The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the arraignment children in court for treason and other offences.
The minors were part of the 67 suspects arrested for allegedly participating in the August #EndbadGovernance protests nationwide, which turned violent in some parts of the country.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, who condemned the arraignment of the minors, warned that the arrest as well as detention and arraignment of the children by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) on charges of treason and attempting to overthrow a legitimate government, among other charges, clearly contravened a plethora of national, regional and international laws.
The NHRC Executive Secretary noted that the action of the Nigeria Police has raised significant concerns among senior lawyers and legal experts, the human rights Community as well as development partners, sister national human rights institutions and well-meaning Nigerians.
He added that the action was widely considered as an excessive and inappropriate use of State Institutions against citizens, explaining that it is even worse when the victims are children and minors whose best interest were not considered at all in line with the law.
Ojukwu emphasised that it was important for the government to ensure that legal proceedings align with children’s rights as protected under the Nigeria’s Child’s Rights Act 2003, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA), and some regional and international legal frameworks, including the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
While lamenting that the trial court, who should know better than the Police, has sadly unleashed an unrealistic bail condition which almost all the children cannot meet, and adjourned the matter to January 2025, knowing fully well that they were children who have been detained since August 2024, he stressed that children should be treated differently and separated from adults within the justice system, adding that government should focus on their best interest, explaining that they should rather focus on protecting and rehabilitating them rather than exposing them to harsh punitive measures.
The human rights boss, who was also worried over the state of health of the minors, queried that the judge witnessed some of the children looking malnourished and unwell which he said called to question the mental state of the judge when imposing such bail conditions on the children and minors for participating in a protest now turned treason.
“The NHRC’s criticism mainly centers on insensitivity of the prosecution and the court for the lack of humanity, accountability and impunity in the application of the law to the children , the severe nature of the charges, the draconian bail conditions and the potential for the psychological harm such impunity in actions might cause minors, bearing in mind that there are procedures for the treatment of the underaged, even when they come in conflict with the law. When treated in the way the prosecution and the court have done, our children could grow up with deep grudge against society, and unleash huge contempt on society in future.
“We are therefore calling for immediate corrective action to ensure that children are not unfairly subjected to extreme inhumanity and slammed with charges like treason, which carry heavy penalties generally reserved for adult offenders accused of severe crimes against the state,” Ojukwu advised.
According to the statement, the incident also pointed to broader systemic issues within Nigeria’s criminal and juvenile justice system and the need for reforms and enlightenment of police and the judiciary of the need to protect child rights in compliance with both national and international human rights standards.
Ojukwu commended the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for intervening by instructing the Police to forward the case files of the minors to his office for a review by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF).
