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The harrowing spectacle of emaciated, traumatized, impoverished, underage children being paraded before a Federal High Court in Abuja, last Friday, for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protests is a sickening indictment of the Nigerian government’s cruelty and its brazen disregard for public decorum and human decency. Parading these visibly malnourished and shackled children, who should be in classrooms or at play, through a courtroom as if they were hardened criminals is an abominable betrayal of justice that reveals a chilling disdain for human rights and a level of cruelty that defies comprehension and basic common sense.....Read Full Article>>
These children, some so frail they collapse in court, have become symbols of President Tinubu’s ruthless obsession with silencing dissent – an obsession so severe it sees defenseless, malnourished children as threats worthy of public humiliation and prosecution. The fact that these children – voices of a generation yearning for change and seeking a better future – are now victims of an oppressive system that sees them as criminals is profoundly alarming. This disgraceful miscarriage of justice is an unbelievable national shame, that dragged Nigeria down to a hitherto unprecedented low in moral degeneracy, and warrants nothing less than an unequivocal global condemnation. To save Nigeria any further embarrassment, Tinubu must end this act of judicial brigandage immediately and free all the arrested children. If he allows this pathetic and shameful attack on civilized society to proceed, he will forever tarnish his legacy, and the verdict of history will be merciless.
The shocking sight of starving, shackled children dragged before a Federal High Court reveals a level of barbarism that Nigerians should all be ashamed of. Justice Obiora Egwatu admitted 114 protesters, including the underaged children, to bail in the sum of N10 million each, after they pleaded not guilty to their respective charges, preferred against them by the Inspector General (IG) of Police. The police in the 10-count charge, accused the defendants of acting in concert with one Andrew Martin Wynne, a Briton, to destabilize Nigeria, during the August 1, #Endbadgovernance protests.
The defendants were further alleged to have attacked and injured police officers and burned police stations, a high court complex, among other acts of arson. Justice Egwatu, who observed that some of the defendants were under 18 years old, ordered that the adults be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Service, while the minors be remanded in the Borstal Home of the Correctional Service. He subsequently adjourned till January 24, 2025 for trial. During the arraignment, four children collapsed, leading to a suspension of proceedings.
Watching these vulnerable children, the insensitivity is simply mind-boggling and inexcusable. By prosecuting these children, the Tinubu administration has demonstrated an appalling prioritization of power over humanity, opting to silence the youth instead of addressing their grievances. These images are more than disturbing; they expose in spectacular fashion, the hollow nature of a government that professes to protect its citizens but crushes the most vulnerable when they dare demand accountability. This is not merely an injustice; it is a monstrous abuse of power, revealing a government willing to exploit every ounce of its authority to terrorize even the youngest of its citizens. These actions are nothing short of barbaric, showing an absolute failure to uphold basic human decency, let alone the rights of children who dared to dream of a better Nigeria. Each day these children remain detained, prosecuted, and brutalized is a stain on Nigeria’s conscience and a call for global condemnation. The world must not turn a blind eye as Nigeria tortures its youth in a relentless, oppressive campaign to squash every dissenting voice that cries out for justice.
A nation reveals itself by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. The disturbing conditions under which the alleged accused children were brought to court vindicates the very justification for their participation in the protest in the first place. The children are being prosecuted for their alleged role in the #EndBadGovernance protests, which took place between August 1 and August 10, 2024. If they are being arraigned three months later, the dehumanizing treatment they had been subjected to all this while, can only be best imagined. It is unfathomable that Nigeria, a country that claims to champion children’s rights, would subject minors to such harsh, dehumanizing treatment for daring to raise their voices in peaceful protests. When children in a democratic society find it necessary to join protests to demand better governance, the response from the state should be self-reflection, not brutality. Yet, in Nigeria, children who sought a better future, have been detained, malnourished, humiliated, and dragged through a judicial process that even adults should not be subjected to for peaceful protests. That children have to risk their lives to voice their demands for basic rights is a condemnation of Tinubu’s leadership, which has repeatedly failed its youngest citizens. These children were arrested during protests sparked by frustration with rising costs of living, hunger, systemic poverty, corruption, bad governance, and the brutal suppression of dissent. Rather than address the legitimate concerns raised by protesters, the Nigerian government has chosen to vilify, intimidate, and read the riot act. The prosecution of these children symbolizes a gross abuse of power and a betrayal of the responsibility and trust that a government should uphold for its youth.
Moreover, the psychological impact of such traumatic experiences on these children cannot be overstated. The trauma of being arrested, detained, and prosecuted can have long-lasting effects on their mental health and development. The circumstances alone—a courtroom filled with impoverished children, some collapsing from hunger—paint a damning picture of the Nigerian justice system. It is a cruel irony that these children, who were protesting for a better future, are now being denied the very future they were fighting for. These children deserve justice, not punishment. They deserve to be protected, not persecuted. And they deserve a future where their rights are respected and upheld. These children should have been given care, not charges; their grievances addressed, not suppressed. Instead, they were met with shackles, as Nigeria responded by punishing them for their poverty……Read Full Article
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