At least 125 individuals were brought before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court for participating in the August #EndBadGovernance protest.
The proceedings took a dramatic turn when four defendants, all minors, collapsed in the packed courtroom, likely from exhaustion. The court granted bail to the defendants, who were arraigned in batches, with bail set at N10 million each.
Many appeared emaciated, having been detained for over two months. Security personnel helped four defendants, too weak to stand, out of the courtroom. Those arraigned had been detained from various states, including Abuja, Kano, Plateau, Kaduna, Gombe, and Katsina.
The protests emerged in response to the worsening economic conditions under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with critics accu exacerbating poverty.
Defense counsel Deji Adeyanju raised concerns over the condition of the minors, some of whom had spent over 80 days in police custody, highlighting that many were still young teens. The defendants, mostly teenagers, faced Justice Obiora Egwuatu on terrorism charges filed by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for allegedly chanting anti-government slogans and carrying foreign flags during the protest in Kano State.
Defense lawyer Marshall Abubakar explained that the charges were filed in two groups of 76 and 49. Shortly after the first group entered the dock, several defendants suddenly collapsed, disrupting the proceedings and leading the judge to suspend the hearing. Court health officials were called to assist those affected.
Abubakar attributed the collapse to hunger and illness, noting that many of the defendants are around 12 years old. He remarked, ‘These young children are sick and hungry, having been held in police custody for weeks without adequate food or medical care. They urgently need proper attention, which led to these unfortunate incidents.
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