The Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners’ Forum expressed its shock and outrage, echoing the sentiments of Nigerians, after witnessing visibly traumatized and malnourished youths—some of them minors—paraded before an Abuja court on charges of high treason against the Nigerian state.
The organisation described the action of the police as an “irresponsible act of inhumanity” that has “attracted national and international outrage”, and “will forever be a stain on our national consciousness as a so-called democratic country”.
In a statement issued by its Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa (Ajiyan Yauri) on Sunday, the group “condemned in strongest terms this inhuman treatment meted on fellow Nigerians, whose only crime was exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights to protest”.
It said, “The revelation by the government that it had uncovered the identity of the sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance protest, made the prosecution of these boys, who probably attended the protests out of childish curiosity, laughable, though tragic.
“We therefore call on the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute anyone found culpable for the detention and mistreatment of these children.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that Nigeria under President Tinubu is fast becoming a police state where the rights of the citizens are daily being trampled upon.
“Critical national institutions like the judiciary, police and other security services, designed for the protection of the rights of the citizens, have been turned into mere tools for the oppression of the masses.
“As observed recently by the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria, BON, even the press has not been spared, with journalists being regularly arrested for no just reason.”
‘For the avoidance of doubt, the causes of the social upheaval being witnessed in the country are directly attributable to the destabilizing and debilitating effects of the policies of the President,” it said.
The organisation lamented that Nigerians have been pauperised beyond measure, with people daily dying of hunger.
According to Yelwa, this means that people will therefore continue to protest, “especially as the government appears to be insensitive to their plight”.
He said, “We therefore join other Nigerians in calling on President (Bola) Tinubu to order the immediate release of these protesters and arrest and prosecute the real sponsors of the protest if there are any. These physical tormented terrorized boys, scavenging for food in the temple of justice, to any right-thinking mind, are not capable of high treason against Nigeria.
“The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984, clearly states that no one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
“Unfortunately, Nigeria has failed to uphold this convention, and the recent arraignment of youth and juveniles is a stark reminder of this failure.”
The organisaton called on President Tinubu, security forces, and the judiciary to among others steps, release the 76 detainees and ensure their safety and well-being. It added that the four juveniles who collapsed in the court should immediately be flown to Paris or London for treatment.
It also called for the investigation and prosecution of the real sponsors of the protest the police claimed to have uncovered.
Yelwa called on the government to “address the root causes of the agitation and ensure that the rights of all citizens are protected” and “uphold the rule of law and ensure that the judiciary is independent and impartial”.
It also asked the government to “reverse some of the anti-people programmes of the Tinubu administration that have brought untold hardship to the nation”.
“The Government must offer unreserved apology to the victims and offer them adequate compensation. We urge all Nigerians to stand firm and fight against any injustice and violation of human rights,” it added.
