Nigeria: Anger as minors appear in court over August protest

At least 76 people in Nigeria, many of them minors, were brought before a court for an initial hearing on charges related to their alleged participation in protests in August, court documents showed on Friday.

The charge sheet showed at least 29 children, aged between 14 to 17, were among those brought to a court in the capital Abuja.

Anger at minors' arraignment

The arraignment sparked an outcry in the country, with politicians like Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso slamming the government.

"These children, who are obviously malnourished and need medical attention have been subjected to a cruel experience when they should be in school," Kwankwaso, the former defense minister and former governor of the country's northern Kano state, wrote on X.

"The arraignment of such [a] number of minors in their states is highly unusual and negates every tenet of the protection of human rights and dignity," he added.

Four of the arraigned minors collapsed in court due to exhaustion before they could enter a plea in the courtroom.

Treason among the charges

The defendants were charged with offenses including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance and mutiny, according to the charge sheet.

The charge sheet said the suspects had been investigated between July and August. 

A rights group told the Reuters news agency that the minors have been held since August by the Nigerian police.

The minors were eventually granted bail and a trial date has been set in January, their lawyers Reuters.

If found guilty, they could face the death sentence.

Akintayo Balogun, a private lawyer based in Abuja, said the Child Rights Act does not allow any child to be subject to criminal proceedings and sentenced to death.

Security forces accused of using excessive force during protests

Nigerian police said at least seven people died after protests against hunger and soaring prices turned violent in some places.

Amnesty International's Nigeria office said at least 20 people were killed in clashes with the police.

Nigerian security forces have been accused of using excessive force during the protests.

Thousands of people poured onto the streets of major cities like Lagos and other big hubs in northern states to protest against the West African nation's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. 

Ordinary Nigerians have been angry at President Bola Tinubu's reforms of ending fuel subsidies and devaluing the local currency to encourage foreign investment. 

rm/rmt (Reuters, AP)