The duo of former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and ex-Governor Peter Obi have slammed President Bola Tinubu-led administration for the sordid pictures of minors arraigned at the Federal High Court for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 general elections, described the pictures and videos of malnourished children being arraigned court as a horrible scene reminiscent of a Nazi concentration camp during the second world war.
“A disturbing video of malnourished children being arraigned before a Federal High Court on the orders of the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has been brought to my notice,” the former vice president said in statement issued on Friday.
“The horrible scene reminiscent of a Nazi concentration camp once again reflects the low premium the current government places on the lives of the vulnerable, especially children.
“For emphasis, Section 11 of the Child’s Rights Act guarantees dignity of the child.
It states that, “Every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no child shall be ‐ (a) subjected to physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse; (b) subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
“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 just being arraigned three months later, one can only imagine the sort of dehumanizing conditions they had been subjected to and have been detained all this while.”
He said that it is reprehensible that a man who claims to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy and had led protests, now demonises those who decide to demonstrate against the effects of his harsh and draconian policies.
“Children who are the most affected by these policies have every right to protest peacefully, as guaranteed by the Constitution and the Child Rights Act. A nation can be assessed by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. It is saddening that even underage children are not spared from the wickedness of T Pain.
“The disturbing condition under which the alleged accused children were brought to court projects the very justification for their participation in the protest in the first place,” he stated.
In the same vein, Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi responded as follows:
I just watched the disturbing and condemnable scenes captured in a circulating video, showing 124 protesters—among them minors—appearing in court today as part of efforts to secure the enforcement of their fundamental rights.
The footage reveals minors, some so weak that they could barely stand, others fainting from sheer exhaustion and lack of nourishment. These children appeared visibly malnourished and starved—a condition that should alarm the conscience of every citizen in our nation.
From their look, they were poorly handled despite being in the custody of the federal government of Nigeria.
The offense being alleged against these suspects, including minors, is protesting against bad governance that was directly affecting their livelihood and which our constitution under a democratic dispensation guarantees them. Curiously, most of the people in government today leveraged this aspect of the Constitution standing as champions of good governance while in opposition.
Moreover, our status presumes that suspects deserve some dignity, even in a correctional home as human beings.
The reason why we should all be concerned about a situation like this is because we are part of a global community where human dignity should be respected.
May I appreciate the presiding lordship for halting the trial and saving the country further embarrassment it would have been to the World as a democratic nation?
I would like to call on relevant authorities, especially the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, the Police, and the DSS, as well as the National Human Rights Commission, to thoroughly investigate such inhuman treatment of minors to avert such incidents in the future.
See the controversial video as shared:
Ede Nwa Ede
