We were starved, locked up with criminals – Minors

•Police deny maltreatment as released protesters narrate three-month ordeal behind bars

 

After being granted reprieve by President Bola Tinubu on Monday, several minors, aged between 14 and 17, who were arrested during August’s #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests against hardship in the country, have shared their harrowing experiences while in custody with The PUNCH.

 

On Friday, 76 suspects, including 32 minors – who were arrested during the protest – were arraigned by the Inspector-General of Police on 10 counts bordering on treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria and inciting to mutiny by calling on the military to take over the government from President Tinubu, among others.

 

Four of the minors, who looked visibly malnourished, collapsed during court proceedings before Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Abuja division of the Federal High Court.

 

 

It sparked outcry across the country, with civil society groups and rights activists blaming the police and the government over their treatment of the minors from Kano and Kaduna states.

 

Following the uproar, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during an emergency briefing on Monday, told State House correspondents at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja that President Tinubu had directed the immediate release of all the minors.

 

Consequently, the Abuja High Court in Abuja struck out the charges brought against the protesters by the police.

 

 

Idris said the President also “directed that all the law enforcement agents involved in the arrest and the legal processes will be investigated, and if there are any infractions found to have been committed by any official of Government, be him a law enforcement agency, or whoever that person may be appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken against him or her.”

 

On Tuesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, before handing over the minors to the Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and his Kaduna counterpart, Uba Sani, argued that President Tinubu’s decision, made on humanitarian grounds despite evidence of wrongdoing, was an opportunity for personal reform.

 

The minors returned to Kano and Kaduna on Tuesday night with tales of woes, describing their experiences while in custody as “hellish.”

 

Minors narrate ordeal

 

Those from from Kano have been kept at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, where they are being checked and treated by a team of medical personnel. They are expected to remain in the hospital for five days, before they would be reunited with their families.

 

Some of them, who spoke to The PUNCH at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital where they were taken on their return to Kano on Tuesday night, said they were denied food by the government officials for several days.

 

“We saw hell; we suffered a lot,” one of the minors, Umar Ali, 15, said. “We sometimes stayed for three days without food. And even when we were given food, it was always not enough.”

 

Ali denied involvement in the protest saying he was arrested on his way to the market at Kwana Hudu in Ungoggo Local Government Area of the state, where he usually does menial jobs to sustain himself.

 

He added that they were kept in the dark while under custody, which he said affected some of them when they went for trial.

 

“We hardly saw sunlight in the place where we were kept, hence the reason why some of us could not see very well when we were brought to the court,” he said.

 

Another minor, Ibrahim Aliyu Musa, who was transferred from Kano to Abuja a day after his arrest, said he and others were kept in the same place with hardened criminals.

 

“I was among those that were kept in the same place with hardened criminals and we sometimes spent a number of days without food.

 

“The food was nothing to write home about, they were inadequate and tasteless. They served us beans in the morning, rice at lunch time and Gabza for dinner. Gabza is normally prepared for inmates due to their large number. So, we had to eat Gabza so as to keep body and soul moving,” Musa added.

 

Also narrating his ordeal, a 13-year-old boy, who said he was arrested at Gadon Kaya in Gwale Local Government Area, said he was accused of flying the Russian flag, which he denied doing.

 

“I was arrested on the August 15 and moved to Abuja the following day. We were kept at Abattoir SARS in Abuja. We were kept with hardened criminals for the number of days we were there,” he said.

 

Protesters given N100,000

 

The 39 detained protesters from Kaduna State on Wednesday reunited with their families.

 

The children were given N100,000 and A18s model Itel android phones each by the Kaduna State Government.

 

The brief ceremony was held at the Children Home along Kauru road in the metropolis, with Governor Uba Sani promising to rehabilitate and empower the released #EndBadGovernance protesters from the state.

 

This, the governor said, provided they turned a new leaf and become responsible and law abiding members of the society.

 

Speaking to journalists after the protesters were released, the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Muazu Meyere, who spoke on behalf of Governor Sani, disclosed that the governor had directed him to collect the credentials of those who had completed their tertiary education.

 

“The governor promised that some of them would be given start-up capital to commence trading, others would be taught skills and some given employment,” he said.

 

However, the SSG noted that they would track the activities and conduct of all the 39 minors to ensure they were of good behaviour “before these benefits will be extended to them.”

 

Meyere noted that the state government had taken the details of the released detainees, including contact addresses, telephone numbers and names of their next-of-kin for easy tracking and monitoring.

 

According to him, the minors were all medically examined and given psycho-social counseling on the need to change for the better, in order to be useful to themselves and the society at large.

 

“Both Islamic and Christian religious leaders preached to them to embrace the teachings of their faith and to avoid bad company, so as to benefit from God’s blessings here and in the hereafter,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, one of the released minors, Hassan Mohammed, a graduate of Economics from the Kampala University, narrated his ordeal during his 90 days incarceration at the Kuje Prison, Abuja.

 

Mohammed said, “I was arrested on August 5 along Ahmadu Bello Way here in Kaduna. When they took us to the State Criminal Investigation Department, they asked why we were protesting and we explained.

 

“They took our statements and from there they took us to Abuja FCID, where we spent 18 days before they took us to Kuje Prison.

 

On how they were feeding while at the Kuje Prison, he added, “Honestly, it was terribly bad, not good at all. They gave us small portions of garri and beans. It was a bad experience being in that place.”

 

Police deny claims

 

But the Nigeria Police Force denied maltreating the minors while reacting to the allegations by the released protesters.

 

Speaking with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed that the minors were never kept with criminals.

 

He added that the narrative was meant to undermine the credibility of the force.

 

Adejobi said, “We never maltreated or dehumanised the suspects. That’s not true. In fact, they were not kept with hardened criminals at all. There are many wrong narratives out there to undermine the credibility of the police.”

 

Borno minors detained

 

Meanwhile, findings by The PUNCH show that despite the presidential order to release minors arrested in connection with the August protests, three Mmnors are still in detention in the Borno State Juvenile home.

 

The police had on Monday arraigned 19 suspects, including the three minors, before Justice Aisha Mohammed Ali at the Borno State High Court 10, Maiduguri for allegedly participating in the protests.

 

The minors, who are between age 14 and 17, were alleged to have joined a social media group in Hausa named Zanga-Zanga (meaning “protest”) on WhatsApp and TikTok, where they reportedly agreed to take arms against the state.

 

A source at the state juvenile facility, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said immediately the case was adjourned in court on Monday, the minors were returned to the juvenile facility while the adults were remanded in prison.

 

“As I speak with you, they (minors) are still in detention,” our source said.

 

Also, the Chairman, Civil Liberty Organisation, Borno State chapter, Hassan Dahiru, said they were yet to be notified of the minors’ release.

 

“We have not received any information about their release,” Dahiru told The PUNCH. “As a matter of fact, as one of the leading groups championing their release, we intend to visit the detention facility tomorrow (today).”

 

Sanusi lauds Tinubu

 

The Emir of Kano, Mohammad Sunusi II, on Wednesday commended President Tinubu for the release of the minors.

 

The monarch lauded Tinubu during his visit to the minors at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, Kano.

 

“This compassionate gesture has brought relief to the affected families and demonstrates the President’s commitment to protecting the welfare of vulnerable citizens, especially children,” he said.

 

According to the Emir, many of the arrested minors were students on their way to school in the metropolis.

 

He also thanked Governor Yusuf for transporting the victims to Kano and providing medical assistance for them.