Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police, has described the freeing of some minors who joined the #EndBadGovernance protest from detention by the federal government as “a gesture of magnanimity” on Monday.

The statement, signed by Force PRO Muyiwa Adejobi, was an attempt to respond to Amnesty International’s November 28 report about the police employing “excessive force to violently quash” the protest in August.

Even though the police said it handled the protest professionally Egbetokun said that the claims would be investigated.

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“In a gesture of magnanimity, the Federal Government has since granted pardon to the individuals arrested during the protests despite the severity of their offences, evidencing its commitment to reconciliation and national unity,” the statement from the IGP’s office read in part.

“The Nigeria Police Force has expressed serious concern regarding a recent 34-page report released by Amnesty International, which alleges police culpability in the deaths and arrests of protesters, and the use of excessive force during the #EndBadGovernance protests in August 2024.

“The Force categorically refutes these allegations as unfounded, misleading, and inconsistent with incident reports submitted to the office of the Inspector-General of Police by affected Commands.

“The Force wishes to reiterate that throughout the protests, it operated in compliance with established rules of engagement, including providing security for peaceful protesters.

“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D, NPM, had issued clear directives to all Commissioners of Police on managing the protests, emphasising that officers should not deploy arms to manage protests.

“Instead, arms were only to be used when protests escalated into riots involving loss of lives and damage to property. Even then, engagement with armed protesters was limited strictly to specialised armed units to restore order.”

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While the police had promised to investigate the issues, it had consistently claimed no underaged persons were being prosecuted even after the government had admitted so and discontinued their prosecution before a federal court.

On November 2, Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi took over the cases filed against the minors. Subsequently, the court quashed the cases on November 5.

The takeover by the minister was compelled by the gory appearances of the juveniles in court, with some of them collapsing in the courtroom in unhealthy conditions.