The four defendants, who looked malnourished and unkempt, slumped shortly after they were called into the dock to take their pleas.
Three minors and one person of adult age brought to face charges related to the August #EndBadGovernance protest slumped at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.
The four defendants, who looked malnourished and unkempt, slumped shortly after they were called into the dock to take their pleas. They are part of a total of 76 defendants brought from detention for arraignment on charges of terrorism, treason and arson in connection with the August protest.
The trial judge, Obiora Egwuatu, abruptly halted the proceedings at the turn of events on Friday.
In August, the court ordered the remand of the 76 individuals for two months based on the request of the police for more time for further investigations. The defendants, who have now been detained for about three months, were initially held in police cells before the police approached the court to obtain an order for their remands in August.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 76 individuals were arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Gombe in connection with the 10-day protest which was held in many parts of the country from 1 to 10 August. The protest turned violent, leading to deaths in some northern states.
When proceedings started on Friday, the lawyer prosecuting for the police, Audu Garba, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment of the 76 defendants, who had been in detention.
Shortly after the defendants reached the dock, Usman Fatihu (21 years), Muhammed Yahaya (14 years), Muktar Ishak Alhassan (16 years) and Mustapha Ibrahim (18 years) slumped.
They are the 68th, 74th, 75th, and76th defendants facing 10 counts of treason and terrorism.
They were subsequently taken out of the courtroom to be attended to.
After some minutes, Mr Egwuatu returned to the courtroom to continue proceedings.
In August, the judge ordered the remand of all of the 76 defendants, including at least 28 minors who are below the age of 18, in prison for two months
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in the application for the detention order on 8 August, accused the detainees of “terrorism, treason, treasonable felony, arson, and other terrorism-related offences.”
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He anchored the application on section 66(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, section 35(1)(C) of the Nigerian constitution, and section 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
A defence lawyer, Abubakar Marshal from Falana and Falana Chambers, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that “the minors are being starved in prison, and have been detained for three months.”
The detention of the defendants has drawn widespread condemnation for the police’s attempt to criminalise protest, and particularly the charging of minors by the police.
The #EndBadGovernance protest
Protesters surged to the streets in major cities around the country between 1 and 10 August to protest against the economic hardship and bad governance in the country.
The protesters blamed the hardship on Mr Tinubu’s economic policies underpinned by the removal of subsidies on petrol and floating of the naira.
The #EndBadGovernance protests sought the reversal of the policies.
(NAN)
