Rabiu Kwankwaso, the New Nigeria Peoples Party presidential candidate, has strongly criticized the Nigeria Police Force for arraigning 76 defendants, including several minors, in connection with the #EndBadGovernance protest.
The minors, arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states, face charges such as treason and looting.
However, Rimazonte Ezekiel, a Federal Government prosecutor, claimed that all arraigned protesters were adults, stating that “most of them are married men.”
Kwankwaso who expressed shock and outrage via X said, “I am shocked by the arraignment of 67 (sic) minors by the Nigeria Police Force at a court in Abuja, for alleged participation in the #EndBadGovernance Protest.”
He emphasized that these children, visibly malnourished and requiring medical attention, were subjected to cruel treatment when they should be in school.
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“The arraignment of such a number of minors in their states is highly unusual and negates every tenet of the protection of human rights and dignity,” Kwankwaso stated.
He also criticized the stringent bail conditions, calling it “absurd” that a teenager must source 10 million Naira and a grade 15 civil servant for bail.
Kwankwaso cited the Child’s Rights Act 2003, Section 11, which protects children from physical, mental, or emotional injury, abuse, neglect, or maltreatment.
He urged authorities to reconsider the charges against the minors and allow them to reunite with their families.
The incident sparked commotion at the federal high court in Abuja, with some minors collapsing while waiting to be arraigned.
The court granted bail of N10 million each, while the prosecutor requested removal of the collapsed minors’ names from the charge.
