There are indications that the Federal Government may withdraw the treason charge filed by the police against over 100 protesters.
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Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), received the case files on the trial from the police yesterday and set about studying them immediately for action.
Fagbemi’s counterpart in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said separately that her ministry was “taking active steps” particularly over the detention of the children among the detainees.
The Police Force, responding to criticism over its arraignment of the minors, said it had violated no law in any way and claimed that contrary to the opinion in some quarters ,it had “worked to balance justice with compassion, ensuring that each suspect’s basic rights and privileges are respected, including access to medical care and other necessary provisions.”
The Police also said the law of the land allows for the arraignment of anyone from the age of seven.
Our correspondent learnt that the police authorities handed the files to the minister yesterday as he had requested on Friday.
Sources said a team of lawyers from the Federal Ministry of Justice (FMJ), led by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) has already met with other parties in the matter on the way forward.
One of their agreements is for them to approach the court to have the cases, earlier adjourned till January 24 next year, rescheduled for sometime this week.
Although a formal application has not been filed, it was learnt that the team from the FMJ was considering terminating the cases.
The police had, on Friday, arraigned the defendants before a Federal High Court in Abuja on two separate charges, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/503/2024 and FHC/ABJ/CR/527/2024.
The defendants were allegedly arrested in Kano and Kaduna states during the last #EndBadGovernance protest.
While ruling on Friday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu noted that the prosecution did not counter the defendants’ assurances that they would be available for trial and would not tamper with witnesses nor jump bail if granted.
The judge also noted that some of the defendants were young children below the age of 18 years.
He then granted bail to each of the defendants at N10million with two sureties, one of whom must be a federal civil servant from level 15, while the second should be either of each defendants’ parent or a sibling.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned till January 24, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has urged the court to decline jurisdiction over the cases.
In an application he filed on Friday, Falana also wants the court to order the Federal Government to fund the education of the 29 minors among the defendants.
Falana specifically prayed the court for “an order declining jurisdiction to hear the current charges against the defendants/applicants as presently constituted.”
He also wants “an order mandating the complainant/respondent to enroll in school and bankroll in full the education of the defendants, who are minors and to pay their school fees till at least senior secondary school or university level in compliance with Section 18 (3) (a),(b), (c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Section 15 of the Child’s Rights Act, Section 2 of the Universal Basic Education Act, 2004, Article 17 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”
Falana identified the minors as Suleiman Ali (16 years), Tasi’u (17 years), Ibrahim Rabi’u (16), Jamilu Haruna (16), Muktar Yahya (17), Abdullahi Suleiman (17), Suleiman David (17), Muktar Ishaq Alhassan (16) and Sani Aliyu (17).
Others are Mahmud Mustapha (16), Umar Abdullahi (17), Habibu Knows (17),Mustapha Abubakar (17), Sani Hassan Idris (17), Abdulrahaman Ibrahim (17), Salisu Adam (16), Bilal (15), Amir Muhd (17),Abdul’aziz Adam (15), Sadiq Sunusi (15), Ibrahim Sani (17), Hassan Muhd (17) and Saifullahi, Muhd (15).
Also identified as minors are Umar Ali (17 years), Musa Isyaku (15), Muhammad Musa (14), Usman Amiru (14), Abdulganiyu Musa (15) and Sunusi Nura (14 years).
In urging the court to decline jurisdiction, Falana argued that by the provision of Section 251 of the Constitution, the Federal High Court can only exercise jurisdiction over cases specifically mentioned in the said section and no more.
He added: “The Federal High court, Abuja lacks jurisdiction to entertain the charges as contained in counts two to ten.
“The Federal High court, Abuja lacks jurisdiction to entertain the cases as contained in counts two to ten of the charge which were alleged to have taken place in Kano outside the territorial jurisdiction of this honourable court.
“Some of the defendants/applicants, as can be gleaned from the charge sheet, are minors.
“Counts 6 and 10 of the charge are offences unknown to law or offences not provided for in any written law in Nigeria and thus incompetent pursuant to Section 36 (8) and (12) of the 1999 Constitution.
“By the provisions of Section 36(8) & (12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the jurisdiction of this honourable court to arraign a defendant over a charge is activated by disclosure of an offence known to a written law.
“It is wrong to arrest and charge minors alongside adults and remand them in prison custody alongside other inmates including convicts.
“Rather than educate and teach the minors good morals, the complainant is sending its minors to prisons all in a bid to stifle civic space and abrogate the right to dissent in breach of the 1999 Constitution and in violation of the right of the children to education and proper moral upbringing as encapsulated under Section 18 (3) (a),(b), (c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Section 15 of the Child’s Rights Act, Section 2 of the Universal Basic Education Act, 2004, Article 17 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
“These minors amongst the defendants herein are entitled to have their right to education preserved by this honourable court of justice.”
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