1 month ago
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The incident occurred when the minors were brought to court from various detention cells of the police force, including from the Intelligence Response Team unit.
Some underage #EndBadGovernance protesters detained by the Nigeria Police Force since August on Friday morning collapsed inside the courtroom of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The incident occurred when the minors were brought to court from various detention cells of the police force, including from the Intelligence Response Team unit.
"A couple of them fainted inside the courtroom because of maltreatment, they have eaten for some days," a source told SaharaReporters, accusing the authorities of weaponising hunger to torture the protesters for committing no offence other than exercising their constitutional rights.
The protest was against exacerbating insecurity and deprivation occasioned by President Bola Tinubu's policies.
Meanwhile pictures and videos of the incident seen by SaharaReporters on Friday show some of the teenagers, who have been locked up since August, writhing on the floor of the courtroom, with some of other detainees trying to help them.
In one of the pictures, a lawyer is seen trying to resuscitate one of the protesters who collapsed while standing in the dock.
The detention of the teenagers was ordered by Justice Emeka Nwite, who granted an ex-parte application by the police to keep them in custody for 60 days to conclude their 'investigation' against the protesters, who have been accused of attempting to overthrow President Tinubu.
SaharaReporters learnt that 13 of them were brought to court from IRT cells while others were brought from cells scattered around other Abuja divisions.
The Network of Abuja Left Groups on Thursday called for the immediate and unconditional release of 76 protesters, including 32 minors, who were arrested during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in August.
The coalition lamented that the protesters have been languishing in prison custody for months. It condemned President Tinubu's administration for its suppression of dissenting voices.
Calling on Nigerians not be discouraged in the face of the continued increase in cost of living, the group justified the #EndBadGovernance protests, describing the movement as a united and peaceful action by the Nigerian people, across all ethnic groups, religions and partisan divide, against the acute economic distress and systemic failures that affect hundreds of millions of Nigerians daily.
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