The federal government through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has reportedly commenced moves to drop the charges brought against the 32 minors arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The AGF, in a statement, disclosed that his interest in taking over the matter from the Inspector General of Police. He noted that there were issues his office would like to review.
“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to make an informed decision,” the AGF said.
“It is not within my power to vary the court order remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January. I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the case file to my office and hand it over to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation tomorrow, Saturday, November 2, 2024.
“I have further directed the DPPF to immediately initiate steps to request an earlier adjournment date,” he added.
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A source from the Federal Ministry of Justice confirmed to Punch newspaper that the IG had already submitted the case file to the AGF as requested, and actions were underway to swiftly drop the charges against the defendants.
The source added that the court was set to reconvene early this week, rather than on the adjourned date of January 24, 2025.
“The police have submitted the case file, and the parties are working together. The court will reconvene early this week,” the source said.
Also, the defence counsel for all 119 defendants, Marshall Abubakar confirmed that steps were being taken to drop the charges against the children this week, especially since the AGF had requested transfer of the case file.
“The government has been calling; the AGF has called. I think, most likely, by next week (this week) we will get the charges thrown out,” Abubakar said.
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He also confirmed that the minors among the 119 remanded protesters were in the custody of the SARS IRT, adding that they were kept in a large hall as the purported Borstal system for juvenile detention was non-existent.
“The children were taken to IRT SARS. There is a big hall there where they are kept because there is actually no Borstal Centre.”
Another source knowledgeable about the case said on Saturday that the AGF’s office was considering filing an affidavit of urgency and an application on Monday before the court.
The source said, “This means if the application is granted, the case will come up on Tuesday. Hopefully, the case will be discontinued.”