The Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, struck out the charges brought against a total of 119 #EndBadGovernance Protesters.
On Friday, all 119 protesters were charged with treasonable felony, intent to destabilise Nigeria, and inciting mutiny by calling on the military to take over the government from President Bola Tinubu, among other offences.
The defendants were arraigned in two batches during the preceding procedure.
The first batch included 76 protestors, 32 of whom were juveniles, while the second batch included 43 protesters.
At the resumption of proceedings, M. D. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, who represented the AGF, informed Justice Egwuatu that the Federal Government had decided to take over and close the case.
Citing Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, Abubakar informed the court that, in exercising his authority, the AGF intends to take over the matter from the Inspector General of Police.
He said, “We have an application to take over the matter and to discontinue the same under Section 174 of the Constitution.”.
However, the AGF’s application was not opposed by the defence counsel.
Femi Falana (SAN) said, “We have no objection to the application because it is per the letter and spirit of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act as well as several provisions of the Child Rights Act.
“The AGF has the power to take over the case at any stage and exercise his discretion to discontinue the suit.”
The court approved the plea after the parties agreed that the AGF should take over the dispute. After the court granted the motion, the AGF invoked authorities from the same part of the Constitution to end the trial of the 119 defendants.
The defence lawyer did not contest this request either. Justice Egwuatu dismissed the allegations when the defence had no objections.
Although the accused were not present in court, the judge ordered their immediate release from jail remand.
Chronicle NG reported that President Bola Tinubu had on Monday directed the AGF to see to the immediate release of the defendants.
Public outcry and condemnation followed the arraignment of the protesters in court, which included minors.
Beyond their age, the audience was angered by the defendants’ poor and malnourished looks, which resulted in four of them collapsing in court.
Following their arraignment, the Attorney General of the Federation said in the late hours of Friday in a statement that he had decided to take over the case and instructed the Inspector General of Police to hand over the case file.
On Saturday, November 2, the IGP delivered the case file to the AGF’s office, as requested.
A new date of Tuesday, November 5, was then scheduled, bringing the next hearing on the subject forward. It was originally slated for January 24, 2025.
The charges levelled against the defendants, among others, read, “Count one: That between July 31, 2024, and August 4, 2024, at Abuja FCT and Kano Metropolis within the jurisdiction of this court, while acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspired together to commit Felony to wit: Treason. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code.
“Count two: “that within the jurisdiction of this court, while acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspired together to commit Felony to wit: inciting to mutiny and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code.”
The FG further accused them of plotting to destabilise Nigeria by inciting mutiny and pushing for the military to take over the administration from Tinubu.
Between August 1 and 10, numerous Nigerians came to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the country’s growing economic difficulties and inadequate administration.
This rally was hashtagged #EndBadGovernance. During the protest, some demonstrators were tear-gassed, arrested, and shot.
