OVER 30 minors were allegedly arrested during the nationwide 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria in the first two weeks of August this year.
This was revealed during a town hall meeting hosted by News Central TV in Abuja on Friday, August 30. The meeting was tagged, ‘Speak Up Nigeria: Addressing the Nationwide Protests’.
Addressing participants, a human rights activist, Serah Ibrahim, said she had a list of about 37 minors who were arrested for partaking in the protest and were slammed with various charges.
“Currently, I do not know if there are more people but I have names of 37 young people. These are people that are between the ages of 13 and 15 who were arrested by the Tinubu-led government.
“You tell us as Nigerians that we cannot go to university if we are not up to 18 years but the Tinubu-led government can allow the people who are younger than 18 years to be locked up, just because they came out to peacefully request for a better Nigeria. You’re putting so many charges including treasonable felonies on them simply because they joined the #EndBadGovernance protest,” she said.
She stated that Nigerians’ demands during the protest were a good Nigeria where the masses could afford to live without issues, adding that Nigerians did not need negotiation, but a better Nigeria.
“You cannot negotiate your freedom, you can not negotiate your human rights. There is no negotiation, it is as simple as it is, a better Nigeria. End the hunger, reduce the cost of living, sort out the price of fuel,” she added.
The ICIR reports that many Nigerians trooped to the streets in the first and second weeks of August to protest against the lingering hunger crisis experienced since the assumption of President Bola Tinubu into office in May 2023.
The protests were marred with violence, largely caused by the security operatives in places like Lagos and Abuja, where security operatives attacked protesters and journalists and several teargas to disperse them from the protest grounds.
The News Central’s event, centred on the way forward following the #EndBadGovernance protest had representatives from different civil society organisations, journalists, and some victims of the violence during the protests who shared their experiences.
Also speaking at the event, the founder of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, noted that the time for the next protest against the Tinubu’s government would not be disclosed as the one held in August.
“The protesters came forward, I think they were patriotic to even give a date and a time. I bet you that the next protest that will happen will not have a date or time,” he stated.