**Says Tinubu’s regime intolerant of opposition voices
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has said he will not give credit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the release of the 76 minors arraigned for treason last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja for participating in the #EndBadGovernance Protest last August.
This is even as the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has alleged that Tinubu’s regime is increasingly becoming intolerant of dissenting voices in Nigeria, saying that opposition voices are being silenced by the All Progressive Congress (APC) led administration.
Adegboruwa who spoke on Channels Television breakfast programme ‘Morning Briefing’ monitored in Abuja on Wednesday argued that the arrest, detention, arraignment of minors in court and subsequent discharge on the orders of President Tinubu should not have happened.
For this reason, he posited that he will not shower praises on President Tinubu for ordering the immediate release and discontinuance of the prosecution of the minors in court because the federal government should not have allowed the Nigerian Police Force to bring the treason charge against the minors in the first place.
According to Adegboruwa, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) is the organ empowered to charge anyone for treason and not the Police, adding that for such infractions to happen under the noses of the President and AGF showed clearly the failure of leadership.
He argued that he will not clap for the President for ordering the release of the minors because their arraignment should not have happened, pointing out that he does not want to believe that the President does not know that the Police was going to arraign minors in the court.
Adegboruwa insists that the release of the minors was sequel to the facts that the federal government knew that it was going to lose the case in court because the Police cannot prosecute persons accused of treason or mutiny let alone the prosecution of minors.
The human rights advocate however decried the shrinking civilc space in Nigeria, accusing the Tinubu regime of intolerant of opposition voices just as he has called on the President to allow dissenting voices in Nigeria.
He argued that President Tinubu protested severally before he became the president of Nigeria and wondered why he will now criminalise protests in the country.
On the corruption in the Nigerian judiciary, Adegboruwa blamed the Executive arm ofgovernment for the rot, saying that they starve judiciary of funds and coerced it to do their bidding.
He, however, called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Kudirat Kere-Ekun to ensure the digitalisation of the courts, formulate policies and unify the rules (uniform system) of the administration of justice in Nigeria to insulate the judges from corrupt practices.
Prompt News recalls that the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday struck out the treason charge preferred against the minors who participated in the August #EndBadGovernance protest following its withdrawal by the federal government on the orders of President Tinubu who granted clemency to the accused minors.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the charge after the application for the discontinuance was moved by Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
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