The Northern Youths Assembly has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately withdraw all charges against minors facing trial for allegedly participating in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests.
In a statement issued in Kano on Saturday, the group urged the President to “release those boys unconditionally to avoid further embarrassment to the Government and to the Nigerian criminal justice system, in the interest of fairness, upholding the rule of law, and principles of democracy.”
Some of the minors, detained by the police since August, reportedly collapsed in the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday as they were brought to the court from various police detention centers, including the Intelligence Response Team.
The statement, signed by the Assembly’s President, Dr. Ali Idris Mohammed, and Secretary General, Dr. Garba Abdulhafiz, read, “The National Leadership of the Northern Youth Assembly (Majalisar Matasan Arewa), on behalf of the Nineteen Northern States Chapters, wishes to unequivocally express our dismay over the content of a viral video showing underage children looking hungry, depressed, exhausted, and malnourished, arraigned before the high court in Abuja on charges of raising foreign flags during an anti-government protest held from August 1 to 10, 2024, nationwide.”
The group stated, “We believe the events in court represent a further blow to the little integrity left in the Nigerian judiciary and criminal justice system. This is devastating, heartbreaking, and appalling.”
According to the Assembly, Nigerian criminal law mandates that all criminal cases be brought before the court within 48 hours, and any deviation infringes on suspects’ fundamental rights, “except under strict instructions from a competent court of law.”
The statement criticized the prolonged detention of “helpless and impoverished children by Federal Government authorities, which not only disregards the laws of the land but also threatens the future of these young individuals and, in extreme cases, endangers their lives.”
The Assembly argued that the display of foreign flags by citizens during protests has become a global practice, signifying public dissatisfaction with their government.
The statement continued, “It is clear to us that this Government has assumed the status of an undemocratic regime, disregarding the extant laws of the land and systematically transforming into an authoritarian administration characterized by nepotism, favoritism, and ill-will toward certain sections of the country.”
The Assembly cited the recent protest in London led by Yoruba Nation advocate Mr. Sunday Igboho, where he openly declared the Yoruba Nation’s intent to secede from Nigeria and submitted a petition to the UK Prime Minister, without facing arrest.
They further criticized the APC government’s decision to begin the trial of minors detained in August for protesting what they called the APC’s poor governance. “Some of these young protesters appeared in court visibly malnourished, with many collapsing from hunger and illness after enduring over 90 days of prolonged detention by Nigerian authorities.”
The group described the sight of “starving youths detained merely for speaking out” as an affront to the criminal justice system, humanity, and democracy.
They concluded, “It is both unacceptable and deeply disquieting that children, minors, and young Nigerians have been held since August over unfounded allegations of attempting to destabilize the government, exposing a disturbing disregard for the rights and welfare of these young people as Nigerians.”
