The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project SERAP has called for the unconditional release of minors who were arraigned on Friday for their involvement in the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest last August.
The minors who were arrested in August were accused of plotting to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu and were remanded in prison for 60 days by Justice Emeka Nwite.
In a post on Friday, SERAP urged the Federal government to drop all charges against the 76 minors who were between 13 and 15 years old.
“The Tinubu administration must unconditionally release the 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters and drop all charges of ‘treasonable felony’ against them, or face legal action. No one should ever be punished for the peaceful exercise of their human rights.”
Meanwhile, Justice Obiora Egwuatu granted each of the defendants N10 Million Bail with two sureties in like sum. He ruled that one of the sureties must be a civil servant in grade level 15 or higher with a verifiable address while the other surety must be the guardian or parents of the protester.
The court also dropped charges against five minors after they collapsed in the courtroom. The minors, who had been detained since August 2024, were crying and in distress due to maltreatment and hunger in the system.
