The Labour Party leader and the Presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 polls, Peter Obi, has strongly denounced the poor handling of protesters, including minors, brought to the court under degrading conditions.
Obi said that the constitution in democratic dispensation allows the people to protest against any bad governance that is affecting their livelihood.
This is just as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice in Nigeria, Lateef Fagbemi, has reacted to the outrage over the inhuman conditions minors were kept and brought to court, saying that he has “directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the casefile to my office and hand over same to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) tomorrow, Saturday 2nd November, 2024.”
To assuage the feeling of Nigerians, the Minister added that he has further “directed the DPPF to immediately put machinery in motion for consideration of the court to bring the adjournment date forward (an earlier date).”
Fagbemi’s full statement read: “It has just come to my notice that the police have arraigned those arrested in connection with the endbad governance violent protest in court for various offences including treason.
“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me take an informed decision.
“I am aware that the court has remanded the defendants in detention centres and adjourned the case to January.
“It is not within my power to vary the order of the court remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January. I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the casefile to my office and hand over same to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) tomorrow, Saturday 2nd November, 2024.
“I have further directed the DPPF to immediately put machinery in motion for consideration of the court to bring the adjournment date forward (an earlier date).”
Peter Obi, writing in his X handle on Friday, called on relevant authorities to investigate the horrendous incident that is an embarrassment to the country in the eyes of the global community.
According to the former Anambra State Governor: “I just watched the disturbing and condemnable scenes captured in a circulating video, showing 124 protesters—among them minors—appearing in court today as part of efforts to secure the enforcement of their fundamental rights.
“The footage reveals minors, some so weak that they could barely stand, others fainting from sheer exhaustion and lack of nourishment. These children appeared visibly malnourished and starved—a condition that should alarm the conscience of every citizen in our nation.
“From their look, they were poorly handled despite being in the custody of the federal government of Nigeria.
“The offense alleged against these suspects, including minors, is protesting against bad governance that was directly affecting their livelihood and which our constitution under a democratic dispensation guarantees them. Curiously, most of the people in government today leveraged this aspect of the Constitution standing as champions of good governance while in opposition.
“Moreover, our status presumes that suspects deserve some dignity, even in a correctional home as human beings.
“The reason why we should all be concerned about a situation like this is because we are part of a global community where human dignity should be respected.
“May I appreciate the presiding lordship for halting the trial and saving the country further embarrassment it would have been to the World as a democratic nation?
“I would like to call on relevant authorities, especially the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, the Police, and the DSS, as well as the National Human Rights Commission, to thoroughly investigate such inhuman treatment of minors to avert such incidents in the future.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Custodial Centre in Kuje, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) does not have the borstal facility to accommodate the #EndBadGovernance protest defendants as ordered by the court.
Following the bail granted to the 76 defendants who are mostly minors on Friday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu also ordered the remand of the minors in a borstal facility at the Kuje Centre while the others are to be held in regular cells pending the fulfilment of the bail terms.
