‘Hungry’ minors: Tinubu orders probe as FG backs down

President Bola Tinubu on Monday directed the Attorney-General of the Federation to ensure the immediate release of the minors detained by the Nigeria Police in connection to last August’s protests without prejudice to any ongoing legal processes.

The directive came days after the 76 people, including 30 minors, were charged with treason and inciting a military coup after they were seen waving Russian flags during the #EndBadGovernance protests against economic hardship.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced this to State House correspondents during an emergency briefing at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Idris said after examining the circumstances surrounding the cases, Tinubu issued the directive and emphasized the importance of balancing legal processes with humanitarian concerns.

“I had a short briefing with Mr. President this evening, and he has directed the immediate release of all the minors that have been arrested by the Nigerian police without prejudice to whatever legal processes. They are all minors. The President has directed that all of them be released immediately,” he announced.

In August, Nigeria witnessed widespread protests under the #EndBadGovernance movement, driven by public dissatisfaction with economic hardships and governance issues. The demonstrations escalated, leading to the arrest of 76 individuals, including 30 minors aged between 14 and 17, who were charged with serious offences such as treason and inciting a military coup.

The defendants, who have been in detention for three months, were arrested in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) as well as Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states.

They were arraigned by the Inspector General of Police on 10 counts bordering on treason, intent to destabilize Nigeria and inciting to mutiny by calling on the military to take over the government from President Bola Tinubu, among others.

Notably, during their arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja, at least four minors collapsed, prompting widespread outrage and condemnation from civil society groups and human rights activists.

On Monday, however, the President instructed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to prioritise the immediate welfare of the minors and to ensure they are with their parents or guardians, regardless of their location within the country.

Additionally, an Administrative Committee led by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs will be established to review all aspects related to the minors’ arrest, detention, treatment, and eventual release.

Furthermore, the President mandated an investigation into the actions of all law enforcement agents and officials involved in the minors’ arrest and legal processing, promising appropriate disciplinary measures against cases of misconduct uncovered.

The Information Minister said, “Second, the President has also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to immediately see to the welfare of those minors and also take part to ensure a smooth reunion with their parents or guardians wherever they are in the country.

“Number three, the President has directed that a committee be set up immediately to be headed by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, it is actually an Administrative Committee, to look at all issues surrounding the arrest, detention, treatment, and finally, the release of these minors.

“Fourthly, the President has also directed that all the law enforcement agents involved in the arrest and the legal processes will be investigated, and if there are any infractions found to have been committed by any official of Government, be it a law enforcement agent, or whoever that person may be, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against him or her.”

The Federal High Court reconvenes today for case takeover on the next line of action on the 119 #EndBadGovernance protesters (including minors) arraigned on Friday, November 1.

The arraignment drew backlash as Nigerians condemned the actions of the Inspector-General of Police.

Rights groups pelted the FG for openly arraigning the minors, unlawfully detaining them for three months and allegedly leaving them malnourished.

However, hours after their arraignment, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), directed the IGP to transfer the case file to his office’s Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation.

In a statement issued Monday, the AGF noted that his office needs to examine the case closely to decide the next step.

The AGF also directed the DPPF to immediately kickstart court processes to “bring the adjournment date forward (to an earlier date)” than January 24, slated for substantive hearing.

The PUNCH reported that as directed by the AGF, the IGP, on Saturday, November 2, handed over the case file to the office of the AGF, and parties are working together as the court is set to reconvene early this week.

Also, the defense counsel further disclosed to one of our correspondents that steps are underway to drop the charges preferred against the children, especially with the case taken by the AGF.

A source at the Federal Ministry of Justice further confirmed to this paper that the matter is coming up on Tuesday, November 5, for case takeover.

“The case is coming up for takeover tomorrow,” the source confirmed.

The FG on November 1, arraigned two batches of #EndBadGovernance protesters before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The first batch included 76 protesters, 32 minors aged between 13 and 17. The second batch comprised 43 protesters.

The first batch was charged with a 10-count bordering on treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria, and inciting to mutiny by calling on the military to take over government from President Bola Tinubu, among others.

