Some of the minors, aged between 14 and 17, who were arrested during August’s #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests against hardship have relayed their harrowing experiences during the period of their detention.
They said they were not fed for the several days they were held captive..
One of them, 15-year-old Umar Ali from Kano said: “We saw hell; we suffered a lot,” adding that “We sometimes stayed for three days without food. And even when we were given food, it was always not enough.”
Ali said he was not in the protest but was arrested on his way to the market at Kwana Hudu in Ungoggo Local Government Area of the state, where he does menial jobs to sustain himself.
He said they were kept in the dark while in 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.
According to another minor, Ibrahim Aliyu Musa, who was transferred from Kano to Abuja a day after his arrest, said they were kept in the same place with hardened criminals.
“I was among those who were kept 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 to keep body and soul moving,” Musa added.
Thirteen-year-old boy arrested at Gadon Kaya in Gwale Local Government Area denied flying the Russian flag which he was accused of.
“I was arrested on 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.
But the Nigeria Police Force has denied maltreating the minors.
Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, saidat the minors were never kept with criminals, adding 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.”
It would be recalled that on Friday last week, 76 suspects, including 32 minors arrested during the protest were arraigned by the Inspector-General of Police charged with treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria and inciting to mutiny by calling on the military to take over the government from President Tinubu, among others.
At the court, four of the minors, who looked visibly malnourished, collapsed during proceedings before Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Abuja division of the Federal High Court.
This led to nationwide outcry against the FG, as civil society groups and rights activists accused the police and the government for maltreating the minors from Kano and Kaduna states.
The uproar forced President Tinubu to order 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.
