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Under growing pressure from activists, Tinubu also directed an
investigation of the law enforcement agents involved in the
arrest and prosecution of the minors, Nigeria’s Information
Minister Mohammed Idris told reporters in the capital, Abuja.
They are not expected to be released until Tuesday through a
court order.
The children, detained since August, were among more than 70
people arraigned on Friday on charges of treason, destruction of
property and mutiny after the August protests that shook the
country and culminated in security operatives killing some
demonstrators and arresting hundreds.
Aged 14 to 17, four of the minors collapsed due to exhaustion
when they were brought to the court last week. Most others
looked malnourished and lost as they pressed against one other
in the dock, the rest sitting on the floor.
There had been no news of their detention until their
arraignment, which sparked outrage and renewed concerns about
deteriorating human rights in Africa’s most populous country.
A local court imposed stringent conditions and granted the
children a bail of 10 million naira ($5,900) each, which none of
them was able to meet.
It is still not clear if the children participated in the
protests staged by Nigerians as they faced worsening hardship
caused by the government’s economic policies that were aimed at
reducing costs and stabilizing the ailing economy.
They were detained unlawfully and put through “horrifying
experiences,” according to Amnesty International’s Nigeria
office, one of several rights groups that demanded the
children's release.
The children's arrest "highlights significant flaws in our
criminal justice system, particularly the child justice system,
indicating systemic issues that fail to protect minors’ rights,”
said Funke Adeoye, founder of Hope Behind Bars Africa, a
nonprofit that has been fighting for their release.
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