Twenty-nine children in Nigeria could be facing the death penalty after being arraigned on Friday for participating in a protest of the country's record-high cost-of-living crisis. Before they could enter a plea, four of them collapsed in court due to exhaustion.
According to the charge sheet seen by The Associated Press, 76 protesters were charged with 10 felony counts, including treason, property destruction, public disorder, and mutiny.
The minors, according to the charge sheet, were between the ages of 14 and 17.
Several large-scale protests have taken place in recent months as a result of frustration with the cost-of-living crisis. At a protest in August for better opportunities and jobs for young people, at least 20 people were shot dead and hundreds more were arrested.
In Nigeria, the death penalty was implemented in the 1970s, but there have not been any executions since 2016.
According to private attorney Akintayo Balogun, who is based in Abuja, the Child Rights Act prohibits any child from being the subject of criminal proceedings and a death sentence.
Balogun made the following statement: "So, taking minors before a federal high court is wrong... except if the government is able to prove that the boys are all over 19 years old."
Marshal Abubakar, a boy's lawyer, stated that the court eventually granted each defendant $5,900 in bail and imposed stringent conditions that they have yet to meet.
"A nation that has a responsibility to educate its citizens will choose to punish those citizens. Abubakar stated, "These children have been detained for ninety days without food."
The executive director of Enough is Enough, a Nigerian civil society organization promoting good governance, Yemi Adamolekun, stated that the government should not be prosecuting children.
Adamolekun stated, "The chief justice of Nigeria should be ashamed, she is a woman and a mother."
Nigeria is still one of the poorest countries in the world, despite being one of Africa's top producers of crude oil. Because of widespread corruption, public officials' lives rarely reflect those of the general public. Medical professionals frequently go on strike to protest low pay.
The nation's legislators and administrators, frequently blamed for defilement, are the absolute best paid in Africa. Even the wife of the president, whose position is not mentioned in the constitution, has the right to SUVs and other luxuries that are paid for by taxpayers.
Nigeria's government has struggled to create jobs, despite having the continent's largest population of more than 210 million people. The rate of inflation is also at its highest level in 28 years, and the local naira is trading at record lows against the dollar.
A report from the United Nations' food agencies said on Thursday that Nigeria was a "hotspot of very high concern" because a lot of people there are facing or are expected to face critical levels of acute food insecurity.
