By Gbenga Ojikutu
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has commenced moves to drop the charges brought against the 32 minors arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Hours after the arraignment, the AGF disclosed in a statement late Friday night his interest in taking over the matter from the Inspector General of Police.
He noted that there were issues his office would like to review.
“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to make an informed decision,” the AGF said.
“It is not within my power to vary the court order remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January. I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the case file to my office and hand it over to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation tomorrow, Saturday, November 2, 2024.
“I have further directed the DPPF to immediately initiate steps to request an earlier adjournment date,” he added.
A source from the Federal Ministry of Justice confirmed that the IG had already submitted the case file to the AGF as requested, and actions were underway to swiftly drop the charges against the defendants.
The source added that the court was set to reconvene early this week, rather than on the adjourned date of January 24, 2025.
“The police have submitted the case file, and the parties are working together. The court will reconvene early this week,” the source said.
Also, the defence counsel for all 119 defendants, Marshall Abubakar, in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, confirmed that steps were being taken to drop the charges against the children this week, especially since the AGF had requested transfer of the case file.
“The government has been calling; the AGF has called. I think, most likely, by next week (this week) we will get the charges thrown out,” Abubakar said.
He also confirmed that the minors among the 119 remanded protesters were in the custody of the SARS IRT, adding that they were kept in a large hall as the purported Borstal system for juvenile detention was non-existent.
“The children were taken to IRT SARS. There is a big hall there where they are kept because there is actually no Borstal Centre.”
Another source knowledgeable about the case told our correspondent on Saturday that the AGF’s office was considering filing an affidavit of urgency and an application on Monday before the court.
The source said, “This means if the application is granted, the case will come up on Tuesday. Hopefully, the case will be discontinued.”
Meanwhile, human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has raised the alarm over the whereabouts of two children arrested by the police.
Adeyanju said the minors were supposed to be arraigned alongside the 76 accused persons brought to court on Friday.
He noted that the two children were on the list of those earlier taken to court by the police to obtain a remand warrant a few months ago.
The activist called on the attorney general to use his good offices to discontinue the case.
“It took a lot of effort for us to get the children to be brought to court on Friday. Two of them who were originally arrested were not even brought to court. We don’t know their whereabouts or what has happened to them. Their names were on the warrant obtained from the court, but they were never brought to court on Friday,” Adeyanju told Sunday PUNCH.
He revealed that about seven other arrested protesters were also not arraigned on Friday because they were sick and had to be taken to the Federal High Court clinic.
“Their names were withdrawn from the charge sheet due to their illness. They couldn’t stand trial. Their plea was not taken, meaning they will be arraigned again.
“We asked the police to release them since the court had discharged them and struck out their names from the charge, but the police refused. They took them back to the IRT,” Adeyanju explained.
Meanwhile, the Northern Comrades Movement of Nigeria and the organisers of the #EndBadGovernance protest in Lagos have condemned recent statements from the IG regarding the children who fainted in court on Friday.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, NCMN National Secretary Ahmad Ashir, said, “The IG’s assertion that the minors fainting in court was staged is utterly unacceptable. Video evidence clearly shows these minors collapsing, making this allegation not only baseless but deeply insensitive.
“To suggest that these minors fainted intentionally disregards the trauma they may have experienced. It’s imperative to prioritise their health and ensure they receive adequate medical care and psychological support.”
A representative of the #EndBadGovernance organisers, Hassan Soweto, called for the immediate release of the children, saying, “It’s profoundly insensitive for the police to make such claims about children who have endured starvation and torture for three months. This is an outright insult.”
