In January 2024, Gift, a sales representative, was wrongly arrested for a crime committed by the POS operator (approved operator by the company) who fled with the money she was supposed to deposit for her company.
She was charged in court for stealing and the court granted her bail but couldn't perfect the bail conditions until after spending four months in prison awaiting trial.
Gift was navigating the justice system without a lawyer until May 2024 when our team got involved in her case and represented her pro bono. Court issued witness summons for the prosecution to produce their witness in court but for more than a year, no witness came to court to proof the allegations against Gift.
On May 13, 2024, our lawyer’s consistent application to strike out the case was granted by the court and Gift was discharged.
Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, section 4 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos state, and Section 36 of the Nigeria Police Act condemn arresting someone in lieu of an offender.
Arresting Gift in lieu of the POS operator's crime is unlawful and a violation of Gift’s right.