Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has strongly condemned the long detention of minors involved in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests by the police authorities.
Lawmaker representing Kogi Central in a statement issued in Lokoja on Saturday by Arogbonlo Israel, her Chief Press Secretary, described the police action as “inhumane and unjust”.
A total of 76 minors were on Friday arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of Federal High Court, Abuja, where some of them reportedly fainted due to malnutrition before the judge, who ordered for their detention till January, 2025.
But Akpoti-Uduaghan condemned such order and called on the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to investigate the detention order granted by Justice Obiora Egwuatu
According to her, detaining minors in a medium correctional facility is wrong and violates their fundamental human rights.
“This is because children should be tried in a juvenile court, where their identities are protected and not displayed or published in Court.
“I hereby urge the Controller of Prisons, Haliru Nababa, to investigate the detention conditions of juveniles at the Kuje prisons over improper facilities.
“Kuje medium security custodian centre is not designed for detaining children. The juvenile correctional facilities should be used instead,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan appealed to the Federal Government to “temper justice with mercy” and release the detained minors, whom she said were likely used by unscrupulous adults to commit crimes.
“It’s my my belief that the children should be in school and not in detention.”
#EndBadGovernance protest: Suspects not in custody of NCoS – Spokesman
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has said that suspects arrested during the #Endbadgovernance protest in August 2024 were not remanded in any of its adult custodial centres in Abuja.
The Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO) Abubakar Umar confirmed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja. Umar said that there were misleading reports making the rounds in some sections of the media purporting that the suspects were remanded in one of the adult custodial centres in Abuja.
According to the NCoS spokesman, the said report has no iota of truth.
”The service operates under the best correctional and global practices. To set records straight, the NCoS Act 2019 has empowered the Controllers of Corrections as well as Superintendents-in-charge of Custodial Centres not to admit juveniles in facilities meant for adults.
“The Act also mandates the service to reject more intake of inmates where it is apparent that the custodial facility in question is filled to capacity.
“The service wishes to inform the public that the said suspects were rejected and none of them were remanded in adult custodial facilities as insinuated by the said report.
“The service assures the public that NCoS will continue to emphasise professionalism as well as respect for human rights in line with the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Juvenile offenders.
“Furthermore, the general public is enjoined to disregard the said report because it is not the true position of things,” he said.