Following a recent viral video on the X app regarding the prosecution of minors who protested during the #BadGovernance movement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of all prosecuted minors.
This was announced by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement to the State House Correspondents in Abuja.
In a show of concern over the detention of minors, President Tinubu directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to investigate and ensure that the law is fully applied to law enforcement agents involved in the unlawful act.
It was noted that the arrests violated human rights and the Child Rights Act, as the 32 detainees are under 18 years old.
Activist organizations, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), and Concerned Parents and Educators (CPE), condemned the actions and denounced the treason charges filed against the detained minors.
In a call to action, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the president to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to immediately and unconditionally release all protesters arrested during the #EndBadGovernance movement.
SERAP stated, “The immediate and unconditional release of all #EndBadGovernance protesters, including 32 hungry and malnourished children, is necessary.”
According to SERAP, for the peaceful exercise of fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly, and association without fear of persecution or undue restriction, all detained protesters should be released.
In response to the president’s directive, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, commented that his office “will need to review the matter to enable me to make an informed decision.”
