Detention of minors: Unanswered questions

The recent release of protesters detained in connection with the August 1 to 10 #EndBadGovernance protests in some parts of the country has raised fresh issues concerning the propriety of the arrests, detention, trial and treatment of suspects while in custody as well as the sudden interests shown by state governments in the case.

It also questions the reaction of parents who all the while remained largely silent until the uproar that greeted the arraignment of the now released protesters began. 

No fewer than 114 persons were arrested from Kano and Kaduna states in connection with the August protests and taken to Abuja, where they were detained for close to three months before they were arraigned at a Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory.

The arraignment exposed the conditions under which the suspects were held and the demographics which revealed that 32 of them were under 18 years of age.

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While the protests held in many other parts of the country, analysts say it is curious how only suspects from Kano and Kaduna were brought to Abuja for trial.

The inclusion of minors among the detainees, whose ages were discernible even from their outlook and the length of time taken to arraign them before their plea for bail could be heard, comes to many as puzzling. 

The protesters were charged with treason as they were alleged to have held Russian flags and openly called on the military to intervene in the political system.

Most of the minors who spoke with our correspondents said they were arrested at various points with some picked up in circumstances not even in connection to the protests.

Some of the parents of the detainees said they did not know where to look for their sons and they had given up on locating them until they saw them on the pages of newspapers and on social media platforms.

Kano: ‘How we were arrested and our experiences in detention’ 

Seventeen-year-old Mustapha Ibrahim, who is currently on a sick bed in a hospital in Kano, said his arrest was just a matter of ill luck as he was picked up on his way to buy rice for his family to eat on that fateful day.

“I was arrested while I was on an errand to buy rice for my mother. I never knew about any protest, but they arrested me on my way,” he said.

Mustapha and his brother are being kept in isolation at the intensive care unit due to their conditions and could hardly move or speak like others as they said they were having serious pains all over their bodies.

Speaking with great difficulty, Mustapha narrated to Weekend Trust how traumatising their experience was while in detention.

“We were sleeping on a bare floor; there was no food, sometimes it was just half a cup of garri, no sugar or water to drink with it; and it was only once a day,” he said.

Another minor, 17-year-old Abubakar Ibrahim, a painter, said he was arrested at the Abuja Yan Dusa area of Nassarawa Local Government Area.

“I came out to go to work. I am a painter and on my way to work, I was arrested and taken to the state CID, where I spent two days before they took us to SARS around Abattoir in Abuja. We spent many days there.

“On the issue of food, it was nothing to write home about. It was just raw garri without any other thing. Even at that, we only got the garri after complaining. Some days, we got nothing”, he said.

Ibrahim is also another 17-year-old. He was arrested at the Sharada area of Kano Municipal. He lamented how he and others were maltreated and left hungry while in detention.

“It was garri alone. Sometimes we went to the toilet to get water to soak the garri, to make it for easy consumption”, he said.

It was the same experience with Sunusi Nura, Sammani and others as they recounted their ordeals. They said they only changed their food after they were taken to court a few days to their release.

Kaduna: 37 in a cell, stayed 21 days without a bath

Some of the released protesters in Kaduna described their treatment as hellish, citing inhumane conditions during their detention. They alleged that they were fed only once a day while at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, after being transferred from the Police Command in Kaduna.

One of the released protesters, Fahad Ibrahim, said he was arrested during the protest near the Correctional Service in Kaduna State.

“I was arrested close to the Kaduna Correctional Service by the police. They released other children whose parents were well-off because they were able to bail them.

“We were fed once a day at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, after being transferred from Kaduna, before being moved to a correctional facility. The food was insufficient at the Force Headquarters.

“Some of us were beaten and insulted for no reason. In fact, for the first two or three weeks, many of us were not allowed to have a shower. If you were ill, the only thing they gave you was paracetamol. 

“We slept on mats, and 37 of us were kept in a cell full of mosquitoes. The cell was so cramped that I had to sleep near the toilets. Honestly, it was not easy,” he said. 

However, Fahad mentioned that in the correctional facility, they were fed three times daily, though, according to him, the food lacked taste. Despite this, he said he had no choice but to eat to avoid going hungry. 

Fahad attributed his release to the prayers of his parents and loved ones. 

“I often felt homesick because we weren’t sure when we’d be released,” he added. 

Fahad, who suffers from epilepsy, said he had an attack inside the cell but was assisted by his cellmate. “I later went to the clinic, but they only gave me paracetamol,” he said. 

Similarly, Umar Yakubu, who was also released, said, “We were unjustly treated, only God will judge them”. 

Umar explained that many detainees were taken to court hungry, which led to the incident in the courtroom where four of them collapsed during proceedings.

“We were all crying as we watched the younger ones among us collapse in court. The judge then directed that we should be fed,” he said. 

He also thanked his parents and loved ones for their prayers, which he believed played a role in his release. 

Hassan Muhammad, another released protester, described his experience as “very bad.” He was arrested on August 5, 2024 at the Ahmadu Bello Way in Kaduna during the #EndBadGovernance protest. After the arrest, he was taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), where he gave his statement before being moved to the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID).

“We spent 18 days at the FCID and were taken to Kuje Prison. We spent 68 days there. The experience was terrible. The food was also poor. They gave us beans and garri for the days we spent in the prison,” he said.

Muhammad Abubakar from Zaria also shared his perspective, saying: “We’ve learned a valuable lesson from our arrest and detention. This experience will stay with us for a long time. We will never participate in any protest again”. 

