Five out of the 125 defendants who participated in the August #EndBadGovernance and brought before a Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations bordering on terrorism collapsed in court on Friday.
The suspects who are between the ages of 12 and 15 fainted a few minutes after the commencement of proceedings.
The suspects who were among the #EndBadGovernance were arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu and slammed with 10 counts charges of terrorism, an attempt to overthrow the government, and alleged mutiny over their participation in nationwide protest.
They were alleged to have participated in the last #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano State, during which they allegedly chanted anti-government slogans and carried foreign flags.
According to one of the defense lawyers, Marshall Abubakar, the defendants were arrested on 3 August and were charged in two batches of 76 and 49.
Shortly after the first batch was called, the defendants were mounting the dock when some of them suddenly fell down, causing confusion in court, a development that prompted the judge to suspend proceedings.
Health officials from the court’s clinic have been invited to attend to those who collapsed.
Abubakar blamed the development on hunger and ill-health.
He said most of the defendants were mostly teens of about 12 years old.
“All these young children are sick and hungry. They have been kept in police custody for weeks without food and proper medical care. They are sick and need proper attention. That is the cause of these unfortunate developments,” Abubakar said.
Details soon….
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