Impact Stories
Tunde, Emmanuel, John, and Sodiq were between the ages of 17 and 23 when they were arrested. Due to financial constraints, they had pursued apprenticeships in different trades: Fashion Designing, Barbing, Tricycle Mechanics, and Goods Offloading. They were arrested at their workplaces in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos on various dates. Unable to afford administrative bail, they were collectively charged with cultism by the Investigating Police Officer and taken to court.
Although the court granted bail, they couldn't meet the bail conditions due to their financial situation. After the second adjournment, their families stopped visiting them because they could no longer afford the travel expenses to the court and prison.
During a prison outreach at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Headfort Foundation's Legal Aid Team met with them and took on their case. A lawyer was assigned, and a court search revealed that the trial had not yet begun and no witnesses had appeared. This situation persisted through the fifth adjournment.
Our lawyer petitioned the court to dismiss the case due to lack of diligent prosecution, while the prosecutor requested another adjournment. The court then issued summons for witnesses to appear on the next date. Surprisingly, no witnesses showed up, leading to a sixth adjournment. Our lawyer effectively argued that the charges were baseless, and the court subsequently ordered the release of Tunde, Emmanuel, John, and Sodiq.
They spent four months in the Correctional Centre before their release.
