- The Federal Government has dropped treason charges against minors involved in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests
- President Bola Tinubu ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an investigation into the minors' arrest
- Justice Egwuatu officially struck out the charges following the attorney general's request
The Federal Government has dropped the treason charges against minors involved in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests held nationwide.
The case against the protesters was officially discontinued on Tuesday, with Attorney-General Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, notifying the Federal High Court in Abuja after taking over the case on behalf of the Federal Government.
DPPF applies to discontinue cases based on constitution
The application to discontinue the case, made by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mr Mohammed Abubakar, was based on sections 174(1)(b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
The Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation also requested that the proceedings be held without the minors present in the courtroom, citing Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Child Rights Act.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Fanala, SAN, along with other defence attorneys in the case, expressed that they had no objections to the applications.
Justice Egwuatu dismisses charges against minors
With no opposition from the defence attorneys, Justice Egwuatu approved the request and struck out the charges.
Recall that following public outrage over the arraignment of the minors, the AGF ordered the police to send the case file to his office for a thorough review.
Upon receiving the AGF's directive, President Bola Tinubu ordered the immediate dropping of the charges and an extensive investigation into the arrest and detention of the minors.
76#EndBadGovernance protesters charged to court in Abuja
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that seventy-six protesters from the #EndBadGovernance movement were arraigned in Abuja, with many exhibiting signs of severe malnutrition.
The protesters, who were arrested during nationwide demonstrations between August 1 and 10, were expressing their frustrations over hunger and escalating economic hardships in the country.