The charges brought against the 76 protesters, among others, read, Count one: “That between July 31, 2024, to August 4, 2024 at Abuja FCT and Kano Metropolis within the jurisdiction of this court while acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria conspired together to commit Felony to wit: Treason. You, thereby, committed an offence contrary to section 96 and punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code.

Count two, “that within the jurisdiction of this court while acting in concert and with intent to destabilised Nigeria conspired together to commit Felony to wit: inciting to mutiny and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 96 and punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code.

Count three, “that between July 31, 2024, to August 10, 2024 in Abuja FCT, Kaduna, Kano and Gombe, within the jurisdiction of this court while acting in concert with Andrew Martin Wynne (aka Andrew povich) a British Citizen, with intent to destabilised Nigeria levies war against the state to intimidate or overawe the president by attacking and injuring police officers and burning police stations, High Court Complex, NCC Complex. Kano Printing Press, Government House Kano, Kaduna investment and promotions Agency office, NURTW office and several other buildings and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004”.

The FG also accused them of being with the intent to destabilise Nigeria by inciting to mutiny and calling on the military to take over government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by chanting ‘Tinubu most go’ “soja muskeso’ meaning Tinubu must go, it is military we want. At the same time, rioting and disturbing public peace and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 413 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004.

The second batch, who were arraigned on a four-count of similar charges as the first, immediately after the close of proceedings of the first batch, like the 76 defendants earlier arraigned, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.

Borno arraigns protesters

In a similar vein, the Police on Monday in Maiduguri arraigned 19 #EndBadGovernance protesters at the State High Court in Borno State, including three minors.

The suspects were arraigned before Justice Aisha Ali for participating in the nationwide August 1 to 10 protests.

The three minors arraigned alongside the adults are aged between 14 and 17 years.

Attorney-General of Borno State, Hauwa Abubakar, presented two charges accusing the defendants of treason and using social media to defame the state governor, Babagana Zulum, and incite citizens against the state.

The minors are alleged to have joined a social media group in Hausa named Zanga-Zanga (meaning “protest”) on WhatsApp and TikTok, where they reportedly agreed to take arms against the state.

According to the charge sheet, this is an offence punishable under section 79 of the Borno State Penal Code Law, 2023.

Count two accused the11 defendants of displaying the Russian flag in public and chanting “Bama yi” (meaning “we reject” or “we won’t participate”).

According to the government, this act violates section 42 and is punishable under section 76(b) of the state’s penal code.

However, all the defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them. The prosecution requested an adjournment to call witnesses and present evidence.

The defense counsel, Yakubu Adamu, called for an expedited trial, citing that the accused had already spent over 90 days in police detention. “Only with an accelerated hearing can justice be served for these young people before this honourable court,” he argued.

Justice Ali adjourned the case to November 18, 2024, to continue the hearing. She also ordered that the minors be transferred to a juvenile home while the adult defendants be remanded in prison until the next hearing.

Defense counsel reacts

Reacting to Tinubu’s order, the defence counsel, Marshall Abubakar, urged the government to grant scholarships to the minors upon their release.

Abubakar said, “It is a welcome development. But unfortunately, the country had to suffer very fragile fragments of the society that they owe a duty to protect and safeguard their interest.

“This particular situation capitalises on the pitiable state of the country today. It is a welcome development, and we hope the government will live by its promises and take appropriate action to ensure that these children are fully and properly educated from the primary to university levels.

“The government owes them the responsibility of not educating them under section 18 of the Constitution and section 2 of the Universal Basic Education Act. So we call on the government to give these kids scholarships to make up for the trauma that they have suffered at the hands of the Nigerian government.”

CSOs demand compensation

The Executive Director of the Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre, Okechukwu Nwaguma, condemned the initial arrests and prolonged detention of the minors.

“It is good that the President has finally realised that there was really no need in the first place to have arrested minors.

“Arresting them is an abomination, but keeping them in custody for nearly three months in harsh conditions, alongside adults, is an even greater abomination,” Nwaguma said.

He argued that such treatment violates Nigeria’s Child Rights Act, which mandates that all actions involving children prioritise their best interests.

Nwaguma called for the government to publicly apologise to the children, their families, and the nation, and to commit to rehabilitation and reintegration of the minors back into the educational system.

“Those children need rehabilitation and reintegration into the educational system and under the law, those children deserve compensation.

