Amnesty International Nigeria and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have condemned the ongoing detention of minors involved in the August #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests.
In August 2024, Nigerian youths protested against the hardships and poor governance under the current administration, leading to numerous arrests by security forces. Today, 76 protesters were arraigned in court, with one minor collapsing during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In response, SERAP took to social media to demand the immediate release of the protesters and the dropping of all charges of ‘treasonable felony’ against them. They stated, “The Tinubu administration must unconditionally release the 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters and drop all charges against them or face legal action. No one should be punished for peacefully exercising their human rights.”
SERAP criticized the government’s actions as an attempt to instill fear and evade scrutiny while denying citizens their fundamental rights. “Nigeria deserves better than this,” they added.
Amnesty International echoed these sentiments, condemning the detention of minors and urging the federal government to release all detained individuals. They emphasized the importance of upholding constitutional and international human rights, including freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“President Bola Tinubu’s government must immediately and unconditionally release these minors, as the ongoing attempts to subject them to sham trials reflect a disregard for the rule of law,” the organization stated.
Amnesty also highlighted the plight of children in detention, noting that in Katsina, at least 12 minors under 16 were arrested simply for being on the streets during the protests. They warned that another group of 43 protesters faces similar treason charges in the same court, criticizing the authorities for escalating efforts to suppress peaceful protest through unlawful detentions.
“The detention of these minors, subjecting them to traumatic experiences for exercising their right to protest, is unacceptable. The government must release all of them immediately and unconditionally.”
Peoplesmind
