Ten people who took part in protests in Nigeria last month have been charged with treason and other serious offences by the Federal High Court in the capital Abuja.
All suspects have pleaded not guilty.
The demonstrations, dubbed “10 Days of Rage,” were called in response to the extremely difficult economic times many find themselves in.
In some places, there was violence as protesters clashed with security forces. Police said at least seven people were killed, although human rights groups put the death toll at 23.
Nearly 700 people were also arrested.
The ten people who appeared in court on Monday were charged with treason as well as destroying public property and injuring police officers.
They were accused of conspiring with a British citizen “to destabilise Nigeria by calling on the military to take over the government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the indictment said.
They are said to have shouted: “Tinubu must go, we want soldiers.”
Despite a request to release the 10 suspects on bail as they had already been held for a month, the court decided they would remain in custody.
Human rights organization Amnesty International previously criticized the legal process, calling it a “sham.”
Last month, the party called for an investigation into the killings during the protests.
On August 1, demonstrations began in all major Nigerian cities, with people chanting slogans such as “we are hungry” and “end bad governance”.
The protests, organised on social media, were partly inspired by the success of demonstrators in Kenya who forced the government to scrap its plans for tax increases.
Curfews were imposed in some parts of the country, with authorities saying protests had been “hijacked by criminals” who engaged in widespread looting and property destruction.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in a generation. Annual inflation is running at more than 30 percent. Food prices have risen even faster — in the commercial hub of Lagos, for example, yams, a staple food, are almost four times more expensive than they were last year.
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