutiny, and intending to destabilise Nigeria by urging the military to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

During the August 1–10 statewide demonstration against economic hardship and bad administration, protesters demanded more budgetary restraint, food security, the restoration of the petrol subsidy, and lower governance expenses.

In many states, the demonstration descended into violence, resulting in instances of looting and damage.

Thirty-two of the 76 suspects arraigned on Friday were adolescents, aged 14 to 17.

Video footage of the undernourished and dishevelled children scurrying for water and snacks went popular on social media on Friday.

The obviously ill youngsters were called to the dock to submit their pleas as the proceedings got underway.

The presiding judge was forced to halt the hearing until order was restored when four of the youngsters unexpectedly passed out and were hurried out of the courtroom.

Both solicitors and prison officials quickly lifted the children up, supporting their wrists and legs while they writhed in agony and screamed on the floor. After then, they were removed from the courtroom because they were unable to stand.

Justice Egwuatu stood up suddenly and went inside his chambers, watching with a puzzled expression of sympathy and annoyance.

Audu Garba, the prosecution’s attorney, informed the court that the case was for arraignment when he returned.

“My Lord, the matter is scheduled for arraignment,” he stated. Because the courtroom is too small to hold everyone, several of the defendants are outdoors.

However, because he wanted all of the defendants in the courtroom, the judge asked that room be made for them all.

The prosecution then asked the court to strike out the names of the ill defendants and release them until they recovered so they could be brought back to the court to answer to their accusations.

However, Marshall Abubakar, the defence attorney, requested that the court acquit and release them.

“The application is based on the defendants’ malnourishment and illness,” he stated. These lads haven’t eaten in three days, and they’re famished.

However, the prosecution disagreed with the defence attorney’s argument, arguing that the prisoners, who had been held since their arrest in August, were adequately cared for in the police cell.

However, he requested that the defendant be given bail by the court.

On the prosecution’s request, the court released the four ill defendants—Umar Yunusa, Usman Suraju, Musa Isiyaku, and Abdul Ganiu—pending their recovery.

However, the court declined to exonerate them.

According to Justice Egwuatu, defendants who are 18 years of age or older shall be held in the Kuje Custodial Centre until they fulfil their bail conditions, while children (18 years of age or below) should be remanded in the Borstal Centre in Gwagwalada.

Nigerians denounced the prisoners’ arraignment and excessive imprisonment, calling it a breach of their human rights and a reflection of the government’s handling of civil unrest.

They are charged with conspiring to commit treason between July 31, 2024, and August 4, 2024, at the Abuja Federal Capital Territory and Kano Metropolis, within the jurisdiction of this court, while acting in concert and with purpose to destabilise Nigeria.

In the second count, it is alleged that individuals within the court’s authority planned to commit a criminal, namely encouraging mutiny, with the intention of destabilising Nigeria.

The third count states: “That between July 31, 2024, and August 10, 2024, in Abuja FCT, Kaduna, Kano, and Gombe, within the jurisdiction of this court, while acting in concert with Andrew Martin Wynne (also known as Andrew Povich), a British citizen, with intent to unstable Nigeria, levies war against the state in order to intimidate or overawe the president, by attacking and injuring police officers and burning police stations, High Court Complex, NCC Complex, Kano Printing Press, Government House Kano, Kaduna Investment and Promotions Agency office, NURTW office, and several other buildings, and in violation of section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004.”

By calling for the military to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and yelling, “Tinubu most go,” “It is military we want,” and rioting and disrupting public order, the FG further accused them of plotting to destabilise Nigeria.

However, the demonstrators were given bail totalling N760 million by Justice Egwuatu, along with two sureties in an equivalent amount.

A level 15 public official and the defendants’ parents must be one of the sureties, the judge further said.

Additionally, he mandated that the sureties provide the court with a confirmed address, a letter of appointment, a letter of last promotion, and a means of identity.

