Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday reacted to the disturbing viral movies of malnourished youngsters being arraigned earlier than a Federal Excessive Court docket on Friday.
This was disclosed in a press release issued by his media crew in Abuja and a corresponding publish on his official X account.
The PUNCH reported that no fewer than 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters had been paraded earlier than Justice Obiora Egwuatum for his or her scheduled arraignment.
They had been arrested and detained throughout the nationwide August 1 to 10 protests, which had been sparked by widespread financial hardship that led many Nigerians to take to the streets to precise their grievances.
The protesters, who had been arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states, had been being accused of treason amongst different offences.
Nonetheless, 4 of the detained demonstrators, primarily minors, had been stated to have been hurriedly rushed out of the courtroom after they struggled to face on their ft.
Reacting, Atiku lamented that the pitiable sight of the youngsters within the courtroom ”was harking back to the notorious Nazi focus camp.”
The Peoples Democratic Social gathering presidential candidate within the 2023 election additionally famous that it was an utter violation of Part 11 of the Youngster’s Rights Act, which ensures that no youngster ought to be subjected to bodily, psychological, or emotional damage in addition to torture and inhuman punishment.
He stated, “If they’re simply being arraigned three months later, one can solely think about the kind of dehumanising circumstances they’d been subjected to and have been detained all this whereas.
“I discover it reprehensible {that a} man who claims to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy and had led protests now demonises those that determine to display towards the results of his harsh and draconian insurance policies.
“Youngsters who’re probably the most affected by these insurance policies have each proper to protest peacefully as assured by the Structure and the Youngster Rights Act.
“A nation could be assessed by the best way it treats its most susceptible residents. It’s saddening that even underage youngsters usually are not spared from the wickedness of T-Ache.
“The disturbing situation beneath which the alleged accused youngsters had been delivered to court docket tasks the very justification for his or her participation within the protest within the first place.”