President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of all minors detained for their alleged involvement in the #EndBadGovernance protests in August.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Monday, while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with the President.
“The president has directed the immediate release of all the minors that have been arrested by the police without prejudice to any legal processes there are”, Idris said.
Emphasising the government’s recognition of the rights of children and the importance of due process, Idris said President Tinubu’s decision comes without prejudice to any ongoing legal processes and underscores the administration’s dedication to ensuring justice and fairness.
To oversee the implementation of these directives, President Tinubu has mandated the establishment of a committee led by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. This committee will be tasked with ensuring that the welfare of the released minors is adequately addressed as well as their smooth reunion with family members.
The President has further called for an investigation into the actions of law enforcement agencies involved in the arrests of all the minors, adding that anyone found in breach of the law will face disciplinary action.
THEWILL reports that the president’s directives follows recent outrage over their arraignment at the Federal High Court on Friday, by the Police. Four of the minors had collapsed upon their arraignment.
One of the lawyers representing the defendants, Deji Adeyanju, had earlier disclosed that the minors, ages between 12 and 15, had spent over 80 days in police custody. They were allegedly arrested on August 3 and 4, 2024, and had since been in detention.
Adeyanju said the minors are among many others that were arrested in Abuja and Kano state on August 3 and 4, 2024, during #EndBadGovernance protest.
They were arraigned on Friday, on a 10-count charge bordering on Treasonable felony, Rioting, destruction of public property, assaulting security officials, and looting/theft of public property, among others.
A charge sheet signed by its team of lawyers, led by DCP Simon Lough, SAN, the Police alleged that the defendants, alongside others that are currently at large, had between July 31 and August 4, at Abuja and Kano metropolis, while acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspired together to commit felony.