Dozens of alleged protesters were charged to court on Friday, sparking outrage as many of the defendants appeared underaged and malnourished, with the latter being because of a two-months detention.
Four of the suspects who were arrested during an #endbadgovernment protest in August had collapsed on the courtroom floor, writhing in pain before being dismissed so they could to get medical help.
Human rights activists have lambasted the justice system as at least one-third of those brought in for the initial court hearing were visibly underaged, with some of the boys aged between 14 and 18.
All 76 defendants had meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to charges of treason, felony and inciting mutiny.
Rights activists had revealed the defendants had been in custody since August, when protests over a deepening cost-of-living crisis sparked nationwide in Nigeria.
In some states, the demonstrations had turned violent with some of the demonstrators clashing with police forces. At least seven people died from August’s protests, according to police reports, but rights groups say the death toll is closer to 23 There were also almost 700 arrests made.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International had responded to Friday’s court case hearing in Abuja, saying:
“Putting minors through these horrifying detentions for participating in protests against hunger and corruption is – so far – one of the deadliest attempts to suppress freedom of assembly.”
Consequently, a Nigerian rights organisation, Enough is Enough, had tagged the whole affair an “institutional child abuse”.
“These teenagers have been remanded in prison for saying they were hungry. Their place is in school, not prison. Release them now,” Enough is Enough demanded.
Some of the suspects who appeared in court on Friday were charged with flying Russian flags during the protests.
Recall that during the said protests on August, some of the video footage seen showed a small number of protesters waving Russian flags and calling on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for help rescue Nigeria from its leaders.
