#ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTESTS AND THE LIMITS OF PROSECUTION

#ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTESTS AND THE LIMITS OF PROSECUTION

(Being a press release by Zarephath Aid on the arraignment of young persons for treason by the Federal Government)

 

1. On Friday November 1^st 2024, Nigerians and indeed the global world were jolted at the sight of scores of young persons shepherded by security agents into the premises of the Federal High Court Abuja in preparation for their arraignment in court.
2. Their presence at the Federal High Court ended a 90-day detention experience in the dingy and inhumane cells of the Nigeria Police Force and commenced another journey that could terminate in their death, that is, if the court finds them guilty of the charge of treason for which they were arraigned and which they are expected to enter defence to.
3. The process of arraignment took a more sordid turn when a number of the defendants who appeared underage experienced fainting spells prompting hurried interventions by lawyers and litigants alike. It was glaring, from the scrawny appearance of the young men that they had been through quite a great ordeal during the unconstitutionally long period they were detained pending conclusion of investigations.
4. The charge of treason preferred against this set of defendants is a fallout of the August 1^st Nation-wide protests tagged #Endbadgovernance protests, during which thousands of people were badgered, arrested and dumped in several detention cells of the Police and DSS for daring to protest against hunger that was and is still ravaging the land. While some of the arrested persons have been arraigned, quite a significant number is still languishing in the cells kept incommunicado at the pleasure of their captors.
5. Bail was subsequently granted the defendants in the sum of N10m and the suretyship of a level 15 officer in the civil service; conditions which are impossible to fulfill by these obviously impoverished young men.
6. The Police, in their characteristic ineptitude, contested the age of the defendants insisting that they were above 18 years old with wives and children.
7. As an Organization envisioned with criminal justice and custodial reforms we state unequivocally that the arrest and arraignment of these young persons for treason presented a despicable spectacle at a time Nations are striving to elevate the discourse on the rights and livelihood of their citizens. The fact that the age of the young men generated a buzz necessitating the police to offer their defence is even more shameful.
8. While we welcome the intervention of the Attorney General in taking over the case file from the Police and President Tinubu in ordering the release of the minors, we make to state as follows;
   1. That the trial of everyone connected to the protests be handled transparently and conscientiously by the law officers who are assigned to handle it.
   2. That the defence team of the defendants be granted every constitutional facility to adequately represent them.
   3. That the judiciary, presently the butt of caricature, should take its rightful place in adjudication in this matter and others without fear, favour or interference in line with their oath of office.
   4. That the Government order law enforcement agencies to arraign or immediately release everyone held in connection with any protest in Nigeria.
   5. That the Attorney General painstakingly review the proof of evidence in the charge of treason with a view to substituting it for a lesser charge.
   6. That the trial of these defendants and others should adhere strictly with the provisions on expeditious hearing in the Administration of criminal justice Act 2015 and the Judiciary should drive it.
   7. That the Government should work with rehab-specific Organizations to rehabilitate the released minors comprehensively.
9. It is worthy of note to add that our correctional facilities are bursting at the seams with overcrowding in non-existent welfare or correctional conditions requiring a declaration of a state of emergency. The impact of the present harsh economy in the prisons is indescribable. The Government must implement alternative measures to custodial punishment.
10. Finally, we remind Government at all levels that the antidote to protests is good governance and transparent accountability, not arrests, intimidation and even arraignment for treason. If anything these extreme measures will trigger a resistance that law enforcement will find impossible to put down. Caution is the watchword.

E-Signed:

 

Ben Abraham, Esq

Founder, ZAREPHATH AID

www.zarephathaid.org

 

ZAREPHATH AID (ZA) is a dynamic Non-Government, Nonpolitical and Nonprofit Organization with a vision for Criminal Justice reforms via Legal aid, prisoners’ welfare and rehabilitation.