Treason Charge: No law forbids trial of minors- AGF insists

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has justified the treason charge filed against some minors who participated in the recent EndBadGovernance protest that was held across the country.

Vanguard reports that the AGF maintained that no law in the country forbade the prosecution of minors and said that President Bola Tinubu’s decision to terminate further proceedings on the case brought against the teenagers was purely on compassionate grounds.

Fagbemi reportedly said this at the commissioning of an office comment in Abuja on Thursday, November 7.

“No law in this country says a minor cannot be tried, and I have also heard suggestions that they should go to a family court. The study of the law and the constitution leaves you no other conclusion than that the federal high court has jurisdiction in matters bordering on treason and related issues. So, whatever the situation, the president has closed the chapter by his decision to have these young men released.

The president was very compassionate; he is a father and a grandfather. If you look at the facts in the possession of the security agency, you would marvel.

But the president said, despite all this, ‘I have children and grandchildren,’ and that motivated his passion to release them and also enable them in some ways. So the credit goes to him (the President) for showing compassionate consideration in releasing the young chaps” the AGF said

It will be recalled that Federal High Court in Abuja had last Tuesday struck out two separate treason charges that were preferred against 119 persons that were arrested and detained for participating in the nationwide protest that was held between August 1 and August 10.

The cases were terminated after the AGF, acting at the directive of President Tinubu, withdrew the charges that were originally brought before the court by the Nigeria Police Force.

Whereas 32 minors were cited as defendants in the first 10-count charge marked: FHC/CR/503/2024, in the second charge marked: FHC/CR/527/2024, which contained four counts, five minors were listed as defendants in the matter.