ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTEST: Outrage greets trial of 76 youths for treasonable felony as 4 faint in court

By DailyTimesNGR 2 November 2024 181 No comment

*Amnesty International, others call for urgent pardon

AGF intervenes, demands case file from police

BY ANDREW OROLUA

Social media videos of minors fainting in court did not leave sweet remarks in many quarters as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday granted bail to 72 of the 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters brought before it on charges bordering on treasonable felony, rioting, destruction of public property, assaulting security officials and looting among others.

The 76 defendants are made up of 28 minors and 44 others protesters arrested from several locations Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Plateau, Katsina States and the FCT.

Justice Obiora Egwuata, however, remanded the adults at the Kuje Correctional Center Abuja while the minors are to be remanded at the Bostal Children Home pending the perfection of their bail conditions.

Justice Obiora granted them bail in the sum of N10million with two sureties each in like sum.

For the adults, the Judge said the surety should be a civil servant and must provide a valid Identity Card, proper residential address and passport sized photographs, among others.

The minors could either provide a parent or sibling as surety, with similar particulars.

The 10-count charges border on treasonable felony, rioting, destruction of public property, assaulting security officials, looting/theft of public property, among others.

All the defendants, made up of 28 Minors and 44 others, pleaded not guilty to the charges read to them as four Minors were excluded from the exercise due to ill health.

Earlier, there was drama at the Court as four of the minors looking very malnourished fainted as they approached the dock for arraignment with their lawyers rushing to provide aid.

The prosecuting counsel applied to court for four suspects who earlier fainted to get first aide and be arraigned later.

Justice Egwuatu on seeing the situation stood down the case briefly to enable the protesters who were sick to be attended to.

Upon resumption the court however granted the prayers for four suspects to be excepted from the arraignment for later date.

In a related development, many groups, including the Amnesty International has asked the FG to free everyone standing trial for participating in the protests.

A Coalition of Northern Youths Groups has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to wade into the ongoing arraignment, detention and prosecution of the under aged #EndBadGovernance protesters across the country describing it as inhumane and condescending.

Making the appeal in a press release made available to newsmen on Friday in Minna, the founder of Yan-Almajiri Endowment Initiative and BoT Chairman, Coalition of Northern Youths Group, Yahaya Mohammed Usman (Sai Baba) decried the ill-treatment and traumatic state the minors look, adding that “they look very sick and are wriggling in pain on the floor of the court.”

It should be noted that, the federal government on Friday arraigned 76 of the minors who looked malnourished, and four of them were hurriedly rushed out of the courtroom as they could not stand on their feet.

In August this year, the Coalition of Northern Youth groups had called on the federal and state governments to grant amnesty to protesters arrested across the country, saying “it is to avoid further waste of scarce resources.”

The group also called on President Tinubu and northern governors to establish a N250 billion Endowment for Technical and Vocational Training in all Islamiyya schools across Northern Nigeria to help them get rehabilitated and reintegrated.

According to Yahaya “this call has become necessary on the face of the fact that most of those arrested are either poor ALMAJIRI children and or uneducated, unskilled and unemployed citizens who are all minors.

“We call for an urgent endowment fund for skills development and education of all minors in Nigeria: this has become necessary considering that the economic situation is hard for ordinary citizens.”

Lending his voice too, Sen. Sani Musa (APC Niger East), has condemned “the unjust treatment of minors” over their alleged involvement in the recent EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria.

Musa in a statement issued to newsmen described the detention as “inhumane and unjust.”

“I strongly condemn the unjust detention of minors following the #EndBadGovernance protests.

“I am deeply troubled that, in spite of the hardships and challenges these young children have endured, there is a push to have them imprisoned rather than afforded compassion and understanding.

”Such actions are not only inhumane but also unjust,” he said.

The Senator also condemned the judicial stance advocating for the continued detention of the minors, saying it is unacceptable and contrary to the principles of justice and fairness.

He, therefore, urged the Inspector General of Police to launch an immediate investigation into the matter to ensure accountability “and protect the rights of these young citizens.”

“This issue must be addressed urgently, and I will continue to stand with my constituents and all Nigerians in the pursuit of justice and good governance”, he added.

…AGF intervenes, demands case file from police

The Attorney General of Federation and

Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Fagbemi,SAN, has intervened on the ongoing trial of youth and minors involved in EndBadGovernance protest before the Federal High Court Abuja.

Late Friday night ,he directed the Inspector General of Police who arraigned the youth and minors to transfer the case file to his office and hand over same to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) Saturday 2nd November, 2024.

A statement personally signed by the AGF Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, read as follows:

“It has just come to my notice that the police have arraigned those arrested in connection with the endbad governance violent protest in court for various offences including treason.

“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me take an informed decision.

“I am aware that the court has remanded the defendants in detention centres and adjourned the case to January.

“It is not within my power to vary the order of the court remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January. I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the casefile to my office and hand over same to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) tomorrow, Saturday 2nd November, 2024.

“I have further directed the DPPF to immediately put machinery in motion for consideration of the court to bring the adjournment date forward (an earlier date).”