Mr. Deji Adeyanju, the lawyer representing the #EndBadGovernance protesters, has spoken out against the treatment of minors who were arrested, detained, and arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In an interview with journalists on Wednesday, Adeyanju praised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to order the release of the minors but emphasized that all protesters should be released unconditionally.
“As a nation, we have to do better,” Adeyanju stated, describing the situation faced by the minors as “callous.” He questioned how children could be charged with terrorism, highlighting that most of the detained minors were from Kano and Kaduna States, far from their homes. “They have suffered severe dehumanization, maltreatment, and starvation, which is itself a form of torture,” he added.
Adeyanju revealed that some of the minors reported going three days without food during their detention. “When people in custody are starved, that’s torture—let alone starving kids. It’s inhumane and degrading treatment,” he asserted. The lawyer also noted that only about five of the detained minors were taken to a police clinic during their 93-day detention, and even then, they received inadequate treatment. As a result, many of the minors are now suffering from back pain and stomach aches due to starvation, with some likely developing ulcers.
The parents of the detained minors are “bitter and pained” by the treatment their children have endured, according to Adeyanju. Despite multiple meetings and appeals over the last three months, the authorities did not respond favorably to requests for the minors’ release.
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