As the verdict for the 11 arrested #EndBadGovernance protestors in Borno State’s capital drew near, a throng gathered at the Maiduguri High Court of Justice.

Family members, relatives, human rights activists, and attorneys who had come out in support of the jailed people were among those there.

According to the Borno State Attorney General Hauwa Abubakar’s letter outlining the case against the demonstrators, the 11 defendants were charged with two counts of public disturbance.

The defendants are accused of continually chanting and publicly displaying the Russian national flag.

In a letter signed by the state’s attorney general, Hauwa Abubakar, the court revealed prior to the trial that the case involved the state government, acting as the complainant, and eleven defendants who were charged with two crimes.

“On or about the 5th day of August 2024, at about 0800 hrs, in Maiduguri, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, Halle Dahiru, 26, Bashir Ahmad, 18, Sediq Abubakar, 18, Musa Lawan, 26, Yunusa Abdullahi, 22, Habib Lawan, 22, Abubakar Tijjani, 18, Khalifa Abdulhamid, 25, Muhammed Abubakar, 18, Abubakar Hassan, 24, and Muhammad Ibrahim, 21, collectively carried and displayed the Russian national flag in public while chanting “Ba Mayi,” in violation of Section 42 and punishable under Section 76(b) of the Penal Code Law of Borno State, 2023.

Within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, you, Halle Dahiru, 26, Bashir Ahmad, 18, Sadiq Abubakar, 18, Musa Lawan, 26, Yunusa Abdullahi, 22, Habib Lawan, 22, Abubakar Tijjani, 18, Khalifa Abdulhamid, 25, Muhammad Abubakar, 18, Abubakar Hassan, 24, and Muhammad Ibrahim, 21, carried and displayed a foreign flag, specifically the Russian national flag, in public and repeatedly chanted “Ba Muyi” against the Government, disturbing the peace and committing an offence punishable under Section 76(b) of the Penal Code Law of Borno State, 2023.

Hajara Shaibu, a family member of one of the defendants, pleaded with the state administration to balance justice with mercy and permit the accused to go back and start again.

Hassan Dahiru, the State Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation, demanded that the inmates be released right now.

According to him, “there is hunger in the country and there is no two ways about it, so it is irrelevant whether they are mature or immature to link them with treason.”