Demand for justice: Amnesty Int’l slams Tinubu’s government, calls for minors’ immediate release

• Amnesty International criticized Tinubu's government for detaining 12 minors post-#EndBadGovernance protests, calling it an "abuse of power"
• The group urged immediate release, noting child detentions breach Nigerian and international human rights laws
• Amnesty warned the minors could face false charges, highlighting the government’s troubling stance on assembly rights

Amnesty International has issued a sharp condemnation of the Tinubu-led government's detention of minors in the wake of protests that erupted in August 2024.

Legit.ng recalls that protests in August, dubbed #EndBadGovernance, saw thousands of Nigerian youths demonstrating against rising hunger, corruption, and economic hardship, which they attributed to poor governance by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Tinubu's detention of minors sparks reaction from Amnesty International Photo credit: @osunfunkejiogbe
Source: Twitter

However, in what seemed like a shock to all, security forces responded by arresting scores of protesters, including at least 12 minors who were detained for simply being in the vicinity of the protests.

Reacting to the continued incaceration of these minors under the watch of President Tinubu, Amnesty International, in a tweet via X on Friday, 1 November, called for their immediate and unconditional release.

Amnesty: Detention of children is shocking, attack on rights

The international rights group criticized the government’s crackdown on young demonstrators, particularly the detention of minors, as a blatant abuse of power.

“Putting minors through these horrifying detentions for participating in protests against hunger and corruption is — so far — one of the deadliest attempts to suppress freedom of assembly. “President Bola Tinubu must act now to release these children unconditionally," the rights group demanded.

They argued that the detainment of minors undermines the government’s obligations under Nigerian and international human rights law, which prohibits the unlawful detention of children.

President Tinubu was also urged to prioritize the rights of these children, who “have their entire lives ahead of them and should not be subjected to unjust imprisonment.”

Plight of the detained minors

Speaking on the pitiful plights of the arrested minors, Amnesty International said 12 children under the age of 16 were detained in Katsina after being found near the protests.

The group noted that the young detainees face the threat of criminal charges despite their lack of direct involvement in any unlawful acts.

“These children are now at risk of facing trumped-up charges in a justice system that is already overburdened and lacking in transparency.“The continued detention of these minors reflects a deeply troubling approach to human rights by the Nigerian government.” said Amnesty International said.

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Source: Legit.ng