In a response to the controversy surrounding the arraignment of EndBadGovernance protesters, Nigerian government counsel Rimazonte Ezekiel stated that all individuals presented before the Federal High Court on Friday were adults.
His statement followed significant backlash sparked by reports claiming that minors, who had joined the recent protests, were among those being prosecuted.
Notably, during the court proceedings, one of the alleged minors fainted, further fueling public concerns.Ezekiel addressed the situation in a video interview with Channels Television, where he denied the presence of minors among the defendants, asserting that the suspects were primarily married men.
He clarified, “These boys we brought to court today, all of them are adults. Most of them are married men; none of them is a minor.”
The lawyer explained that the individuals were arrested in the Kaduna and Zaria areas, emphasizing that they were indeed legally responsible adults.Continuing, Ezekiel addressed the appearance of young individuals at the court, noting that some minors seen in the vicinity were only there to show support for family members or acquaintances, not as defendants. “Some of them are university graduates.
The small kids that you are seeing here, they came with their parents to greet their loved ones.
They are not even the real suspects standing trial in this case,” he clarified. His comments aimed to dispel claims that the government had detained and arraigned minors as part of the broader legal action against protest participants.
Ezekiel’s remarks took a turn to address broader concerns regarding the intentions behind the EndBadGovernance movement.
He alleged that certain protesters had called for the removal of Nigeria’s President and state governors, advocating for military intervention as a replacement for democracy.
According to him, demonstrators had displayed foreign flags, including the Russian flag, during the protests, actions he described as attempts to destabilize the country.
“Imagine the level we are at now. Do you know what it cost us to be at the level of this democracy?” he questioned.
Ezekiel criticized the protesters’ actions, suggesting that they represented a rejection of the democratic framework Nigeria has fought to establish.
Ezekiel defended the government’s position, stating that Nigerians were fully enjoying their constitutional rights, including freedom of movement, and expressed his disapproval of efforts to disrupt the nation’s stability.
“Everybody is enjoying their fundamental rights; nobody is abusing their rights.
Everybody is enjoying free movement and everything is moving fine in the country,” he asserted.He further dismissed allegations against law enforcement, contending that the defense was attempting to “tarnish the image” of the Nigerian police.
Ezekiel underscored that the prosecution of 43 defendants involved in the protests was strictly in line with legal protocols, maintaining that all individuals brought before the court were adults.
