Confusion as over 20 kids were trialed by the Federal High Court, Abuja for treason and an attempt to overthrow President Bola Tinubu, are considered minors by the public.
Social media platforms are agitated as several people from different countries stand with different opinions regarding young people trialed at the Federal High Court, Abuja after spending over 90 days in detention and visibly looking malnourished and tired. Although if not all, the majority of the young people trialed visibly look like kids under the age of 15 yet were accused of treason after allegedly participating in a #EndBadGovernanceProtest, where they were said to carry Russian flags and waving them in demand for the Russian Government to help them from bad governance. This act carries a lot of significance as it is regarded as an attempt to overthrow President Bola Tinubu and his Government.
After hearing from both councils, the Chief of Justice granted conditional bail to the malnourished children with the sum of 10 million Naira each and mandated they remanded in prison till they met the bail requirements. The case was adjourned till January 2025.
The opinions in this case have people saying it is unlawful to judge these children and it is careless to believe these kids were conscious of their actions when waving the Russian flag and it would be impossible for them to plan on overthrowing the Government of President Tinubu as most of them cannot even read or write. People also believe, their actions are a result of negative influence and ignorance. However, a strong opinion suggests that it was right by law and that the young people are not kids but adults married and University graduates with full knowledge of their actions as seen in the video below.
Moreover, other opinions stand that, regardless of the children being responsible or not, they have rights protecting them from poor treatment from the state or any individual.
For emphasis, Section 11 of the Child’s Rights Act guarantees the dignity of the child. It states that “Every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no child shall be
(a) subjected to physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse; (b) subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
To conclude, this case is complex, and information concerning the topic keeps arising with the influence of international eyes as well as public opinion. We all look forward to a good outcome, yet the case may be closed and the kids left to serve their time in prison or meet the bail requirements. This is because the implications are not light, especially in the current social and financial state of Nigeria. Neglecting this could lead to other groups coming up and leading to destabilization.