A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the case against 119 individuals charged in connection with the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests.
The court’s ruling came after the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) filed an application to take over and discontinue the case, citing constitutional provisions.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who presided over the case, struck out the charges after M.D. Abubakar, counsel for the AGF, requested that the trial be discontinued.
The request was supported by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, who invoked Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants the AGF the authority to assume control of criminal cases from the police.
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In his application, the AGF’s legal team sought to drop the charges against the 119 accused individuals, arguing that many of them were minors and should not be subjected to prosecution. The request was unopposed by defense lawyers, leading Justice Egwuatu to grant the AGF’s request.
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Although the accused persons were not present in court, Justice Egwuatu ordered their immediate release from detention.
This legal development follows an instruction by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday for the AGF to discontinue the case. The president had noted that many of those charged were minors, and as such, they were not legally eligible to face trial.
