CISLAC Decries Detention of Minors in #EndBadGovernance Protests, Demands Immediate Release
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has condemned in strong terms, the detention and reported maltreatment of minors who took part in #EndBadGovernance protests.
In a recent statement, signed by the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Head of Transparency International-Nigeria, and Chairman Amnesty International Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, CISLAC described the situation as a tragic violation of human rights, with reports revealing that several of these young detainees, some under 15, have suffered severe malnutrition and even collapsed in a Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to CISLAC, these minors have been held by the Nigerian police since August for participating in protests aimed at denouncing worsening insecurity and poverty across the country.
The organisation expressed particular concern over the reports of inadequate food and medical care, which have left these minors in dire condition saying that images circulating on social media depict heart-wrenching scenes of the children lying on the courtroom floor, as onlookers, including lawyers, attempted to revive them.
CISLAC’s Executive Director, Rafsanjani, called on the first lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to intervene, urging her to view these young detainees as “her own children” and push for their immediate release. “It is disturbing and damaging to Nigeria’s global image to witness such treatment of young citizens who were only exercising their constitutional rights,” Rafsanjani stated.
He also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to take action, stopping government officials from endorsing such punitive measures and mandating the release of the minors.
Rafsanjani stressed that the detention conditions not only violate national laws but also breach international human rights agreements to which Nigeria is a signatory. “Detaining these children under such appalling conditions is unconscionable,” he said, emphasising that this incident casts a “dark stain on our national commitment to the rule of law and respect for human rights.”
CISLAC is therefore, calling on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to step in and advocate for the rights of the detained minors.
The organisation is also urging global bodies, including UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and Save the Children Foundation, to condemn the detention and exert pressure on Nigerian authorities for the unconditional release of the minors.
The minors were initially detained based on a police order alleging their involvement in a supposed plot to destabilise the government—a claim rights groups, including CISLAC, assert lacks credible evidence.
Rafsanjani stressed that those responsible for the detention of these minors without just cause are the true violators of the law and that their actions demand urgent redress.
CISLAC’s passionate appeal underscores the ongoing concerns around civil liberties and the protection of children’s rights in Nigeria, calling for justice, accountability, and the safeguard of fundamental freedoms.
