- Safiu Kehinde
In the wake of the reported collapse of an unidentified minor at the court hearing of arraigned #EndBadGovernance protesters, former minister of education, Oby Ezekwesili has written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, condemning the arraignment of the protesters.
Reacting to the drama that ensued at the hearing in Abuja Federal High Court, Ezekwesili took to her X handle, accusing Tinubu of punishing Nigerian citizens.
The ex-minister held that the August protest was embarked on by all Nigerians in agitation against economic hardship and bad governance.
Ezekwesili cited the trial of minors as an evidence of Tinubu’s failure in test of leadership.
She charged Tinubu to stop the prosecution the minors immediately and send them back to their parents and guardians.
The statement read in part; “Here is the sordid evidence of the
@NigeriaGov
punishing your citizens for daring to tell you the truth of #BadGovernance by your administration.
“No one can ever solve a Problem they deny and refuse to own. No one.
“Agitation to #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria is shared by overwhelming majority of your citizens. For real.
“How many of your Citizens can you take to court like done to these minors?
“How many of your Citizens can you detain and deprive of their freedoms like done to these minors?
“Hear me. No ruler has ever won against their people forever. Check history.
“Note that I wrote ruler and not leader. The repressive class of politicians in Nigeria are not leaders. You all have serially failed the “test of leadership” because you act as wicked rulers who feel entitled to the “publicly-funded luxurious life” while repressing and pauperizing the citizens.
Second, @officialABAT
, the evident corrupted capture of our Judiciary by the @NigeriaGov
is playing out daily on Candid Camera before the eyes of the world.
“The trial of these minors is one of many examples these days.
“Stop the wicked prosecution of these minors immediately and send the children back to their parents and guardians.
“Next, ensure that they are compensated for the physical, mental, emotional and overall psychological damage you have done to them by abusing the powers of the Nigerian State and grossly violating their constitutional rights.
“When those children came out to protest asking you to #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, they were telling you the “Truth and nothing but the Truth”.