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A Counsel to the Federal Government, Rimazonte Ezekiel, has refuted claims that some of the suspects arraigned on Friday over the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests are minors.
Tribune Online reports that Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted a bail of N10 million each to 67 minors out of the 76 arraigned for participating in the protest.
The court ruling follows a tense atmosphere as a 15-year-old boy among the accused collapsed before the trial began, prompting courtroom staff and lawyers to rush him to the court clinic.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the bail was granted, Ezekiel told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the defendants, who have been charged with conspiracy to commit felony and treason, were not minors but adults, including married men and university graduates.
The protests, held in Kaduna and Zaria, called for an end to bad governance and saw young demonstrators waving foreign flags, which Ezekiel argued was part of an attempt to destabilise the country.
He said, “These boys that we brought to the court today, all of them are adults. Most of them are married men. None of them is a minor. Some of them are university graduates. The small kids you are seeing here came with some of their parents to greet their loved ones. They are not even the real suspects standing trial in this case. These boys were arrested in Kaduna and Zaria.
“Imagine the level we find ourselves now. Do you know how much it costs us to be at this level of our democracy? These young boys are trying to destabilize Nigeria, using foreign flags of other countries and calling on the military to remove our president. Is it fair to even remove the state governors because they do not want democracy anymore?
“These boys, for no reason, started protesting with foreign, Russian flags. Is that what we want in this country? Don’t mind the defence counsel; they will always say something to tarnish the image of the Nigerian police. It is not true. In my own case, we filed a charge against 43 defendants, and all of them are produced today. All of them are adults. Forget what they are telling you that they are small children. Ask the defence counsel: do they truly know the suspects they are defending?”
The detention and subsequent prosecution of the suspects have continued to generate reactions from all and sundry, with some describing the development as shocking and shameful.
