From Godwin Tsa Abuja
No fewer than 125 were arraigned for participating in the August nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.
It was a dramatic proceedings as four of the defendants, who are minors, collapsed in the crowded courtroom presumably out of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the defendants, who were arraigned in batches, were granted bail in the sum of N10 million each.
Many of the defendants appeared emaciated after over two months in detention. Security officers assisted four individuals out of the courtroom, as they were too weak to stand.
Protesters arraigned were picked up from different states, including Abuja, Kano, Plateau, Kaduna, Gombe and Katsina.
The protests arose in response to Nigeria’s worsening economic hardship under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, as citizens criticised his policies for failing to alleviate hunger and hardship.
According to their counsel, Deji Adeyanju, the minors had spent over 80 days in Police custody. Adeyanju expressed concerns about their well-being, emphasising that many are still minors.
The defendants, who are mostly teens, were brought before Justice Obiora Egwuatu for arraignment on terrorism charge filed against them by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
They were alleged to have participated in the last #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano State, during which they allegedly chanted anti-government slogans and carried foreign flags.
According to one of the defence lawyers, Marshall Abubakar, the defendants were charged in two batches of 76 and 49.
Shortly after the first batch was called, the defendants were mounting the dock when some of them suddenly fell down, causing confusion in the court, a development that prompted the judge to suspend proceedings.
Health officials from the court’s clinic were invited to attend to those who collapsed.
Abubakar blamed the development on hunger and ill-health on the part of the defendants. He said most of the defendants were mostly teens of about 12 years old.
He said: “All these young children are sick and hungry. They have been kept in police custody for weeks without food and proper medical care. They are sick and need proper attention. That is the cause of these unfortunate developments.”