ABUJA – Four minors, who were among 76 persons the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, charged for participating in the recent #EndBadGovernance protest that held across the country, on Friday, slumped before they could be arraigned in court.
The teenagers, between the ages of 14 and 17, who appeared ill and malnourished, collapsed before a trial judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, shortly after they were marshalled in for arraignment.
While some of the defendants huddled in the dock, others stood outside the cubicle owing to limited space.
The Inspector General of Police, who constituted a five-man team of lawyers led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Simon Lough, SAN, to handle the prosecution, disclosed that the protesters were arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Gombe state.
They were slammed with a 10-count charge that bordered on treason.
Meanwhile, when the case was called up on Friday, a police prosecutor, Mr. Audu Garba, applied for the charge to be read to the defendants to enable them to enter their plea to the charge.
However, before the reading of the charge could commence, four of the defendants who were later identified as Muhammed Yahaya (14 years), Muktar Ishak Alhassan (16), Mustapha Ibrahim (18) and Usman Fatihu (21), fainted.
They were cited as the 68th, 74th, 75th, and 76th defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/503/2024.
The development forced trial Justice Obiora Egwuatu to abruptly halt the proceedings and enter back into his chambers, while lawyers rushed to help the frail looking boys that remained on the floor of the courtroom.
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They were later moved to the court’s clinic for medical attention.
When the court resumed its proceeding after the matter was stood-down for about 30 minutes, the prosecution counsel applied to delist the four affected defendants from the charge, a prayer that was granted by Justice Egwuatu.
Meantime, the remaining 72 defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge, even as their lawyers urged the court to release them on bail, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1852284983810941167
In his brief ruling, the trial judge granted each of the defendants’ bail in the sum of N10million with two sureties in like sum.
Justice Egwuatu held that one of the sureties must be a civil servant not below grade level 15, who must have a verifiable address that is within the court’s jurisdiction.
According to the court, the second surety must be a parent of the defendant.
One of the counsel representing the defendants, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, earlier disclosed that they had spent over 80 days in police custody before their arraignment on Friday.
Specifically, police alleged that the defendants, alongside others that are currently at large, had between July and August, while acting in concert and with intent to destabilize Nigeria, conspired together to commit felony.
It alleged that the defendants committed treason, an offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code and punishable under section 97 of the Code.
Police alleged that while acting in concert with one Andrew Martin Wynne (aka Andrew Povich) a British citizen, the defendants, with the intent to destabilize Nigeria, levied war against the state in order to intimidate or overawe the President by attacking and injuring police officers and burning police stations.
It told the court that some properties the defendants allegedly destroyed, included; High Court Complex, NCC Complex, Kano Printing Press, Government House Kano, Kaduna Investment & Promotion Agency office, as well as NURTW office, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3, LFN 2004.
Police further alleged that the defendants attempted to incite mutiny by calling on the military to take over government from President Bola Tinubu by chanting ‘Tinubu must go’, ‘Soja Musketo’, which it said meant that ‘Tinubu must go, it is military we want’, while rioting and disturbing public peace, an offence contrary to Section 413 of the Penal Code.
More so, it told the court that the defendants carried Russian flags while chanting violent songs, contrary to Section 1(3) (a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act CAP M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Likewise, it accused the defendants of displaying in public places, Russian flags while chanting violent revolutionary songs, agitating for Russian Invasion of Nigerian Sovereign entity to topple the democratic government of Nigeria, an offence contrary to Section 114 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 111 of the Code.
Whereas 11 of the defendants are teenagers between ages 14 and 17, the oldest defendant in the charge is 34, while others are between ages 18 to 24.
The case was adjourned to January 24, 2025, for hearing.