Human rights advocacy groups under the umbrella of Network of Abuja Left Groups, have said President Bola Tinubu is running a cruel, heinous and punitive government with deliberate weaponisation of Nigerians, especially minors with hunger.
The groups said this in a statement issued on Friday while condemning in strongest terms, the continued detention and prosecution of 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters, out of whom, 32 are minors, among whom five collapsed in Abuja Federal High Court on Friday during their arraignment.
The groups demanded unconditional release of all detained protesters, especially minors; immediate suspension of all exorbitant bail conditions granted to the protesters; transparent investigation into the maltreatment of underage detainees, including starvation, physical abuse, and psychological trauma at IRT and other detention centers, and an end to the criminalisation of protest and dissent voices in the country.
The statement was jointly signed by Comrade Gerald O Katchy of the National Secretary Committee for the Defence of Human Rights; Omole Ibukun of the Creative Change Centre; Salako Kayode of the Revolutionary Socialist Movement; Hauwa Mustapha of the ASVAB and Comrade Destiny Destiny of the Civil Rights Council.
Others are Agena Robert Ande of Take it Back Movement; Maxwell Adeyemi of the Socialist Labour; Adekunle Gbolahan of the Democratic socialist movement and Youth Rights Campaign, and Chinedu Chinedu of the Movement for African Emancipation.
The groups said that the arraignment of the protesters before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja exposes the gross and tone-deaf indifference of all arms of the Nigerian government to justice and the well-being of Nigerians.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the court granted each of the protesters, including minors, an exorbitant bail condition of N10million and two grade level 15 civil servants in the like sum as surety, with verifiable addresses within jurisdiction, and that one of the sureties must be a parent of the children.
The groups said, “These impossible bail conditions defy the basic principles of fairness and accessibility, given that half of the last set of 11 protesters that were arraigned in this same court complex could not meet a similarly stringent bail condition and had to come back to court for variation. But this is not the worst of today’s court sitting!”
The groups noted that the more alarming event witnessed in court on Friday is the physical collapse of five minors in the courtroom because of the deplorable conditions of their detention and the violent repression of those whose only “crime” was to demand a dignified life.
“The collapse of these malnourished children in court on trial for treason has exposed a cruel and punitive system that has abandoned its duty to protect and nourish its own children.
“Detained since August, these young Nigerians were reportedly denied adequate food, medical care, and basic human decency.
“This is what led to the visible signs of starvation we saw today. This deliberate weaponisation of hunger against minors, who languish in detention for exercising their constitutional rights, is a heinous abuse of power that contravenes any pretense of justice,” the groups stated.
The groups also condemned the temporality of the withdrawal of charges against the five minors who collapsed, stressing that that will only subject them to re-arrangements upon recovery.
“We must state what we witnessed in the courtroom today the way it should be said – underage and malnourished Nigerians fainted when they were called to enter the dock, not because they were guilty, but because they were denied food and health care by the very state that now accuses them of treason.
“This treason accusation was for a protest against the same hunger that has now become a weapon against their stomach.
“This moment should compel all Nigerians to ask: what is the Tinubu government so afraid of? Are these the harmless children that the Tinubu government has accused of overthrowing their government and destabilizing the nation?” the group said.
They questioned why the Tinubu-All Progressives Congress (APC) administration perpetrated such brutality against the voices of its most vulnerable citizens, having led and sponsored protests in the past without harassment.
The groups added, “A few days ago, we witnessed the bail condition of N500,000 and the provision of a utility bill for a house of representatives member who specialises in making citizens disappear.
“It is important to ask these questions because our answer is that Nigeria is now an anti-democratic system that inflicts injustice on its citizens especially the poor and vulnerable and curtails their freedoms, including the freedom of speech and protest, under the guise of national security.
“This repression must inspire us that the Nigerian people’s fight is not merely for survival or against hunger but for the very possibility of a society rooted in justice, human dignity and social equality.
“We call on all Nigerians, human rights organizations, and the international community to stand with us in demanding justice for the #EndBadGovernance protesters. The people united against oppression can never be defeated.
“We will continue to resist until our society upholds the fundamental rights and dignity of every Nigerian, old or young.
“We are disappointed with the trial judge’s bail conditions, it is obvious that these Protesters may not get justice under this Judge with what happened in court today, it is better he rescue himself from the trial than making Nigeria a joke in the human rights rating in the world.”
They demanded, “Unconditional release of all detained protesters, especially minors, so that they can return to their families without further delay.
“Immediate suspension of all exorbitant bail conditions, for a review of these conditions.
“Transparent investigation into the maltreatment of underage detainees, including starvation, physical abuse, and psychological trauma at IRT and other detention centers.
“An end to the criminalization of protest and dissent, because it is the foundation of democracy itself.”
