In the early hours of October 2, 2018, Samson from Ogudu, Lagos State, set out to the local market for groceries, unaware that a police raid was underway. He was unexpectedly seized and shoved into a police van.
At the Police Station, Samson was informed he was suspected of being a cultist, a claim he firmly denied. Granted bail, he attempted to call a relative but, unable to reach anyone, called his friend Larry instead. Larry rushed to the station to bail Samson out, but upon arrival, was himself detained under the same cultism suspicion. Larry used the bail money he had brought for Samson to secure his own release, leaving Samson without support.
Charged with cultism, Samson was remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Center, awaiting trial without any legal representation. On November 30, 2018, Headfort Foundation’s Legal Aid Team intervened, taking on his case. Represented in court on December 17, 2018, our lawyer successfully argued for the case to be dismissed due to lack of evidence and prosecution diligence. After spending three unjust months in detention, Samson was finally released.
