Africa’s topmost human rights body demands probe into detention of protesters, minors

The recent arrest and prosecution of over 100 persons, including minors, detained over the August’s #EndBadGoverance protest has alarmed Africa’s highest human rights body, which has now demanded a thorough probe into possible mistreatments of the detainees.

“The African Commission is alarmed by reports that those detained, including the minors, have endured inhumane conditions for an extended period of time with little regard to their due process rights,” the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) said in a statement on Friday. “Such conditions of detention may amount to violation of Article 5 of the African Charter and the right to due process of the law guaranteed under Article 7 of the African Charter.”

In the statement by its Nigeria country rapporteur on human rights, Solomon Dersso, ACHPR called for an independent investigation into the conditions in which the Nigerian government detained protesters including minors over the August #Endbadgovernance protest.

“The Commission urges a comprehensive and independent investigation into the conditions under which the detainees are held. Such an investigation should ensure accountability for any inhumane treatment and verify that Nigeria’s detention facilities meet standards that uphold detainees’ dignity and health,” he said.

Detention, prosecution of protesters

An outraged public, including local and international rights organisations, rebuked the Nigerian government over the detention of protesters, including minors, arrested and charged with treason, a capital offence, in connection with the August protest.

The government was, until last week, prosecuting over 100 people including the minors, who had been detained continuously for more than 90 days.

Concerns over the development heightened after two of the visibly malnourished minors and two other persons said to be of adult age slumped in court. The government, following public outrage, withdrew the charges and released them.

After their release, the government made a show of a reception of 114 of them to douse public outrage.

Lawyers told PREMIUM TIMES that the government violated the provisions of the Child’s Rights Act (2003) in prosecuting the minors.

A lawyer, Mujeeb Abdulwasiu, noted that presenting the minors in a conventional court instead of the juvenile court with exclusive jurisdiction over children’s cases, itself was a violation.

There are also allegations that the minors were kept in the same detention facilities as the adults, which also violates the CRA.

The police denied this but the ACHPR is calling for an investigation into it as the commission received reports of mistreatment of the detained persons.

ACHPR’s concerns over righs violations

Mr Dersso, the ACHPR’s top representative in Nigeria, said the reports received by the commission indicate that “as many as 76 people, including children as young as 14 years old, have been detained, under conditions that do not meet minimum standards of human dignity and care in Nigeria.”

He said the prosecution of protesters may also amount to excessive restriction of freedom of assembly.

He added that the government’s action could also have an adverse effect on human rights in Nigeria and on the country’s human rights record.

“Of utmost concern for the African Commission is the risk of the treason charges carrying death penalty,” he said.

The commission, therefore, called on the Nigerian government to end the inhuman condition of detention with due regard to the best interest of children.

It also asked the Nigerian government to ensure the detainee’s right to due process of the law in accordance with Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance under the African Charter.

It noted that the government bears responsibility for ensuring that conditions of detention comply with minimum standards and humane treatment of the detained, especially children, to the standards under the African Charter on Rights and Welfare of the Child.

“The Children should not only be provided with adequate food, water, and sanitation as well as medical care but also kept in secure facilities separate from the places of detention for adults,” it said.

READ ALSO: #EndBadGovernance Protest: Gov Sani to rehabilitate minors

Clampdown

The Nigerian government launched an extensive clampdown on protesters and others perceived to be involved in the August demonstration, which was held across states between 1 and 10 August.

The demonstration, also referred to as hunger protest, was aimed at expressing citizens discontent with the President Bola Tinubu administration’s handling of the economy, which they blamed for the unprecedented inflation and high costs of living in the country.

The protest turned violent in some northern states like Kaduna and Kano, where government facilities were torched.

Some protesters were also seen waving Russian flags during the protests.

The ugly developments armed the government with excuses to clamp down on people perceived to be connected with the protest. Hundreds of people, including minors, were arrested in connection with the protest in Kano and Kaduna.

The Nigerian police conducted a sweeping crackdown on protesters in Abuja, where the demonstration was outstandingly peaceful.

In the heat of the state assault, the police accused a British socialist, Andrew Wynne, believed to be involved in organising the protest in Abuja, of leading an attempt to topple President Tinubu’s administration “and plunge the nation into chaos” under the guise of the August’s nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests.

Mr Wynne, a septuagenarian, who said he peacefully left the country before the clampdown began, has denied the allegations, insisting that protest is not a crime.

The police charged 10 persons, who were arrested in Kaduna, Plateau State and different parts of Abuja, with working with Mr Wynne to topple the Tinubu administration. The case, still pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja, is different from the one involving minors that was recently withdrawn from court.

Mr Wynne denied knowing some of the defendants.

Curiously, three of them did not only abstain from the protest, they were also critics of the demonstration which they said was unnecessary.