The Northern Youth Assembly (Majalisar Matasan Arewa) has called for the immediate withdrawal of all charges and the unconditional release of minors alleged to have raised foreign flags during an “End Bad Governance” protest in Nigeria. The protest took place from August 1 to 10, 2024, across the country.
In a press release issued which was signed by Dr. Ali Idris Mohammed, President of the Northern Youth Assembly, and Dr. Garba Abdulhafiz, Secretary General.the Assembly, representing the nineteen northern states chapters, expressed their dismay over a viral video showing underage children looking hungry, depressed, and malnourished, arraigned before the high court in Abuja. “It is our adamant belief that the event at the court was nothing but yet an additional damage done on the little integrity left of the Nigerian Judiciary, and the Nigerian criminal administration system, as a whole,” the statement read.
The assembly criticized the continued detention of the minors by federal government authorities, describing it as a blatant disregard for the provisions of Nigerian criminal law, which mandates that all criminal cases must be presented before the courts within 48 hours. “The continued detention of those helpless and poor children by the Federal Government authorities is not only a blatant disregard to the provisions of the laws of the land but also a deliberate scheme to destroy the future of those young people or even jeopardize their lives,” the statement added.
The Northern Youth Assembly highlighted that raising foreign flags during protests is a global practice, indicating citizens’ dissatisfaction with their government. “It is our understanding that this Government has assumed the status of an undemocratic regime which has no regard for the written or extant laws of the land,” the assembly stated.
The assembly also referenced a recent protest led by Yoruba Nation advocate Mr. Sunday Igboho in London, where no arrests were made despite the gravity of the actions. “Except for some minors who raised some foreign flags at the behest of the mastermind and sponsors, none has also been arrested or exposed by the Nigerian security operatives,” the statement noted.
The APC government began the trial of minors arrested in August for participating in the protest against poor governance. The assembly described the sight of malnourished young protesters collapsing in court due to severe hunger and sickness after over 90 days of detention as an affront to the criminal justice system, humanity, and democracy. “It is both unacceptable and deeply disquieting that children, minors, and young Nigerians have been held since August on the allegation that they had sought to destabilize the government,” the statement emphasized.
The Northern Youth Assembly implored President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order the withdrawal of all charges and the release of the minors unconditionally. “We wish to implore His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to order the withdrawal of all the charges and the release of those boys unconditionally, to avoid further embarrassment to the Government and to the Nigerian criminal justice system,” the statement concluded.
