Impact Stories
Blessing is a single mother of a 5year old child and a hairstylist. She is an indigene of Cross River State, and lived at Harmless Estate, Ikorodu, Lagos State. She has a friend named Alice who also stays with her. Her friend Alice was seeking for a maid’s job and she gave her the contact of a particular Agent named John at Obanikoro. On getting the job for Alice, Blessing stood as a guarantor.
After the span of 3 months, Alice resigned from her place of work and pleased to stay with Blessing, blessing agreed, and she travelled to cross river state while Alice was living in her room in Lagos State.
On getting back to Lagos on the 23rd day of August, 2018 Blessing was visited by Police Officers who arrested both her and Alice for stealing of jewelries. They were taken to SARS office at Ikeja GRA. At the Station, the SARS officials collected all they had and locked them up in the cell. Blessing explained to the SARS officials that she knows nothing about any jewelry, but all her explanation fell on deaf ears. They were tortured to the extent that Alice became mentally unstable and few days after, they were charged to court for stealing.
On the 12th day of September, 2018, they were taken to court for arraignment and the Court upon realizing that Alice was not mentally stable rejected Alice plea and order that she be taken to psychiatric hospital while Blessing pleaded not guilty to the charge. She was granted bail, but she could not perfect her bail conditions and no complainant showed up in court.
On the 2nd of July, 2021, Blessing met Headfort Foundation's Lawyer stationed at the Ogba Magistrate Court (one of the Mobile Offices of our “Lawyers Without Border” Project) and her brief was taken. Our lawyer carried out a due diligence in the court to know the state of the matter and represented her in court, she pointed to the court that the matter has been on since 2018 and no complainant came to court and the prosecution did not produce any witness in the matter but left Blessing to rot in jail. The court gave the prosecution one more opportunity to produce it witness and adjourned the matter.
On the 8th day of July, 2021, the matter came up again and in their usual manner, the prosecution did not produce any witness or complainant, our lawyer again applied that the matter be struck out for want of diligent prosecution and reminded the court that it gave the prosecution the last opportunity to produce their witness but they failed. The Court going through its file and noting that the complainant had never shown up in the matter, granted our lawyer’s application and the matter was struck out with Blessing discharged of all charges against her.
Blessing spent two years and eleven months in prison before her release.