“The defendants are granted bail in the amount of N10 million each, with two sureties in an equivalent amount,” stated Justice Egwuatu.

SANs and the NBA condemn rights abuse

The Nigerian Bar Association responded by saying that treating children in this way not only goes against both national and international legal standards, but it also harms Nigeria’s reputation abroad.

Afam Osigwe, the NBA’s national president, said in an interview with Saturday PUNCH that the children’s cruel treatment was a serious violation of their basic human rights.

“This does not make us look good at all,” Osigwe stated. It presents a bad picture of us in the eyes of the public and calls into question the legitimacy of our prisons and pre-trial detention conditions.

Because of their lengthy incarceration, every attempt should be made to either release the suspects right away and reunite them with their families, or if the federal government insists on putting them on trial, return them to the locations where they were arrested so that their families can be near them, provide legal services for them, and be able to watch the trial.

“The fact that such undernourished children are being charged shows that we have not treated them well prior to their court trial, which is not good for our criminal justice system.”

Isiaka Olagunju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, denounced the arraignment.

He said that the Child Rights Act expressly specified that justice administration was allowed, and that minors might be charged in a family court instead of a Federal High Court.

He said that it was a flagrant breach of both the Act’s provisions and the entire constitution to hold the youngsters in custody for more than 48 hours before they were eventually arraigned in a Federal High Court.

“If they are minors, that means they are under the age of eighteen,” he continued, “but this is a complete violation of the Child Rights Act, which is one of the laws governing the federation.” The administration of justice is discussed in the kid Rights Act, and the kid must be arraigned in compliance with its provisions.

“I believe the legislation has a charge administration that outlines certain offences and the steps involved in arraigning a minor. It is a grave violation of the Child Rights Act and the Constitution to arraign a minor in a Federal High Court. It’s completely out of place. According to a constitutional clause, you can only be held for a maximum of 48 hours.

“They are not allowed to hold a youngster with adults. Instead of a police station, they ought to be housed in juvenile imprisonment. The youngsters should be detained separately from the adults. Thus, their actions are completely incorrect. According to Section 204 of the Child Rights Act, Laws of Federation, “A child who is accused of committing an act that would be considered a criminal offence if he were an adult shall only be subject to the child justice system and procedures set out in this Act, but no child shall be subject to the criminal justice process or criminal sanctions.”

Professor Shehu Zuru, a former dean of the Nile University of Nigeria’s Faculty of Law in Abuja and another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, contended that the accusations against the demonstrators were incorrect.

“Does it even qualify as treason for those who were flying the Russian flag?” he said. By the way, what is treason? This is a planned rebellion against the established order. The state’s sovereignty has been called into question by this uprising. However, that cannot be equated with civil disobedience. No!

Treason will be committed, however, if there is a planned rebellion or mutiny that has openly questioned the authority of a state such as Boko Haram and involves flag raising. That’s treasonous, of course, like those in the Boko Haram organisation. However, you cannot just arrest participants in a public demonstration and accuse them of engaging in treasonous behaviour.

Festus Ogun, another attorney, said the way Nigerian authorities charged “poor, homeless, malnourished, and out-of-school children” with being involved in the #EndBadGovernance protest “shameful.”

He maintained that the Federal Government’s persecution of children was intolerable and a flagrant violation of their human rights.

The youngsters’ fundamental human rights were violated by their arrest and incarceration, according to human rights attorney Inibehe Effiong.

By displaying children in this way, the Tinubu administration is demeaning our criminal justice system. It damages the community’s reputation and shows a lack of seriousness,” he said.

Effiong demanded that the government respond right away, asking officials to drop the accusations against the children and concentrate on their rehabilitation instead.

Senators Atiku and Obi criticise Tinubu’s government.

According to former vice president Atiku Abubakar, the Tinubu administration’s inhumanity was made clear by the children’ imprisonment and prosecution.

In a statement released by his Abuja-based media team, Atiku bemoaned the pathetic scene of the youngsters in the courtroom, saying it brought back memories of the notorious Nazi concentration camp.

