A Nigerian court releases 119 protesters, some facing the death penalty, after the government drops charges

Abuja, Nigeria
Reuters
—

A Nigerian court on Tuesday released 119 people, including minors, after authorities dropped charges against them over deadly protests over economic hardship in August.

The defendants were charged with, among other things, high treason and incitement to a military coup and were tried last Friday in groups of 76 and 43 people. One of the charges carried the death penalty.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday ordered the release of all minors arrested during anti-government protests in August and dropped charges against them.

“The case has been dropped and the 119 protesters have been released,” Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer for the protesters, told Reuters.

“Now we are demanding their rehabilitation and compensation from the various state governments.”

The country’s attorney general took over the case from the police and dropped the charges after moving the matter forward to be heard in January.