Several underage children accused of participating in the August #EndBadGovernance demonstrations were arraigned in court on Friday, November 1, in Abuja, Nigeria. At least three of them reportedly collapsed in the courtroom, apparently from exhaustion and possible malnutrition.
The incident occurred when the minors were brought to court from various detention cells, including the dreaded Intelligence Response Team (IRT) unit. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has held them since August. Thirteen were brought to court from IRT cells, while others were brought from cells scattered around other Abuja divisions.
“A couple of them fainted inside the courtroom because of maltreatment; they haven’t eaten for days,” a source inside the courtroom told reporters. The source accused authorities of using hunger as a weapon to torture the alleged protesters – who are mostly minors in their teenage years.
Online images and videos show some of the teenagers, detained since August, writhing on the courtroom floor as other detainees tried to assist them. In one video, a lawyer is seen trying to resuscitate a collapsed protester.
I must express my profound dismay over the deeply disturbing video circulating, showing the inhumane treatment of young protesters—some of them minors—who appeared in court today seeking the enforcement of their fundamental rights. These children, many barely able to walk,… pic.twitter.com/99WXyntG8g
— Dr Mo (Moses Paul) (@Drmopaul) November 1, 2024
The #EndBadGovernance protests were called to protest the skyrocketing cost of living and worsening insecurity under President Bola Tinubu‘s administration since he took office in May 2023.
Justice Emeka Nwite had ordered the detention of the teenagers for 60 more days to allow the police’s investigation against the protesters. The government is accusing them of treason, an attempt to overthrow President Tinubu.
Rebuke From Atiku
The images have irked the conscience of many Nigerians, drawing rebuke for the government over what many see as inhumane treatment of the protesters, most of whom are minors.
Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, fired up a post on his X account to slam the president for his government’s detaining and prosecuting the youngsters. The former VP described the circulating video as “disturbing” and said it was “reprehensible that a man who claimed to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy and had led protests now demonizes those who decide to demonstrate against the effects of his harsh and draconian policies.“
Very Crazy how the federal government charge this kids with treason, as VDM speaks inside the building of the federal high court after his release pic.twitter.com/YA4pNB0b91
— VERYDARKMAN MEDIA (@thatverydarkmnn) November 1, 2024
Atiku went on to say, “The horrible scene reminiscent of a Nazi concentration camp once again reflects the low premium the current government places on the lives of the vulnerable, especially children.”
He lectured the government that, at a minimum, “Section 11 of the Child’s Rights Act guarantees the dignity of the child,” stating 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.“
“Children who are the most affected by these policies,” he told the president, “have every right to protest peacefully as guaranteed by the Constitution and the Child Rights Act. It is saddening that even underage children are not spared from the wickedness of T Pain,“
T-Pain is a derogatory term coined by Nigerians to describe the hardships they endured under Mr. Tinubu. The government has warned that it will not take lightly that name-calling.
Ezekwesili Calls on NBA
Atiku is not the only one angered by the development. In an X post following the development, Former Minister of Education and co-founder of Transparency International, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, asked, “How did the Nigerian Constitution become so useless that the Nigerian Judiciary could allow such violations of the rights of these minors to happen at such egregious levels?”
Calling on the Nigerian Bar Association and the newly appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria, Madam Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to “clean sweep of this version of our Judiciary”, Ezekwesili demanded that “These children must be swiftly released to their parents and guardians, and adequately compensated for the damages done them by the Nigerian State.”
The government has yet to react to these trending developments.
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