Nigerian children could face the death penalty for protesting against the record cost of living crisis in the country.
According to CNN, the police have arrested a total of 76 demonstrators including 29 children in Nigeria for participating in the protest on Friday, November 1, 2024, against the increasing cost of living and hunger.
As per the charge sheet seen by The Associated Press, the protestors have been charged with 10 felony counts, including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance, and mutiny.
The 29 children arrested and charged are aged from 14 to 17 years old, while four of them collapsed in the court to exhaustion even before entering a plea.
It is predicted that these children could be sentenced to death by the court.
Private lawyer Akintayo Balogun argues that sentencing children to death and initiating criminal proceedings is against the Child Rights Act.
He said, “So taking minors before a federal high court is wrong, ab initio, except if the government is able to prove that the boys are all above 19 years.”
Moreover, Yemi Adamolekun, executive director of a civil society promoting good governance in Nigeria, asserted, “The chief justice of Nigeria should be ashamed, she is a woman and a mother.”
To note, the death sentence was introduced in Nigeria in the 1970s, but no one has been sentenced to death in the country since 2016.
