Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, has condemned the trail of 76 minors who protested during the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Obi, in a statement on his verified X page on Friday, bemoaned their arrest which has left them malnourished.
Obi’s statement comes after the minors were arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.
There was chaos at a Federal High Court in Abuja after some minors who allegedly took part in the #EndBadGovernance protests collapsed while waiting to be arraigned.
The court had fixed Friday for the arraignment of the defendants, who are mostly minors.
At the commencement of proceedings, the minors who looked ill and malnourished were asked to come forward to take their plea.
While some huddled in the dock, others stood outside the cubicle due to insufficient space.
Speaking on their trial in court, Obi lamented the abuse of their rights, saying Nigeria should be a “global community where human dignity should be respected.”
The former governor of Anambra State called on all and sundry to condemn their arrest, urging the federal government to ensure their prompt release.
Obi’s statement reads, “I just watched the disturbing and condemnable scenes captured in a circulating video, showing 124 protesters—among them minors—appearing in court today as part of efforts to secure the enforcement of their fundamental rights.
“The footage reveals minors, some so weak that they could barely stand, others fainting from sheer exhaustion and lack of nourishment. These children appeared visibly malnourished and starved—a condition that should alarm the conscience of every citizen in our nation.
“From their look, they were poorly handled despite being in the custody of the federal government of Nigeria.
“The offence being alleged against these suspects, including minors, is protesting against bad governance that was directly affecting their livelihood and which our constitution under a democratic dispensation guarantees them.
“Curiously, most of the people in government today leveraged this aspect of the Constitution, standing as champions of good governance while in opposition.
“Moreover, our status presumes that suspects deserve some dignity, even in a correctional home as human beings.
“The reason why we should all be concerned about a situation like this is because we are part of a global community where human dignity should be respected.
“May I appreciate the presiding lordship for halting the trial and saving the country further embarrassment it would have been to the world as a democratic nation?
“I would like to call on relevant authorities, especially the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, the Police, and the DSS, as well as the National Human Rights Commission, to thoroughly investigate such inhuman treatment of minors to avert such incidents in the future.”
