5 hours ago
3 ARTICLE AD
Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf.
Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, on Thursday, handed over the 76 minors arrested over the August #EndBadGovernance protest to their respective parents.
The governor, who was represented by the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Shehu Sagagi, performed the handing over at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, where they were accommodated and treated for the various ailments they suffered during their incarceration.
The PUNCH reported that a total of 76 defendants looking malnourished and unkempt, including at least 28 minors aged below 18, were, on November 1, 2024, brought to an Abuja High Court from detention, for their involvement in the October 1, 2024, #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano and Kaduna.
Following the outrage that followed the arraignment, including the collapse of some of the minors in court, President Bola Tinubu ordered that they be released immediately.
On Tuesday, November 5, Vice President Kashim Shettima officially handed over the released minors to their governors at a ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Those of Kano origin were airlifted from Abuja to Kano, where they were taken for medical treatment.
Speaking during the handover of the minors to their respective parents on Thursday, the governor again commended the President for releasing them.
He called on their parents to support the government in ensuring the minors were educated.
“I want to call on parents to complement the government’s effort towards ensuring these children are properly educated, to enable them to contribute towards the development of the state and the country.
“Both the federal and state governments would take up the responsibility to ensure that our children are educated,” Yusuf said.
He warned parents against forming associations to solicit financial assistance from any individual, group or organisation, adding that the government would not condone such acts.
He assured the parents that the education commissioner would ensure that the children were given the necessary support to return to their respective schools.
The Commissioner for Education, Haruna Doguwa, said one of the protesters, a final year undergraduate student, would be supported to complete his studies while another one who holds a National Certificate in Education, would be employed by the government.
He added that eight of the protesters had completed secondary school education, promising that the government would support them to further their studies.
About 50 others yet to complete their secondary education, according to him, would also be supported by the government.
“We have provided shoes and two sets of uniforms to support the 50 others to complete their secondary education,” he said.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Yusuf, said all those who came with one illness or the other had been treated in the hospital.
“The 76 minors who had been accommodated in this facility underwent a medical evaluation and received necessary treatment before being reunited with their families today,” he said.
A cross-section of parents who spoke to newsmen commended the state government for the gesture and thanked all those who contributed to ensure the release of the children.
During the occasion, the founder of the Bafarawa Foundation and former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, gave N50,000 each to the released protesters in support of their education.
