Due to national outrage, the Federal Government recently released scores of children charged with treason for their participation in the August 1-10 nationwide ‘end bad governance’ protests in the North. Their charges were also withdrawn by the government. The minors were among the 119 defendants charged with treasonable felony before a Federal High Court in Abuja over the protests. They were later granted N10 million bail bond each and remanded pending the fulfillment of the terms.
The police had in a10-count charge, accused the minors of acting in concert with other forces, to destabilise Nigeria, during the August 1-10 #Endbadgovernance protests in some states within the Northern part of Nigeria. The defendants were further alleged to have attacked and injured police officers and burned police stations, a High Court complex, the National Communications Commission (NCC) complex, the Kaduna Investment and Promotions Agency office, and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) office.
During the arraignment of the minors, some of them collapsed apparently due to exhaustion and hunger. Obviously scandalized by the outrage that trailed the incident, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), intervened and asked that their file be brought to his office.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the charges against them after Fagbemi moved the motion to withdraw them. The children were subsequently released and taken to the Aso Rock Villa where the Vice President Kashim Shettima said President Bola Tinubu ordered their release based on compassion. While justifying the directive for their release, Shettima said the president took the decision on compassionate ground, arguing that, Nigeria lost over N300 billion as a result of destruction of public and private facilities during the protests.
The incarceration of the minors elicited criticisms from prominent Nigerians and civil society groups including the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Amnesty International, and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria. They warned against attempts to deprive people of their right to peaceful protest through unlawful detentions and sham trials. Similarly, the Amnesty International decried the trial, describing it as government’s utter disregard for the rule of law. “The unlawful detention of these minors, subjecting them to traumatic experiences for exercising their right to peaceful protest, is unacceptable,” the organisation stated.
Former Vice President and the 2023 presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, equally condemned their detention. Atiku had observed that the disturbing condition under which they were brought to court justified their participation in the protest in the first place.
In the same vein, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, urged the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, the Police, the DSS, and the National Human Rights Commission to thoroughly investigate the inhumane treatment of the minors to prevent a similar incident in the future.
While we condemn the destruction that trailed the August protests, which led to the arrest and detention of the children, we also decry incarceration and botched trial based on frivolous charges. Unfortunately, the minors were apprehended for allegedly protesting the harsh economic situation in the country. Arresting and detaining them for participating in the protest portrayed the government in bad light.
At the same time, charging them for treason is not tidy. It violates the provisions of the Child Rights Act, which Nigeria subscribes to. Section 11 of the Child Rights Act guarantees dignity of the child. It states that “every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no child shall be – (a) subjected to physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse; (b) subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The dehumanization of the children is not good for the image of the government. Those behind their arrest and detention should be investigated and penalized. Government should address the issues that led to the nationwide protests. There is also need for the minors to be fully integrated into the society. Those of them that are of school age should be brought to the classroom. Some of them should be encouraged to acquire technical skills. Let the government compensate the families of the children to ameliorate their suffering during detention. While commending the release of the minors, we urge the government to extend similar gesture to other children in detention facilities across the country.