FG Drops Charges Against Minors in #EndBadGovernance Protests

The Federal Government has dropped the charges against minors who were part of the #EndBadGovernance protests. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, took over the case and told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the government would not continue the case against the young protesters.

The decision to drop the charges came from the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar. He based his decision on specific sections of the Nigerian Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act. He also asked the court to proceed without the minors being present, following the rules that protect children’s rights in court.

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, along with other defense lawyers, agreed with this decision. As a result, the judge in charge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, officially ended the charges.

This decision follows an incident where four of the minors, aged between 14 and 17, collapsed in court last Friday. They were visibly sick and weak. Because of this and the public’s strong reaction, the police removed these four from the list of those being charged, and the rest faced strict bail conditions.

After this event caused widespread concern, the Attorney-General asked the police to give him the case files for review. Following his review, President Bola Tinubu ordered that the charges be withdrawn immediately and called for a full investigation into why the minors were arrested and detained in the first place.