Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has condemned the arrest and detention of minors accused of involvement in #Endbadgovernance protests held in August this year.
The protests, which turned violent in some states, resulted in the destruction of public and private facilities, leading to arrest and detention of many suspects, including teenagers.
Daily Trust had reported how the young protesters, reportedly aged 12 to 15, were brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday by the Nigeria Police Force. They were charged with terrorism and treason.
A video showed about 20 children, some of them struggling with breathing over suspected malnourishment, lying on the floor of the court while others were in the dock.
Following the presentation of their case, the judge granted bail to 67 out of the 76 minors, in the sum of N10 million each.
The development had attracted reactions among politicians, human rights groups and civil society organisations.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa service, Governor Bala Mohammed condemned the action, describing it as inhumane.
He said, “I have received calls from different parts of the country on the issue. We are deeply concerned about the situation. Their handling shows lack of empathy as they were left with hunger and exposed to adversities. It scared us. But I believe the federal government will listen to the outcries of Nigerians.
“On our part as governors, this incident is an indication that we have absconded from our responsibility of looking after these children.
“Even if arrest is made, there is a need to check up on these children and see their condition.”
He noted that while violent protests would not be supported, citizen’s rights should, however, be protected.
“As leaders, we won’t support violent protests that will result in destroying shops and carting away items, but even armed robbers have certain rights, much less these minors.
“We thought they were adults, since we didn’t know them. Some are almajiri children under their Qur’anic teachers. And you know there is no statistics (as to the number). We were aware of the arrest but we thought justice would be served and that they would be well looked after while in detention. But what we saw showed that they were left with hunger and in poor condition.
“We condemn this act. There are laws protecting children such as the child’s right acts of the United Nations, which we signed, but they didn’t respect that. And even now, they came with stringent conditions before these children are released.
“The Attorney General’s handling of the case now is like medicine after death, because it came after these minors had gone through difficult time and were left to mingle with convicts.
“We had a similar situation in Azare but ours was contained. Those arrested were later released and we made efforts to identify them. Some were almajiri children.
Asked on what measures his government was taking concerning the issue, Gov Bala said, “If among the arrested minors there are those from Bauchi, we will do all we can to meet the bail terms. But government must look at what it should do to them after subjecting them to this traumatising situation. The federal government should be made to understand that people should not be humiliated because they are the ones who elected it.”
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