One of the family members of 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday has been told that her brother is not a terrorist but that the “government is the terror”.
A 28-second clip shared on X by Juwon Sanyaolu, the national coordinator of Take It Back (TIB), a non-governmental group seeking a fair, free and equitable Nigeria, shows a woman consoling a lady who was one of the many relatives of the accused barred from entering the courtroom, saying: “Your brother is a hero; your brother is not a terrorist. It’s the country we find ourselves in. The government is a terror.”
Speaking with FIJ, Sanyaolu confirmed that the woman offering comfort is Hauwa Mustapha, a research officer with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), while the distraught lady being consoled is the sister of one of the protesters arraigned in court.
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Even family members of the activists became traumatized after they were harassed, and prevented from gaining entrance into the court room pic.twitter.com/h0LMHT7ERT— JuwonSanyaolu (@AyowoleSanyaolu) September 2, 2024
Sharing details of the event at the Abuja High Court with FIJ, Sanyaolu said family members were prevented from entering in order to give the accused an impression of abandonment.
“From the point of abduction — I won’t call it an arrest — of the protesters, the police have ensured that they bar them from family members and even prevented them from accessing their lawyers,” he said on Tuesday.
“The reason they did this is to subject them to psychological trauma and emotional torture. They were even planning to arraign them secretly. They got a 60-day injunction against them; no lawyer was contacted, and they did not allow them to contact anybody. It’s very unfortunate for the judiciary.”
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He also revealed that apart from family members, concerned stakeholders like himself were stopped from entering the courtroom, as security agencies cordoned off the area.
“The moment you identify yourself as having any relation with those arrested, they will not allow you in. If you say you are coming to witness the trial of the protesters, they will not allow you in,” Sanyaolu told FIJ.
“The NSCDC, the police and the DSS simply cordoned off the venue. They were screening people who were going in and those who would not be allowed inside.”
He lamented that the Bola Tinubu administration was trying to make a scapegoat of the protesters. He also said it was to ensure that nobody dared confront the government.
“It is to scare these activists and Nigerians so they won’t be able to confront the government because the government has not only abandoned the protest demands, but has continued to heap more hardship on the Nigeran people,” he said.
“For several days now, Nigerians have been finding it difficult to buy fuel and it’s being sold at exorbitant prices. The implication [of the arrest] is more hardship and an increase in the cost of living and food items. The government wants to ensure that Nigerians are terrified by these arrests so that they won’t protest again.”
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Following the August 1 to 10 nationwide protest against hunger, economic hardship and unfavourable government policies, among others, security operatives arrested these protesters in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Gombe.
They were arraigned on six charges including treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspiracy to commit a felony, inciting to mutiny and levying war against the state to intimidate the president.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who presided over the matter, ordered their remandment at the Kuje Correctional Centre and the Suleja Correctional Centre until September 11 when the ruling on their case would be heard.
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