Kehinde Fajobi
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has initiated proceedings to dismiss the charges brought against 32 minors involved in the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The minors were arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
On Friday night, Fagbemi announced his interest in assuming control of the case from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to allow his office to review the matter.
“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to make an informed decision,” he stated.
The AGF explained that while he cannot override the court’s order to remand the defendants or its adjournment to January, he has directed the police to transfer the case file to his office.
“I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the case file to my office and hand it over to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation tomorrow, Saturday, November 2, 2024,” he added.
Additionally, Fagbemi instructed the DPPF to expedite efforts to secure an earlier court date.
A source within the Federal Ministry of Justice confirmed to Punch that the IGP had already provided the case file, and actions are underway to dismiss the charges.
The court is expected to reconvene early this week rather than on the initially scheduled January 24, 2025 date.
“The police have submitted the case file, and the parties are working together. The court will reconvene early this week,” the source shared.
Defence counsel Marshall Abubakar also confirmed to reporters that measures to drop the charges were progressing.
“The government has been calling; the AGF has called. I think, most likely, by next week [this week] we will get the charges thrown out,” Abubakar stated.
He noted that the minors were being held in a large hall at the SARS IRT, as no suitable Borstal facility was available.
In another development, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju raised concerns over two children arrested but not brought to court on Friday.
“It took a lot of effort for us to get the children to be brought to court on Friday. Two of them who were originally arrested were not even brought to court. We don’t know their whereabouts or what has happened to them,” Adeyanju said, urging the AGF to dismiss the case.
Adeyanju also revealed that seven other protesters were absent from the arraignment due to illness and had to be taken to the Federal High Court clinic.
Although their names were removed from the charge sheet, police reportedly returned them to the IRT instead of releasing them, despite the court’s order.
The situation has drawn strong condemnation from rights groups, including the Northern Comrades Movement of Nigeria and the organisers of the #EndBadGovernance protests.
Ahmad Ashir, National Secretary of the NCMN, denounced the IGP’s recent comments, which suggested the minors’ fainting episodes in court were staged.
“The IG’s assertion that the minors fainting in court was staged is utterly unacceptable. Video evidence clearly shows these minors collapsing, making this allegation not only baseless but deeply insensitive,” Ashir said.
Hassan Soweto, a representative of the #EndBadGovernance organisers, also criticised the police’s handling of the children.
“It’s profoundly insensitive for the police to make such claims about children who have endured starvation and torture for three months. This is an outright insult,” he said, calling for their immediate release.