Minors ought to have been tried in their states – Lawyers 

Some lawyers are of the view that the trial of the minors recently brought to Abuja over the #EndBadGovernance protest should have been done in their respective states. 

Both the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN) and a defence lawyer, Hamza Nuhu Dantani, had argued that the minors ought to have been tried in their respective states of offence. 

“Any person arrested should be tried in a place where they can get the physical and emotional support from their families, bringing them from Kano and other states to Abuja was not the best,” Osigwe said.

Similarly, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN) said the minors should have been tried in their states, adding: “I believe bringing them to Abuja must be one of the reasons responsible for the decision to terminate the proceedings.”

Darlington Onyekwere also said minors were usually taken to the juvenile court, especially if the offence alleged is not about treason, which can only be tried by a Federal High Court.

He added, however, that the investigating authority ought to use the legal principle of mens rea (mental capacity to commit offence) to determine whether the minors knew what they were doing.

“Usually, a child below the age of seven does not have the capacity to commit an offence, so there is no need to charge them in court. 

“There has been debate over whether the defendants are minors or not, but what we saw were minors,” he said.

No law bars minors from being tried for offence – AGF Fagbemi 

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), however, explained that no law in the country prohibits the arraignment of minors over offences. 

Fagbemi, who spoke in Abuja, said: “Let me seize this opportunity to clarify something: People were under the impression that because they are children, they are minors. All sorts of theories have come up. There is no law in this country which says a minor cannot be tried.

“And I have also heard, ‘Oh they should go to a family court’. The study of the law and the constitution leaves me with no other conclusion than the fact that it is the Federal High Court that has the jurisdiction on matters bordering on treason and allied matters.

“So, whatever the situation, the president has closed the chapter by his decision to have these young persons released,” he said.

Parents: It was traumatising for us

On why parents did not raise the matter, some of the parents of the children said they had given up hope on seeing the children as they had tried their best to locate them but to no avail. 

Shamsiyya Haruna said: “I thought that was all between me and my child. I spent all I had and even borrowed money to travel to Abuja to see him, but to no avail.

“At last, I returned home and kept on praying. We thank God they are now back and very soon they will be back home with us. It was a terrible experience,” she said. 

Another mother, Maryam Ibrahim, who spoke while in tears, thanked the federal government for releasing the children. 

She, however, said she could not sleep for two weeks after the arrest of her child, which worsened her health condition. 

“I was traumatised, I couldn’t sleep for two weeks, my blood pressure got high and later lower than normal, which was more dangerous. 

“I thought they would kill them. Despite their condition, we are grateful for their release. 

“My son was just a victim, he doesn’t even associate with friends in the neighbourhood, not to talk of joining them in a protest,” she said.

State governments’ reactions: 

Kano offers scholarships, grants  

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who was one of the governors handed the children to by the federal government, led 76 of them back to Kano and organised a special reception for the minors at the hospital on Tuesday night. 

Shortly after their return and admittance at the Muhammadu Buhari General Hospital, the governor said, “We will not just let you go home or hand you over to your parents without bringing you to this hospital for rehabilitation.

“We have placed all the necessary facilities required and will keep you in this hospital to be catered for in the next five days. 

“It is clear that a lot of you are traumatised and need to be rehabilitated. We are going to treat you for the next five days. Professional health workers will look after you and treat you. We want you to come back to normal by returning to your normal selves,” he said. 

Governor Yusuf further said that he would take over the sponsorship of their education through the Ministry of Education. He said the  education commissioner and his team would visit the hospital to document their current education levels. 

“For those who are not in school, they will be assisted with the required skills and be given start-up kits to engage in any trade of their choice,” he added. 

He, therefore, advised the boys to avoid any form of violence and ensure that they become ambassadors for other youths.

Kaduna: Minors sent for therapy  

The Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, on his part, promised to rehabilitate and empower the released protesters if they turn a new leaf and become responsible and law abiding members of the society.

The Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Muazu Meyere, who represented the governor, said documents relating to their education would be collected for review and further action.

“The governor promised that some of them would be given start-up capitals to commence trading, others would be taught skills and some would be given employment,” he added.

He said the government would be tracking the activities and conducts of all 39 of them to ensure that they are of good behaviour, “before these benefits will be extended to them.’’ 

He said the detainees were all medically examined and given psycho-social counselling on the need to change for the better in order to be useful to themselves and the society in general. 

“Both Islamic and Christian religious leaders preached to them to embrace the teachings of their faiths and to avoid bad company so as to benefit from God’s blessings here and in the hereafter”, the SSG added. 

He said the detainees were given mobile phones because they lost theirs during detention.

“The governor also gave each of them N100,000 as a measure of goodwill”, he said. 

In addition to that, the commissioner, Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Rabi Salisu, charged the discharged protesters to go back to their communities and engage in advocacy, sensitisation and peace building so that they could be better members of the society. 

Go after real culprits, not minors – Sanusi 

Moved by the condition of the teenagers, the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, called on security agencies to go after the real culprits of the August 1 #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest instead of minors. 

The monarch said, “On interviewing them (the freed minors), many of them are students. They were picked up in the streets, not in the middle of the violent act. It is sad that they received this treatment. But we thank the presidency and the federal government for intervening and bringing an end to their difficulties. If this had continued, am sure many of them would have lost their lives.

“We urge the authorities to focus on the adults who started the riot. The riot happened in Kano, photographs were taken, people were identified, those people have been walking round the streets, including in Abuja while these children have been in the custody. 

“We hope that in the interest of justice when things of this nature happen, we would identify the real culprits, arrest them and try them, rather than innocent children.”