Months after getting arrested for joining the #EndHunger protest in August, scores of emaciated minors unable to perfect their N10 million bail were transported to Kuje correctional facility on Friday after their arraignment.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu’s courtroom at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court was filled to capacity after over 70 defendants, primarily minors, charged with treason, were presented in court for arraignment.
At least four of them collapsed, looking visibly distressed and crying while lawyers scrambled to get them medical attention.
The minors who collapsed were rushed to the hospital and prosecutors were forced to temporarily withdraw the charges levelled against them according to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 which exempted sick defendants from criminal proceedings.
The judge slapped a N10 million bail on each of the remaining defendants and asked them to produce two sureties, one of whom must be a government employee on grade level 15 or above and the second surety, their parent.
Both sureties must avail their addresses to be verified by the court before bail can be processed.
But the defendants, majority of whom got arrested in other states including Kano, Kaduna and Gombe, were unable to immediately meet the bail conditions, leading to their prolonged incarceration at the Kuje prison.
It was unclear whether the prison facility had provisions for minors but socialite Vincent Otse alias VeryDarkMan, detained for unauthorised use of police uniform, disclosed that he was in the same cell as the minors.
Their detention has ignited heated debates on social media where netizens condemned the President Bola Tinubu administration while others said the minors deserved to be held accountable for their actions, as the protests eventually led to looting and destruction of public properties in some states.
