Sanusi condemns minors’ detention, urges arrest of ‘real’ culprits

• Activists seek compensation for detained Kano minors 
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has criticised the detention of 73 Kano children by the police and their subsequent trial for treason felony in Abuja.

The kids, accused of participating in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest, had been discharged by the Federal High Court, and received by the Kano State government.

They had been admitted to Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital for medical assessment.

Sanusi, who addressed newsmen after inspecting the children on admission, lamented that the minors were subjected to untold punishment, while the real culprits were left roaming the streets freely.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor regretted that some of the children were picked up by the police on their way to school, with nothing connecting them to the protest.

He challenged the concerned authorities to go after adults, who perpetrated the atrocities, in the interest of justice.

“I am here to visit our children brought from Abuja. Many of them were in detention for three months, some in prison, and some in police cells. Many of them are in serious medical conditions, but we pray to Allah that they would be okay,” he said.

Meanwhile, for the emotional and physical torture the now released 114 minors went through in detention, members of the #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos State have called on the Federal Government to apologise to the children, pay their families and offset the bill for their psycho-social therapy.

At a briefing, yesterday, in Lagos, the group also urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the charges against all #EndBadGovernance protesters in detention and on trial.

In a statement read by Hassan Taiwo ‘Soweto’ of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), the body noted that the briefing was to respond to the release of detained 32 minors, on Tuesday, and to demand the dropping of charges against all the remaining protesters in detention and on trial, particularly Adaramoye Michael (a.k.a. Lenin) and 10 others, whose trial for treason is to commence at the Federal High Court in Abuja tomorrow.

Betty Abah of CEE-Hope, at the briefing, described Nigeria as a country that is not children-friendly, though a nation of young people.

Abah and Osugba asserted: “Now is a better time for protests than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) years when Tinubu and others in government today led protests against bad governance.”

In a related vein, a coalition of women-led organisations, civil society groups and human rights advocates, Womanifesto, has sought immediate psychological support for the released minors.
The group noted that the conditions faced by the children and other peaceful protesters highlight broader issues in Nigeria’s approach to human rights and child protection.

In a statement by the convener, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, on behalf of the over 200 women organisations, the groups also called for the rehabilitation and education of the minors.

Her words: “We call for accessible rehabilitation programmes, education, and vocational training to support their reintegration. There is also a need for a comprehensive review of detention policies affecting minors to ensure that non-detention alternatives are prioritised for minor offences.

“Many other peaceful protesters remain unjustly detained; we urge the government to facilitate their release in the interest of justice. We call on the Kano State government to clarify its plans for the welfare and reintegration of released minors returning home.”