Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday reacted to the disturbing viral videos of malnourished children being arraigned before a Federal High Court on Friday.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by his media team in Abuja and a corresponding post on his official X account.
It was reported that no fewer than 76 #EndBadGovernance protesters were paraded before Justice Obiora Egwuatum for their scheduled arraignment.
They were arrested and detained during the nationwide August 1 to 10 protests, which were sparked by widespread economic hardship that led many Nigerians to take to the streets to express their grievances.
The protesters, who were arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states, were being accused of treason among other offences.
However, four of the detained demonstrators, mainly minors, were said to have been hurriedly rushed out of the courtroom after they struggled to stand on their feet.
Reacting, Atiku lamented that the pitiable sight of the children in the courtroom ”was reminiscent of the infamous Nazi concentration camp.”
The Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election also noted that it was an utter violation of Section 11 of the Child’s Rights Act, which guarantees that no child should be subjected to physical, mental, or emotional injury as well as torture and inhuman punishment.
He said, “If they are just being arraigned three months later, one can only imagine the sort of dehumanising conditions they had been subjected to and have been detained all this while.
“I find it reprehensible that a man who claims to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy and had led protests now demonises those who decide to demonstrate against the effects of his harsh and draconian policies.
“Children who are the most affected by these policies have every right to protest peacefully as guaranteed by the Constitution and the Child Rights Act.
“A nation can be assessed by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. It is saddening that even underage children are not spared from the wickedness of T-Pain.
“The disturbing condition under which the alleged accused children were brought to court projects the very justification for their participation in the protest in the first place.”
