Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, has requested the police to transfer the case file of protesters arraigned over the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest.
Chaos erupted at a federal high court in Abuja on Friday when some minors, among 76 protesters charged, collapsed while waiting to be arraigned. The court granted them N10 million bail each, while the prosecutor asked the judge to remove the names of those who collapsed from the charge.
In a statement, Fagbemi said, “It has just come to my notice that the police have arraigned those arrested in connection with the endbad governance violent protest in court for various offences including treason.”
He added, “There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to take an informed decision. I am aware that the court has remanded the defendants in detention centres and adjourned the case to January.”
Fagbemi clarified, “It is not within my power to vary the order of the court remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January.”
He directed, “I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the casefile to my office and hand over same to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) tomorrow, Saturday 2nd November 2024.”
Fagbemi further instructed, “I have further directed the DPPF to immediately put machinery in motion for consideration of the court to bring the adjournment date forward (an earlier date).”
The arraignment of minors sparked condemnation from within and outside Nigeria. Amnesty International described the detainment as unlawful, citing disregard for the law.
Nigerians, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, ex-governor of Anambra, and Shehu Sani, former senator, criticized the minors’ arraignment.
Presiding Judge Obiora Egwuatu granted N10 million bail to defendants, requiring two sureties in like sum. One surety must be a civil servant (grade level 15 or higher) with a verifiable address within the court’s jurisdiction, while the other surety must be a parent of the defendant.
