Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, has severely denounced the detention of juveniles involved in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests, calling it “inhumane and unjust”.
On Saturday, the senator further requested that the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, investigate the detention order issued by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court.
Egwuatu awarded N10 million bail to 72 defendants, including malnourished youngsters, for allegedly participating in the statewide #EndBadGovernance demonstration.
The judge ordered that each defendant submit two sureties in equal sum.
According to Akpoti-Uduaghan, keeping kids in a medium correctional facility is unlawful and infringes their fundamental human rights.
She insisted that minors be tried in juvenile court, with their names shielded and not displayed or published in court.
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The senator also urged the Controller of Prisons, Haliru Nababa, to look into the custody circumstances for adolescents at the Kuje prisons, citing malnutrition and inadequate facilities.
She insisted that the “Kuje Medium Security Custodian Centre is not designed for detaining children and that juvenile correctional facility should be used instead.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan urged the federal government to “temper justice with mercy” and free the arrested youngsters, claiming that “unscrupulous adults likely used them to commit crimes.”
She went on: “Children should be in school, not detention.”
