A Lagos teenager who was remanded in custody in 2022 after he was allegedly arrested over slippers similar to those worn by a complainant has regained his freedom after spending nearly four years behind bars.
The teenager, whose
identity was not disclosed, was among two men whose cases were taken up by the
non-governmental organisation, Citizens Gavel, after
its legal team
discovered them during a visit to the Medium Security Correctional Centre in
January 2024.
Citizens Gavel, in a
post, stated that the teenager was arrested because he wore slippers similar to
those of the complainant
but had never been
taken to court despite spending months in custody.
The legal body noted
that the discovery prompted its intervention to track the case.
“Their ordeal came to
our attention in January 2024 during a visit to the Medium Security
Correctional Centre, where our legal team in Lagos interviewed
them and discovered
that, despite having been arrested since 2022, they had never been taken to
court.”
“Immediately, our legal
team took up their cases and began tracking the matter at the Office of the
Director of Public Prosecutions, eventually tracing
the case to the court
of Justice Coker,” the post partly read.
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Citizens Gavel stated
that it made its first appearance in the matter in March 2024 and subsequently
appeared before Justice Coker more than seven times
for trial.
The organisation
further stated that despite several adjournments, the prosecution failed to
produce a single witness.
“From then on, we
continued appearing before Justice Coker on more than seven occasions for trial
and filed several applications urging the court to strike
out the case despite
all the adjournments and the prosecution failing to produce a single witness,”
it said.
The legal team,
however, claimed that it was informed in early 2025 that Justice Coker was on
official assignment and that the case would be transferred
to another court.
The statement noted
that the Citizens Gavel again began the process of tracking the case and
eventually discovered that it had been transferred to the
court of Justice
Oshodi.
The organisation said
it first appeared before Justice Oshodi in March 2025, when the charges were
read to the two defendants, and they pleaded not guilty.
“At the close of the
prosecution’s case, we filed a No Case Submission, arguing that the prosecution
had failed to establish a case requiring the defendants
to answer,” the post
read.
The matter was
subsequently adjourned for ruling.
Delivering the ruling,
the court reportedly upheld the No Case Submission and discharged and acquitted
both defendants.
Citizens Gavel,
however, described the outcome as significant.
“What makes this
victory even more profound is that throughout this nearly four-year ordeal, not
a single member of either defendant’s family appeared
in court. No other
lawyer also represented them. They endured years in custody largely unseen and
unheard. Today, they walk free,” the organisation said.
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