The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has stepped into the legal proceedings surrounding the recent arraignment of #EndBadGovernance protesters, by directing the Nigeria Police Force to transfer the case file to his office for review.
The protest, which culminated in multiple arrests, saw suspects arraigned in court on charges of treason and others.
According to a statement issued by Fagbemi on Friday, the move was prompted by the need to examine the case more closely before taking any further action.
“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to take an informed decision,” Fagbemi said.
The court had remanded the defendants in various detention centres and set a hearing date for January.
Fagbemi acknowledged the court’s authority in the matter, emphasising, “It is not within my power to vary the order of the court remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January.”
To expedite proceedings, however, the AGF announced plans to request for an earlier hearing.
“I have directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the case file to my office and hand over [the] same to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) tomorrow, Saturday, 2nd November 2024,” he stated.
Fagbemi further instructed the DPPF to make preparations to appeal to the court for a revised, sooner hearing date. “I have…directed the DPPF to immediately put machinery in motion for consideration of the court to bring the adjournment date forward,” he added.
Earlier, at the Federal High Court in Abuja some minors, who were
arraigned over the #EndBadGovernance protest,
collapsed in the courtroom, with many appearing visibly malnourished following their three months of incarceration.
Following their arraignment the court granted each minor N10 million bail.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor requested that the judge remove the names of those who collapsed from the charge.
PUNCH