The 2023 presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party said that it was a “complete violation” of Section 11 of the kid’s Rights Act, which states that no kid shall be exposed to torture or cruel punishment in addition to bodily, mental, or emotional harm.

“One can only imagine the sort of dehumanising conditions they had been subjected to and have been detained all this while if they are only being arraigned three months later,” he added.

The fact that a man who says he led rallies and battled for Nigeria’s democracy now demonises anyone who choose to show up against the consequences of his severe and oppressive policies disgusts me.

“The constitution and the Child Rights Act guarantee children who are most impacted by these policies the right to peacefully protest.” The treatment of a country’s most vulnerable individuals can be used to evaluate that country. The fact that even minors are not immune to T Pain’s evil is heartbreaking.

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, too voiced his displeasure with the way the children were treated.

“In order to prevent such incidents in the future, I would like to call on the appropriate authorities, particularly the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Justice, the Police, the DSS, and the National Human Rights Commission, to thoroughly investigate such inhuman treatment of minors,” Obi stated.

Senator Sani Musa, the legislator for the APC’s Niger East, urged the IG to look into the protestors’ cruel imprisonment and prosecution.

Musa, who is also the Senate Finance Committee’s chair, asked the NJC to look into the judge’s ruling in their case.

Amnesty International, CDHR, SERAP, and NEF denounce detention

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights’ President, Debo Adeniran, also responded, saying that it was inexplicable that a supposedly progressive administration could abuse children in such a manner.

Adeniran said the mistreatment of the youngsters was unacceptable and that it was inhumane to arrest and hold the juveniles for days without a trial.

“If the government keeps igniting the flames of violence within the populace, the #EndBadGovernance, #FearlessOctober, and other protests will be a child’s play,” he stated. Many people are upset with the government; thus, it should try to convince them to devise plans that would ease the tension.

The ongoing imprisonment of the kids who were detained in August for allegedly taking part in the #EndBadGovernance demonstration was also denounced by Amnesty International.

In a statement published on X (previously Twitter), Amnesty called the teenagers’ treason trial a “sham” and called for the prisoners’ unconditional release.

The government’s complete disrespect for the rule of law is demonstrated by its attempts to put the youngsters through a fake trial on charges of treason. “They must be released immediately and unconditionally by the authorities,” the statement said.

Juwon Sanyaolu, the National Coordinator of the Take it Back Movement, also spoke, calling it “dishonourable” for minors to suffer such a fate.

After months of starvation, the federal government is a disgrace for arraigning minors for the death penalty for protest. Look at how ill-groomed and undernourished they seemed. Sanyaolu declared, “This is a heinous crime against humanity.”

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre urged Tinubu to order the children’s release in order to stop the prosecution of the kids.

The charity also called on foreign organisations to participate in denouncing the event and applying pressure to the Nigerian government for an unconditional release, according to a statement released by its Executive Director, Auwal Rafsanjani.

The Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project responded on its X account, denouncing the youngsters’ incarceration and urging President Tinubu to free them right away or face legal repercussions.

“The Tinubu government faces legal action until it unconditionally releases the 76 #EndBadGovernance protestors and drops all ‘treasonable criminal’ allegations against them. The message said that no one should ever face consequences for exercising their human rights in a nonviolent manner.

Abdulazeez Sulaiman, a spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum, said the children were scared and weak, and that they were a serious social failure.

Sulaiman underlined that it was concerning and represented “a disturbing distortion of legal and moral principles” to accuse youngsters of treason, a severe crime usually reserved for adults.

He maintained that such serious charges should never be made against children since they are naturally innocent and incapable of understanding political complexity.

“Their detention raises serious concerns about potential abuse and neglect, violating their fundamental human rights, especially in a politically charged atmosphere,” he added.

He called for solidarity and a commitment to safeguard those who are vulnerable, and he encouraged the international community to respond.