Nigeria court frees 119 protesters, some facing death penalty, after government drops charges

A Nigerian court freed 119 people including minors on Tuesday, after the authorities dropped charges against them arising from deadly protests in August against economic hardship.

Police fired tear gas during a protest in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Thousands of mostly young people poured onto the streets across Nigeria on Thursday as they protested against the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse some of the protesters in the capital, Abuja.

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The accused had faced charges including treason and inciting a military coup and had been arraigned in batches of 76 and 43 last Friday. One of the charges carried the death penalty.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday ordered the release of all minors detained during anti-government protests in August and dropped the charges against them.

“The case has been struck out and the 119 protesters have been released,” Deji Adeyanju, counsel to the protesters, told Reuters.

“Now we are asking for their rehabilitation and compensation by their various state governments.”

The country’s attorney general took over the case from the police and dropped the charges after bringing forward the matter due to be heard in January.