Evelyn
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate and unconditional release of all the minors arrested and detained in connection with the #EndBadGovernance protests that held in Nigeria in August 2024.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the directive in a series of posts on his verified handle on microblogging site X.
Mr Idris further announced that the President mandated the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to immediately attend to the welfare of the minors, and to ensure their smooth reunion with their parents or guardians wherever they are in the country.
Beyond that, President Tinubu directed the setting up of an administrative committee, to be headed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, “to examine all issues surrounding the arrest, detention, treatment, and finally, the release of these young minors”.
The Minister also revealed that President Tinubu directed that “all law enforcement agents involved in the arrest and the legal processes will be investigated, and if any infractions are found to have been committed by any official of Government, whether from a law enforcement agency or another appropriate authority, disciplinary action will be taken against him or her”.
Before now…
More than 70 suspects including 52 minors appeared before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja last Friday. They were slammed with ten counts including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance, and mutiny.
Following the arraignment, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) released a statement saying his office would need to look into some issues regarding the matter to enable him make an informed decision. Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs equally intervened. It noted that the case was under review and efforts were on to transfer it to a juvenile court to ensure speedy delivery of justice. Meanwhile, social media has been awash with posts condemning the detention and arraignment of the minors, with several civil society organisations calling on the Federal Government to protect the rights of the underage defendants.
grace
