Opposition activists report that 29 minors in Nigeria are facing a looming death penalty after being charged with acts of felony including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance and mutiny. These minors, aged between fourteen and seventeen years, are among the 76 people who were rounded up by the police and arraigned in court on Friday after participating in protests over the cost of living that have been going on in Nigeria since August.

Legal practitioners and advocates of good governance have condemned this act stating that it constitutes an infringement of the Child Rights Act of Nigeria. The act accords children a right to peacefully assemble in conformity with the law and under the guidance of their parents or guardians. It also states that a child who has allegedly committed an act that would constitute a criminal act if he were an adult shall be subjected to child justice systems and processes. These include the utilisation of police investigations and adjudication before the court as a means of last resort when dealing with child offenders.

The act provides for alternative means of disposing of the case like out of court settlement, supervision and compensation of victims. Although these particular provisions apply to non-serious offenses, it rests upon the discretion of the person dealing with the child offenders to decide whether these alternative measures can be employed in a specific case.

The Child Rights Act further provides that detention of an alleged child offender pending trial shall be used as a means of last resort and that when detention is deemed necessary, the child ought to be taken care of, protected and provided with assistance with regards to the needs they might be having. Due process that satisfies the requirement of a fair hearing also has to be observed by the court adjudicating on matters involving children. The court, moreover, has to carry itself out in a manner that protects the best interests of the child at all times.

While according to the Nigerian Criminal Code Act the punishment for treason is the death sentence, various international conventions protect the 29 children against this looming sentence. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states that a death sentence shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age. The Convention on the Rights of the Child also proscribes capital punishment for persons under the age of eighteen years. Furthermore, Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty states that persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of a crime shall not be sentenced to death.

UNICEF has been called upon to look into this matter.