Court dismisses charges against #EndBadGovernance protesters
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed charges against 119 individuals involved in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests.
The ruling came after the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) filed a motion to take over and discontinue the case, citing constitutional authority.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who presided over the matter, struck out the charges following a request from M.D. Abubakar, counsel for the AGF.
The motion was supported by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, who invoked Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, granting the AGF the power to assume control over criminal cases from the police.
In its application, the AGF’s legal team sought to drop the charges against the 119 accused, citing that many of them were minors and should not face prosecution. The request was unopposed by the defense lawyers, prompting Justice Egwuatu to grant the AGF’s motion to discontinue the case.
Although the accused were not present in court, Justice Egwuatu ordered their immediate release from detention.
This legal development follows an instruction by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, directing the AGF to discontinue the case. The president had highlighted that many of the individuals charged were minors and, therefore, legally ineligible to stand trial.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at NeptunePrime.
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