“The President should go ahead to offer a public apology to the country, to those children, their parents, their communities and to the country, and then rehabilitate them. The FG should commit that this kind of thing will not happen again because it is a national shame and international scandal,” he advised.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, expressed similar sentiments, saying, “The release of the minors is a belated decision that ought to have happened when they were arrested.”

Adeniran explained that even if the minors had committed offences, they should have been held in juvenile centres known as remand homes rather than in facilities with adult detainees.

He also criticised the government’s intelligence and security networks, arguing that they failed to inform the president of the legal and ethical issues involved in detaining minors.

“The Ministry of Justice should have advised the president appropriately on why minors should not be subjected to such a harrowing experience under detention,” he added, calling for heads to roll within the security and intelligence apparatuses for their failure to prevent the mishandling of the minors’ cases.

The Country Director of Accountability Lab, Odeh Friday, expressed concern over what he described as troubling trends in police practices.

“We can see the kind of leadership in the Nigerian police or the security agencies who clamped down on the minors. The disturbing issue is the trend in the police force where they clamp down on people unjustly and tag them with various crimes that are nowhere to be found in Nigerian law,” he said.

Friday added that the Inspector General of Police should be held accountable and called for a restructuring of the police force.

He added, “I think the IG of police should go and there should be a restructure of the Nigerian police. We cannot have people crying for bad governance and they will be arrested unjustly and kept in cells.”

Opposition slams FG

In separate interviews with The PUNCH, major opposition parties opined that the current administration could have averted the embarrassing sight.

Reacting, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Mr Obiora Ifoh, stated that though the planned release would relieve their traumatised parents, the dent it leaves on Tinubu’s government would linger for a while.

He said, “We are in support of the immediate release of those minors because it is wicked to detain them in prison with condemned criminals and adults where they were kept for almost 100 days. it is unacceptable. It defies every logic.

“It also shows the character of the government and how they respect human rights. So I think for the president to give an ultimatum that they be released within 24 hours is good. It is something that should be applauded.

“However, it does not vitiate that they delved into something they ought to have avoided in the first place. It was also unfortunate to hear some government officials saying the boys were acting a script. This shows how insincere these people in government can be.

“So, in as much as the president has ordered their release, this embarrassment has also dented the image of this government, and it will take some time to be able to launder it. What this government has committed with these children’s arrest is an immortal sin.”

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said since its inauguration on May 29, 2023, the Tinubu administration has brought nothing but pain and agony to the masses.

Abdullahi insisted that the international embarrassment and the ugly scene the prosecution of minors has caused could have been avoided had the government been sensitive.

He explained, “It was an avoidable error on the part of the government. It could have been averted. But we have always known that this is an irresponsible government, first on account of its policies since it came to power and how it got the power. All these things are questionable.

“It wouldn’t be this painful as if it is a government that cares for the people, which you and I know is not the case. These are children who knew nothing. Even as we speak, none of them is aware of the magnitude of the offence they are charged with. They don’t even know what is meant by treason. These are young men who just assume that it is child’s play.

“Secondly, whatever the government does now cannot amount to damage control. It is something they are doing out of coercion because they have seen the entire national and international community descending on them and looking at them like demons. So they know that this singular act can break down their government. That is why they are trying to retrace their steps.

“But it is already late because nobody takes them seriously again. All the things the Bola Tinubu-led administration has done since it came into power is to inflict penury and pain on the citizenry. The entire North is already mobilising for 2027. Let’s see who among them will come and seek support from Northerners. This development is already being seen as targeting the Northerners, which is unfortunate,” he stated.

In a related development, the National Secretary of New Nigeria People’s Party, Dipo Olaoyoku, also expressed his disappointment over how the Federal Government handled the matter despite the outrage from the public.

However, Olaoyoku said Tinubu should be commended for mustering the courage to do the right thing eventually.

“First, we need to commend the president for listening to Nigerians. I think it started when he directed the AGF to look into the case of the children and how they were arrested.

“But the question we should ask is, why wait till the issue becomes an international embarrassment for Nigeria? This issue could have been averted.

“It was also unfortunate these children could be subjected to that kind of torture in a democracy. How can they treat such kids in the manner they did, as if they are grown-ups?”