•POLICE: They attempted to destabilize Nigeria, incite mutiny, shouting ‘Tinubu must go, it’s military we want’
•72 others get N720m bail
•Arraignment of malnourished minors violates their fundamental human rights – HURIWA tells Tinubu
•Social media blows up as netizens fault FG over arraignment of minors

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—Four minors, who were among 76 persons the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, charged for participating in the recent #EndBadGovernance protest that held across the country, o slumped before they could be arraigned in court yesterday.

The teenagers, between the ages of 14 and 17, who appeared ill and malnourished, collapsed before a trial judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, shortly after they were marshalled in for arraignment.

While some of the defendants huddled in the dock, others stood outside the cubicle owing to limited space.

The Inspector General of Police, who constituted a five-man team of lawyers led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Simon Lough, SAN, to handle the prosecution, disclosed that the protesters were arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Gombe states.

They were slammed with a 10-count charge that bordered on treason.

Meanwhile, when the case was called up on Friday, a police prosecutor, Mr Audu Garba, applied for the charge to be read to the defendants to enable them to enter their plea to the charge.

However, before the reading of the charge could commence, four of the defendants who were later identified as Muhammed Yahaya (14 years), Muktar Ishak Alhassan (16), Mustapha Ibrahim (18) and Usman Fatihu (21), fainted.

They were cited as the 68th, 74th, 75th, and 76th defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/503/2024.

The development forced trial Justice Obiora Egwuatu to abruptly halt the proceedings and enter back into his chambers, while lawyers rushed to help the frail-looking boys that remained on the floor of the courtroom.

They were later moved to the court’s clinic for medical attention.

When the court resumed its proceeding after the matter was stood-down for about 30 minutes, the prosecution counsel applied to delist the four affected defendants from the charge, a prayer that was granted by Justice Egwuatu.

Meantime, the remaining 72 defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge, even as their lawyer, Mr Abubakar Marshal, urged the court to release them on bail, pending the hearing and determination of the case.

In his brief ruling, the trial judge granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.

Justice Egwuatu held that one of the sureties must be a civil servant not below grade level 15, who must have a verifiable address that is within the court’s jurisdiction.

According to the court, the second surety must be the parent of the defendant.

One of the counsels representing the defendants, Mr Deji Adeyanju, earlier disclosed that they had spent over 80 days in police custody before their arraignment on Friday.

Specifically, police alleged that the defendants, alongside others that are currently at large, had between July and August, while acting in concert and with intent to destabilize Nigeria, conspired together to commit a felony.

It alleged that the defendants committed treason, an offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 97 of the Code.

Police alleged that while acting in concert with one Andrew Martin Wynne (aka Andrew Povich) a British citizen, the defendants, with the intent to destabilize Nigeria, levied war against the state to intimidate or overawe the President by attacking and injuring police officers and burning police stations.

It told the court that some properties the defendants allegedly destroyed, including; the High Court Complex, NCC Complex, Kano Printing Press, Government House Kano, Kaduna Investment & Promotion Agency office, as well as NURTW office, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3, LFN 2004.

Police further alleged that the defendants attempted to incite mutiny by calling on the military to take over government from President Bola Tinubu by chanting ‘Tinubu must go’, ‘Soja Musketo’, which it said meant that ‘Tinubu must go, it is military we want’, while rioting and disturbing public peace, an offence contrary to Section 413 of the Penal Code.

More so, it told the court that the defendants carried Russian flags while chanting violent songs, contrary to Section 1(3) (a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act CAP M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Likewise, it accused the defendants of displaying in public places, Russian flags while chanting violent revolutionary songs, agitating for the Russian Invasion of the Nigerian Sovereign entity to topple the democratic government of Nigeria, an offence contrary to Section 114 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 111 of the Code.

Whereas 11 of the defendants are teenagers between ages 14 and 17, the oldest defendant in the charge is 34, while others are between ages 18 to 24.

The case was adjourned to January 24, 2025, for a hearing.

Arraignment of malnourished minors violates their fundamental human rights —HURIWA tells Tinubu

•Urges their unconditional release

By Emmanuel Elebeke

President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been urged to free the minors who collapsed on Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja before they were to be prosecuted by the Nigerian Police Force for participating in the recent EndBadGovernance protest across the country.

The Minors were among the 76 persons detained by the agents of Federal government.

Making the plea on Friday, the National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Dr. Emmanuel Onwubiko stated that the actions of the Nigeria Police Force in clamping down on the children, detaining them under clearly excruciating circumstances for 80 days and then to produce them in the Federal High court whereby the whole World has seen these minors looking malnourished or suffering from circumstances not unconnected with physical or psychological torture, has depicted Nigeria as a nation that has no respect for the fundamental rights of children.

“The question that most people around the world would be asking is whether Nigeria has degenerated to the level of lawless Burma in East Asia, whereby the human rights of the citizens are neither protected nor promoted. This show of shame has also exposed Nigeria as a nation that goes to the United Nations to declare that it has abolished torture. Still, the minors who were brought to court have created the opposite impression about the commitment of Nigeria to abolish torture of all ramifications. Today is a very sad day for Nigeria.”

“The United Nations subcommittee on Prevention of Torture which reportedly visited Nigeria in September, would need to revisit Nigeria and spend adequate time to verify the massive and callous applications of tortures in the different states administered detention centres all around the Country and then take strong measures to compel the government of Nigeria to abolish tortures comprehensively.”

Social media blows up as netizens fault FG over arraignment of minors

By Efe Onodjae

Social media was ablaze as videos of minors arraigned by the Nigerian Police Force for participating in the recent EndBadGovernance protests across the country surfaced on many online platforms.

Vanguard reported that 76 individuals were arraigned before the court on Friday of which one of the minors reportedly collapsed before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Three others also fainted.

The minors had allegedly spent over 80 days in police custody.

Netizens, along with human rights activists had taken to their various social media handles to accuse the Federal Government of being merciless, wicked, and self-centred.

A Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Delta State, Billy Egbe, wrote on his Facebook page, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the minors. He said, “Tinubu should release these children. What’s this? “How can these people be so merciless, wicked, and self-centred?

“Someone who led a worse protest in 2012 is now leading a government arraigning children for allegedly participating in a protest. This is an emotional sight, and Nigerians should rise to the occasion to defend these children. Who arraigns children for participating in a protest?”
Renowned human rights lawyer Festus Ogun condemned the act, calling the Bola Tinubu administration’s actions a gross violation of human rights. He stated, “It is a crying shame that Nigerian authorities have decided to charge poor, homeless, malnourished, and out-of-school children for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest. This mirrors a society whose soul is lost.

”Obviously malnourished, the children slumped on Friday morning in open court. How despicable is it that children are charged with treason? “The persecution of children is unacceptable and constitutes a gross violation of human rights.

”There should not be an arraignment of these little ones in the first place. These children should be enrolled in school and provided with basic amenities.

“For everyone involved in this horrific experience, let them be reminded that the verdict of history beckons!”