The Counsel to the Federal Government, Rimazonte Ezekiel, has stated that most of the 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters arraigned in connection with the demonstrations that rocked the country in August are adults.
His remarks came after a hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the protesters—arrested between August 1 and August 10—were presented before Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
Recall that four of those arraigned, including two minors, fainted and were taken to the hospital.
Following a bail hearing, 114 protesters were each granted bail set at N10 million with two sureties in a similar amount.
Justice Egwuatu approved the bail applications after reviewing submissions from both the defense and prosecution teams, subsequently adjourning the case until January.
Footage showing minors among the detained has sparked nationwide outrage. Human rights advocates, civil society groups, political figures, and social commentators have all expressed concern, criticizing the Tinubu administration for the handling of the protests.
However, Ezekiel defended the government’s actions in a press briefing after the court session.
He argued that the individuals being referred to as minors are actually adults, noting that some even have families.
“These boys that we brought to the court today are adults. Most of them are married men. None of them is a minor. Some of them are University graduates. The small kids you are seeing here today came with their parents to come and greet their loved ones,” he stated.
He went on to clarify that many of the defendants had been arrested in Kaduna and Zaria, emphasizing the challenges of maintaining democracy in Nigeria and expressing concerns over the alleged involvement of foreign symbols and calls for regime change.
“They are not even the real suspects standing trial in this case. These boys were arrested in Kaduna and Zaria. Do you know how much it cost us to be at this level of democracy in this country? These young boys are trying to destabilize Nigeria using the Russian flags and other countries while calling on the military to remove our president,” he added.
“Is it fair? To even remove the state governors. If they don’t want democracy again, are we forcing them? Everybody is enjoying their fundamental human rights. Nobody is abusing their rights. Everything is moving on well in the country, only for these boys, for no reason, [to have] started protests with Russia and other countries’ flags.”
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