A judge for Nigeria’s federal high court in Abuja don grant bail to each of di 114 pipo wey police bin arrest during di End Bad Governance protests for August 2024.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu grant dem di bail on top 10-count charge of treason, felony and inciting to mutiny wey di Nigeria goment sama dem.
At least 27 of di suspects na young boys wey dey below age of 18, wit some of dem as young as 14 years old.
Di police bin arraign di suspects in two batches of 76 and 42.
One of di charges include dat di boys bin “wear, carry and display in public Russian flags, chanting violent revolutionary songs, agitating for Russian invasion of Nigerian sovereign entity to topple di democratic goment of Nigeria”.
Some human rights activists tell BBC Pidgin say di teenagers bin dey for custody since dat August wey police arrest dem, and e don pass 80 days now.
Remember say goment bin don arraign 10 pipo on top di same protest matter, who dem say na dem be di leaders and organisers, and na dem bin dey call for di military to overthrow di goment.
During dat protest wey last from August 1 to 10, videos bin spread on social media wia pipo, children and adults dey fly Russia flag for parts of di northern region of Nigeria.
Tori dat time be say di protesters dey call on Russia to intervene for Nigeria matter.
Nigeria authorities later tok say dem don arrest di pipo wey dey fly Russian flags as di offence na treason.
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Four of di accused persons collapse for court
For di court on Friday, as di court official dey read out di matter and call di accused persons, four of di boys just collapse for di floor.
Dis cause some kind of drama for inside di court room as dia lawyers – led by Marshal Abubakar and Deji Adeyanju – and oda pipo for court start to dey revive dem.
Eventually, di prosecution counsel Audu Garba agree to remove di name of di four defendants from di charge sake of ill health.
Di oda accused persons den start to dey take dia plea one by one afta a court official don interpret di charges from English to Hausa language.
Dem plead not guilty.
N10 million bail each, totalling N1.14 billion
Justice Egwatu note say some of di accused persons dey under di age 18 and dat dia lawyers don promise say dem no go interfere wit di trial or destroy evidence.
E diafore grant dem bail at di sum of N10 million each wit two sureties. One of di sureties must be a civil servant and di oda go be either a parent or sibling of di accused.
Until dem perfect dia bail conditions, di ones wey don reach 18 years go dey remanded for Kuje Correctional Centre, while di minors among dem go dey detained for di Borstal Home of di Nigeria Correctional Service.
‘Borstal homes’ na wia dem dey keep and reform juveniles and young offenders .
Afta di first set of 76 defendants, di prosecution team also bring in anoda batch of 42 charged wit di same set of offences, making it 118 defendants, but dem bin comot di name of four pipo wey bin collapse for court.
In total, Justice Egwuatu grant N10 million bail to 114 of di arraigned protesters bringing di total bail amount to N1.14 billion.
Di trial judge adjourn di matter to January 24, 2025, for hearing.
Wetin di law tok about charging minors to court?
According to section 29 of di constitution of Nigeria, adult na pesin wey don reach di age of 18. Anybody under dat age na minor.
Normally, wen a minor commit some kind offence, na for juvenile court dem suppose try am but no be for all offences, Chika Mbanusi, a legal practitioner, tell BBC Pidgin.
Section 30 of di criminal code act tok say pesin go dey criminally culpable for civil or criminal offence once di pesin don reach di age of 12 years if “e dey proved dat at di time of doing di act or making di omission im get capacity to know say im no suppose to do di act or make di omission”.
Precedence dey, however, wia di Supreme Court uphold di judgement of di Jigawa State High Court and di Court of Appeal for di case of Yusuf Musa vs di State in 2022.
For dat case, di Supreme Court rule say one eleven-year old minor wey bin machete pesin several times and kill am, dey guilty of culpable homicide even though di boy neva reach 12 years old at dat time.
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