The family of Michael Adeniyi has demanded justice over his continued detention, alleging that the teenager has spent about three years in custody after being arrested as a minor.
It was gathered that Adeniyi was arrested in
2023 by officers attached to Area F Command, Ikeja, when he was 14 years old.
His sister, Tosin, said others arrested
alongside him were released the same day after allegedly paying for their
freedom, while Adeniyi remained in custody due to his family’s inability to
raise the required funds.
Despite being a minor at the time, he
was reportedly detained and later remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
“We did not see him at home when the
incident happened. It was later, around December 2022, that the man he was
apprenticed to called to inform us that Michael was in Kirikiri. When we got
there, he said he was arrested during a police raid and that while others were
granted bail, he was not because he had no phone to contact the family,” she
said.
Tosin added that his case has suffered
repeated adjournments.
“We also learnt that the police were
invited to testify in his case, but they failed to appear. It was only after
the judge threatened action that an officer showed up, and he told the court
that my brother did not commit any offence,” she said.
She lamented the toll of the situation
on the family, noting that both parents died while efforts were ongoing to
secure his release.
Meanwhile, the Take It Back Movement has
condemned the incident, describing it as a reflection of systemic abuse within
the law enforcement system.
In a statement signed by its Lagos State
Coordinator, Taofeek Adekunle, the group said the case underscored issues of
abuse of power and disregard for due process.
“This case is a clear example of how
greed, abuse of power, and disregard for the law continue to destroy innocent
lives. The continued detention of a minor under such circumstances is
unacceptable,” the statement read.
The group called for the immediate
release of Adeniyi, a thorough investigation into the officers involved, and
compensation for the years spent in detention.
It also disclosed that it had engaged
legal counsel and was prepared to pursue the matter to its conclusion.
Efforts to get a response from the Lagos
State Police Command were unsuccessful, as calls and a text message to its
spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, were not answered as of the time of filing this
report.
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