THE narrative surrounding the arraignment of #EndBadGovernance protesters, including minors, has continued to spark public outrage after legal counsel revealed that all the 76 individuals arrested are ‘adults,’ not the minors the media has portrayed them to be.
While addressing the media after the Friday proceeding, the counsel to the federal government, Rimazonte Ezekiel, labeled them as threats to national stability.
This declaration has fueled public anger against the Nigerian government and the police force, who many believe are desperate to try the minors and put them behind bail for protesting against the government.
Recall that, the minors who appeared in court on Friday, November 1, are being slammed with a 10-count charge bordering on alleged treason, as well as conspiracy to commit a felony with intent to destabilise Nigeria, an offence contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Act.
They were arrested and detained in August during the nationwide protest sparked by widespread economic hardship.
The ICIR reports how many Nigerians raised concerns regarding the severity of the charges, the due process afforded to the defendants, and the potential infringement on the rights of minors involved.
Many took to social media to condemn the handling of the protests and urge the government to ensure justice.
The incident was heightened when some minors, who were among 76 persons set to be arraigned by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), collapsed in the court on Friday, October 1.
One of the defendants, a minor who is under 18 years old, slumped while the judge was reading the charges.
The boy was taken to the court’s clinic with the lawyers present in the courtroom.
However, in response to this, Ezekiel stated that the boys captured in the video “followed their parents” to the courtroom, which contradicted the case file sighted by The ICIR, which listed the ages of the boys as below 18.
His assertion also contradicted widely reported claims from both the media and the counsel for the defendants.
Also, The ICIR gathered that in various cases, the Nigerian police have referred to some of the boys as minors, indicating they are below 18.
He said, “These boys that we brought to the court today are adults. Most of them are married men. None of them is a minor. Some of them are University graduates. The small kids you are seeing here today came with their parents to come and greet their loved ones.
“They are not even the real suspects standing trial in this case. These boys were arrested in Kaduna and Zaria. Do you know how much it costs us to be at this level of democracy in this country? These boys are trying to destabilise Nigeria using Russian flags and other countries while calling on the military to remove our president.
“Is it fair? To even remove the state governors. If they don’t want democracy again, are we forcing them? Everybody is enjoying their fundamental human rights. Nobody is abusing their rights. Everything is moving on well in the country only for these boys for no reason started protests with Russia and other countries’ flags.”
This characterisation has prompted backlash from lawyers and many Nigerians, who argued that the government is trying to paint the protesters as dangerous subversives instead of acknowledging their legitimate frustrations.
In reaction, the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, condemned the arraignment of teenagers in court during the court trial in Abuja
His said, “My attention has been drawn to the appearance of teenagers(some believed to be from Kano)in court today (November 1).
The commissioner of Justice has been instructed to act immediately on the issue mWe shall so everything possible to get them back to Kano,In sha Alla-AKY.,”the governor said in his official X account @Kyusufabba.
A human rights lawyer and former Head of Nigeria Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu reacted to the development in his official X handle @ChidiOdinkalu and queried the development.
“Did a Senior Advocate of #Nigeria,#SAN, actually sign a charge sheet to say there were adults? How is that not professional #malpractice?
In a similar vein, a senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has strongly condemned the long detention of minors involved in the recent #EndGovernanceprotests by the police authorities.
The lawmaker representing Kogi Central, in a statement issued in Lokoja on Saturday, November 2,by Arogbonlo Israel, her Chief Press Secretary, described the police action as “inhumane and unjust”.
According to her, detaining minors in a medium correctional facility is wrong and violates their fundamental human rights.
“This is because children should be tried in a juvenile court, where their identities are protected and not displayed or published in Court.
“I hereby urge the Controller of Prisons, Haliru Nababa, to investigate the detention conditions of juveniles at the Kuje prisons over improper facilities.
“Kuje medium security custodian centre is not designed for detaining children. The juvenile correctional facilities should be used instead,” she said
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M