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 seen by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, 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.
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.
(Punch)
