On Friday, the Nigerian government brought charges against 43 individuals linked to the #EndBadGovernance protests in a Federal High Court located in Abuja. This group includes six minors, among whom is 15-year-old Ahmed Haruna, and twelve others arrested while carrying Russian flags during the protests that took place nationwide in August.
The prosecution, led by DCP Simon Lough (SAN) from the Legal Prosecution Section of the Nigeria Police Force, has noted that one individual implicated in the case, 70-year-old British national Andrew Martin Wynne, also known as Andrew Povich, remains at large.
Earlier the same day, another group of 76 protesters was arraigned in court, with five individuals reportedly fainting during proceedings. Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who oversaw the hearings, granted bail to each defendant set at N10 million.
In his ruling, Justice Egwuatu mandated that each defendant secure two sureties equal to the bail amount. One surety must be a civil servant at a minimum of grade level 15, and the other must be a parent of the defendant, both of whom need to have verifiable addresses within the court’s jurisdiction.
The prosecution opted to suspend charges against the five minors who collapsed until they are fit to stand trial. The formal charge against the defendants details various acts committed between July 31 and August 5, 2024, across several Nigerian states, alleging they acted in concert to undermine the stability of the country.
The twelve individuals accused of protesting with Russian flags have been identified as Bakir Mohammed, Aminu Mohammed, Mahmoud Umar, Abdullahi Sani, Kabir Rabiu, Yahaya Kabiru, Gaddoki Muhammed, Nasiru Lawal, Jubril Abdulkarim, Hussaini Sani, Idris Jibril Alhassan, and Haruna Nasiru.
The charges also assert that the defendants conspired to incite unrest, aiming to provoke the Nigerian military and foreign governments, including Russia, to unseat President Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s administration and other state leaders through violent protests.
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