#EndBadGovernance: Over 2,000 protesters remanded in prison – Falana

In the aftermath of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests that took place from August 1st to 10th, it has been revealed that no fewer than 2,111 protesters have been arrested across the country.

Out of those detained, 1,403 individuals have been quietly arraigned in various courts, often without legal representation.

The lack of legal defense has led to these suspects being remanded in prison custody. This situation arises despite the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) publicly announcing its commitment to provide legal support for the detained protesters.

Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, who also serves as the Chair of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), disclosed these developments in a strongly worded statement.

He criticized the government’s handling of the arrests and issued an ultimatum, demanding that the protesters be formally charged in court.

In the statement, entitled ‘HALT THE CLAMPDOWN ON PROTESTERS’, Falana also said: “Seven Polish students, who were taking part in an exchange programme in Bayero University, Kano, were arrested for taking photographs during the protest.

“They may be charged with espionage to give the impression that the protests were instigated by foreign interest groups.”

On the arrested and detained protesters, Falana demanded that “Whenever the suspects are going to be arraigned, they must be given adequate notice to be able to contact the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and their family members to make arrangements for their defence.”

Arrest across Nigeria
Falana also gave a breakdown of the distribution of protesters arrested across the states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

1. Kano — 873

2. Jigawa — 403

3. Katsina–120;

4. Gombe — 111

5. Sokoto — 110

6. Borno — 99

7. Yobe — 90

8. Bauchi-60

9. Plateau — 51

10. Kaduna — 50

11. FCT — 50

12. Nasarawa — 40

13. Niger — 25

14. Zamfara — 19

15. Cross Rivers — 10

‘Suspected looters are treated better’
According to the fiery activist, “We have also confirmed that individual lawyers who had applied for the bail of the detained suspects in police stations were not informed that they were going to be arraigned in the courts.

“We submit that the decision of the authorities to deny the suspects legal representation constitutes a violent breach of their fundamental right to fair hearing guaranteed by section 36 of the Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

“This is highly discriminatory and illegal on the ground that politically exposed persons who are arrested for looting the treasury to the tune of several billions of Naira are usually informed in advance of the dates and of their arraignment in the courts.

“Such highly placed suspected looters are always granted bail in liberal terms and even authorised by trial judges to travel abroad for medical treatment.

“The offence allegedly committed by the 783 suspects arrested in Kano is that they displayed the Russian flag during the protest.

“A tailor who was sowing the flag was also arrested by the police. It may be difficult to press charges against the suspects in a country where the flags of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and other European countries are hoisted by the majority of hotels in Nigeria while Churches hoist the flag of Israel based on the erroneous belief that it is a Christian country.”