Detained minors reveal ordeal in detention
Some of the minors arrested over the EndBadGovernance protest have narrated their ordeal during the two months they stayed in detention in Abuja.
The minors who spoke to newsmen at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital where they were taken on their return to Kano, said most of the time they spent three days without food.
One of the minors, a 15-year-old Umar Ali, said they suffered a lot during their incarceration as they hardly saw the sunlight in the place they were kept.
“We saw hell because we suffered a lot. We sometimes stayed for three days without food. And we got the food, it was not adequate or enough.
Ali who denied partaking in the protest, said he was arrested on his way to the market where he normally goes and does some menial jobs to get money at Kwana Hudu in Ungoggo local government area of the state.
“We hardly saw sunlight in the place where we were kept, hence the reason why some of us could not see very well when we were brought to the court,” he said.
He advised youths to stop participating in any protest be it peaceful or violent “because we saw hell after our arrest even though I didn’t participate in the protest,”.
Another minor, Ibrahim Aliyu Musa who was transferred to Abuja a day after his arrest, said himself and many others were kept in the same place with hardened criminals.
“I was among those kept with hardened criminals and we sometimes spent a number of days without food.
“The food we were being served with was not only inadequate but was tasteless.They used to serve us beans in the morning, rice at lunch time and Gabza for dinner.
“Gabza means tuwo which is prepared from corn without washing the corn. They sometimes call it “from sack to pot” . It’s normally prepared for inmates due to their large number. So, we have to eat Gabza so as to keep the body and soul moving,” he said.
Also narrating his ordeal, a 13-year-old boy, who said he was arrested at Gadon Kaya area in Gwale Local government area, said he was accused of flying the Russian flag which he also denied doing so.
“I was arrested on the 15th of August, 2024 and moved to Abuja the following day. We were kept at Abattoir SARS in Abuja. We were kept with hardened criminals for the number of days we were there,” he said.
The minors who commended Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for his intervention and support, advised youths to shun acts capable of truncating their future.
Meanwhile, the minors were being kept at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital where they were being checked and treated by a team of medical personnel.
They were expected to stay in the hospital for four to five days before they would be reunited with their parents.
