(DDM) – A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted eleven #EndBadGovernance protesters, prompting their legal counsel, Abubakar Marshal, to demand immediate compensation and a formal apology from the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
DDM gathered that Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the landmark ruling on Wednesday, striking out all treason and terrorism-related charges filed against the activists who were arrested during the nationwide August 2024 demonstrations.
The ruling, celebrated by activists as a major judicial victory, fully exonerated the protesters who had been portrayed by security agencies as threats to national stability.
Marshal, speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, condemned the case as “state-backed persecution anchored on fear of dissent,” stressing that the protesters’ only offence was demanding accountability and good governance — rights explicitly protected under the Nigerian Constitution.
He argued that the government sustained the charges for over a year despite lacking legal or moral justification, insisting that the demands made by the protesters were not criminal but constitutional.
Citing Chapter 2, Section 14 of the Constitution, he emphasized that sovereignty belongs to the people, questioning why the government criminalized citizens for insisting that governance must serve the public good.
The eleven activists had been arrested across multiple states, transported to Abuja, and subjected to months of detention and prosecution. Their bank accounts were frozen, their movements monitored, and their reputations damaged as they were paraded as criminals.
Marshal noted that the prolonged ordeal inflicted severe psychological, economic, and social harm on the accused, many of whom still cannot fully access their frozen funds.
He described the proceedings as “a sham trial,” recounting that the state initially filed three charges but withdrew two after procedural setbacks before the final charge was struck out by the court.
Marshal maintained that the next step must involve full compensation for the activists, restoration of their bank accounts, and a public acknowledgment from the government that the protesters committed no offence.
He argued that it was the state, not the citizens, that violated constitutional rights and undermined the social contract by weapon using prosecution to silence dissent.
According to him, the government’s actions inflicted lasting damage by portraying peaceful activists as criminals to the world.
He insisted that the court’s ruling has now “cleaned that stain,” stressing that justice will remain incomplete until the government repairs the harm done with tangible restitution and official apology.
