Nationwide outrage trailed the arraignment of 119 #EndBadGovernance protesters in a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, following the collapse of some minors among them when they were mounting the dock.

Civil society organisations and activists, who reacted to the development, described it as a dent on Nigeria’s global image, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the minors.

Five out of the 119 defendants brought before the court for arraignment on treasonable felony, rioting, destruction of public property, assaulting security officials, looting, among other charges, collapsed a few minutes after the commencement of proceedings.

They were alleged to have participated in the last #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano State during which they allegedly chanted anti-government slogans, called for unlawful change of government through military intervention and carried foreign flags.

According to one of the defence lawyers, Marshall Abubakar, the defendants were charged in two batches of 76 and 43.

Shortly after the first batch was called, the defendants were mounting the dock when some of them suddenly fell down, causing confusion in court; a development that prompted the judge to suspend proceedings .

Abubakar blamed the development on hunger and ill health on the part of the defendants.
He said: “All these young children are sick and hungry. They have been kept in police custody for weeks without food and proper medical care. They are sick and need proper attention. That is the cause of these unfortunate developments.”
After the defendants were attended to and they regained strength, proceedings resumed, following which the prosecuting lawyer, Audi Garba, applied that the names of the four that suffered ill health should be excluded from the charge.

Defence lawyers, including Abubakar, did not object, following which Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out their names from the first charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/503/2024, containing names of 76 defendants.
The remaining 72 defendants pleaded not guilty when the 10 counts in the charge were read to them.

Abubakar moved the defendants’ bail application, against which the prosecution did not file a counter affidavit.
Justice Egwuatu  in his ruling noted that the prosecution did not counter the defendants’ assurances that they would be available for trial and would not tamper with witnesses nor jump bail if granted.

The judge also noted that some of the defendants were young children below the age of 18 years.

He then granted bail to each of the defendants at N10 million with two sureties, one of which must be a federal civil servant from Level 15, while the second should be either of each defendants’ parents or a sibling.

He then adjourned till January 24, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
On the second charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/527/2024, 42 defendants out of the 43 listed on the charge were arraigned.

They were accused of committing similar offences in Kaduna during the protest .
Before their arraignment, the prosecuting lawyer applied that one of the 43 defendants suffered ill health and should be excluded from the proceedings, following which the judge struck out the name from the charge.

The remaining 42 pleaded not guilty to the charge and were also granted bail on similar conditions as the earlier ones.

In some of the counts in the charge, the defendants were alleged to have: “While acting in concert with Martin Wynne (aka Andrew Povich) a British Citizen, with intent to destabilise Nigeria, levied 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 thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States)  Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004:

“While acting in concert with Andrew Martin Wynne (aka Andrew Povich), a British citizen, with intent destabilise Nigeria, incited to mutiny by calling on the military to take over government  from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by chanting ‘Tinubu must go’ ‘soja muskeso’ (meaning Tinubu must go), ‘it is military we want’, while rioting and disturbing public peace and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 413 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004.”

Meanwhile, a former senator who represented Kaduna Central Zone in the 8th National Assembly, Shehu Sani, has called on the Federal Government to release children that were arrested and detained in prison custody for participating in the protest against bad governance and hardship in Nigeria.

According to him, it is unfortunate that the children, considered as minors, were mobilised to participate in the protest against bad governance and economic hardship in the country.

In a statement on Friday, the former lawmaker, who is also a civil rights crusader, said “the arrangement of those minors for their participation in protest is most unfortunate and shameful for our country’s democracy.”

He noted that “the Federal Government should withdraw the charges against them and return them to their states.”
Also, a civil rights activist, Patricia Ozonu, has demanded the immediate release of the remanded minors and the arrest and prosecution of the police officers behind their incarceration.

Ozonu, who described the development as a shame, insisted that security officials behind the arrests should be made to face disciplinary actions.
She stated that it was embarrassing that Nigeria with all known laws and policies in place to protect children, including the Child Rights Act 2003, has continued to downplay the provisions.

According to Ozonu, who is based in Australia, “the inability of the Federal Government to enact and implement policies that could remove Nigerians from poverty is pushing them into various actions.”

She noted that the #EndBadGovernance protest for which the children were arrested and detained could have been avoided if the government is responsive to the yearnings of Nigerians, stressing that efforts should be geared towards addressing the disenchantment in the country.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has also condemned the detention of minors involved in the #EndBadGovernance protests.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the organisation called on the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to intervene, urging her to see these young detainees as “her own children.”

CISLAC appealed to President Bola Tinubu to halt “these actions by government officials, and immediately order the release of the minors.

“It is disturbing and damaging to Nigeria’s global image to witness such treatment of young citizens who were only exercising their constitutional rights

“The inhumane detention and maltreatment of these children must end. Anyone responsible for detaining these minors unjustly is the true criminal here, and this incident warrants urgent intervention,” he said.

Rafsanjani stressed that images and videos from the courtroom, circulating widely on social media, depict the harrowing scenes of some minors lying on the floor as lawyers and others tried to revive them.

CISLAC called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take immediate action to ensure the release of the detained minors.

The organisation further urged international bodies like UNICEF, the World Food Organisation, the World Health Organisation, and Save the Children Foundation to join in condemning the incident and pressuring the Nigerian government for an unconditional release.

“Detaining these children under such appalling conditions is unconscionable,” Rafsanjani emphasised.

“We are appealing to all responsible authorities to ensure their swift release and hold accountable those who orchestrated their detention. This incident stands as a dark stain on our national commitment to the rule of law and respect for human rights.”

The minors were initially detained following a police order, which cited alleged involvement in a supposed plot to destabilize the government.

However, CISLAC and other rights groups argue that their detention violates both national and international human rights standards.