ABUJA – Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticized the Federal Government following the arraignment of underage protesters, many visibly malnourished, at a Federal High Court. Brought in for alleged involvement in anti-government protests in August, the youths, aged 12 to 15, were seen in what Atiku described as “a horrible scene reminiscent of a Nazi concentration camp.” He referenced Section 11 of Nigeria’s Child Rights Act, underscoring the constitutional guarantee of dignity and protection for minors against “inhuman treatment or punishment.”
Abubakar also denounced what he termed the government’s “low regard for the lives of the vulnerable” and condemned the long detention period, which he suggested had left the minors in deplorable conditions. “Children have every right to protest peacefully,” he stated, emphasizing the disproportionate impact of governmental policies on youth and the underprivileged.
He expressed disbelief over the government’s harsh stance against minors protesting policy effects, contrasting it with democratic freedoms supposedly championed by the current administration.
