Nigerians have expressed outrage following yesterday, November 1, 2024, reports revealing how minors have been held in prison for more than three months without trial.
This controversy has sparked intense criticism directed at the federal government and law enforcement agencies, with citizens, human rights organizations, and legal experts calling the detentions a flagrant violation of children’s rights and a serious breach of the legal system.
The public outcry began when reports emerged showing the minors in court yesterday, detailing the plight of these minors detained in the Kuje correctional facility in Abuja, with some allegedly held alongside adult offenders.
Despite legal provisions meant to protect children, these minors have reportedly been detained for extended periods without access to fair legal representation or a court hearing.
The Federal government and Nigerian security agencies justified the detention of these minors on the basis that they hijacked the EndBadGovernance protest held a few months back, incited violence, and committed treason by flying Russian flags during the days of the protest.
Human rights advocates, including organizations such as Amnesty International Nigeria and the Child Rights Advocacy Group, have condemned the detentions as both unconstitutional and inhumane. “This is a gross violation of child rights and a failure of our judicial system,” said Amina Yusuf, a spokesperson for a human rights advocate in Abuja. “No child should be kept in prison without due process, especially not for months at a time. The Nigerian government must be held accountable for this injustice.”
The Nigerian constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial and mandates prompt arraignment for all individuals arrested, particularly minors. Additionally, the Child Rights Act, which has been adopted by the federal government and several Nigerian states, outlines the procedures for handling cases involving minors. However, the law appears to have been disregarded in these cases, raising questions about systemic lapses within law enforcement and the judiciary.
Prominent lawyers, including Deji Adeyanju, have also joined the conversation as he was also present at the court yesterday, accusing both the police and judicial authorities of negligence.
“Detaining minors without trial is not just illegal but morally reprehensible. The law is clear: minors require a different level of care and justice procedures than adults,” stated Deji Adeyanju, a human rights attorney. He further argued that the detentions reflect deep-rooted issues in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, including inadequate legal representation and case backlogs that often lead to prolonged detentions.
The police and other law enforcement agencies have come under scrutiny for what many perceive as their role in perpetuating the abuse. Reports suggest that the minors were unjustly detained in a bit by the police to clamp down on Nigerian’s right to freedom of expression, including protests.
Nigerians became more angry when the Nigerian police justified the detention of these minors over 3 months while citing that none of the minors was below 13 years old.
Muyiwa Ogunjobi, the Nigeria Police spokesman, said, “The detention of the suspects where in accordance, they hijacked a protest and caused violence; they even committed treason by flying foreign flags during the protest.
“Their detention follows the rules of the police criminal code and none of them are below the age of 13.”
He stated further, “Once you are more than 7 years old, you can be charged to court… none of them is less than 7… the fact that you are 13 years old does not mean you can’t be charged to court.”
Also, a counsel to the Federal Government on the 67 arraigned minors said, “These boys that we brought to the court today are all adults. Most of them are married men, None of them is a minor.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians have taken to social media to demand immediate action on Twitter. Many users have criticized the government for prioritizing political issues over human rights.
Some citizens have compared the situation to colonial-era abuses and the military dictatorship regime calling on authorities to act swiftly to address what they describe as humanitarian abuse.
Below are tweets from Nigerians on X (Twitter) lambasting the federal government and the police for the inhumane treatment and detention of the minors unjustly:
@DebbieHilles wrote, “The FGN should just discontinue the charge. They should have the kids trained and established in their careers. They are now the FGN property. In addition, instead of FGN to provide free education for minors, they are busy increasing school fees and making it hard for students.”
Saidu wrote, “You guys are not even ashamed. If they were your children or any of your relative’s own, you can’t even attempt to do that. Your law only works on the masses. It shall never be well with you and T-pain. Heartless people.”
“Disheartening & heartbreaking. How could Nigeria fail these innocent children to the extent of arraigning them in court for treason instead of educating them in School? We have failed as a country & our leaders should hide their faces in shame”, Tweeted ShadrachFubara.
@Rolland write, We need to dismantle the Nigerian Police and let each community devise their security until we figure out a way forward. We cannot have the worst of us being in charge of something as serious as our security.”
@DanKastina wrote, “This is very embarrassing. Charge them to court on what exactly is their offense? We have many out of school children. If government provide education and enabling environment for these kids, do you expect them to protest? This is embarrassing wlh.”
@Tutsy22 wrote, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members!!! Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to you @officialABAT.”
“We don’t understand how sick it is that the government went to Kano, packed children to Abuja, and filed a case of IGP vs teenagers, then asked them to pay N10m so they could sleep in their houses. We are spineless, toothless and equally responsible if we allow this slide”, @Mazi wrote.
For now, the calls for justice continue to grow louder, with Nigerians demanding an end to what they say is an unacceptable disregard for children’s rights.
As the outrage intensifies, many await tangible government action that will prevent further unlawful detention of minors and ensure that justice is served in line with Nigerian law and international standards.