Tinubu Orders Immediate Release of Minors Arraigned Over Protest

President Tinubu has Directed the Immediate Release of Minors Facing Prosecution

iexclusivenews – President Bola Tinubu has directed that all the minors arrested and facing prosecution in court over their alleged involvement in the #EndBadGovernance protest should immediately be released without prejudice to the law.

This online news media understands that President Tinubu also directed the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to see the welfare of the minors.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents, in Abuja.

However, the Minister said that the President Tinubu said that all the law enforcement agents involved in the arrest, detention, and prosecution of the minors be investigated and anyone found guilty, would face appropriate disciplinary action.

Recall that iexclusivenews reported that the courtroom fall into chaos when the minor defendant, visibly frail after reportedly spending over 80 days in police custody, fainted just as Justice Obiora Egwuatu was preparing to read the charges. Fellow defendants, most of them minors themselves, broke down in tears as lawyers present rushed to assist their collapsed peer to the court’s clinic.

The Nigerian Police Force has leveled a 10-count charge against the defendants, including the serious allegation of treason, under case number FCH/ABJ/CS/503/2024. According to court documents, the charges stem from protests that occurred between July 31 and August 4 in both Abuja and Kano metropolis.

Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, representing the defendants, revealed the troubling detail that these minor individuals have been held in police custody for more than 80 days. This extended detention period has raised significant concerns among human rights organizations and legal experts about the treatment of juvenile protesters within Nigeria’s criminal justice system.