Nigerian Man Allegedly Arrested By Mistake In Maximum Prison For 6 Years Without Trial

A Nigerian man simply identified as Junior, has allegedly spent six years in a maximum prison without trial after he was arrested while charging his laptop at a neighbour’s house.

This is according to a Twitter user with the handle @Hausa_girl, who said the suspect is not a criminal.

@Hausa_girl said Junior was arrested alongside his neighbour, and six years after, he is still awaiting trial.

The tweet read:

“This guy has been in maximum prison for six years without trial. He went to charge his laptop in his neighbour’s house. That was how he was raided with the guy. Junior is not a criminal… Six years of his life is wasted and he’s still awaiting trial.

“The criminal they arrested told them Junior was innocent but they didn’t release him. Let’s get him out please… #JUSTICEFORJUNIOR”

Reactions have trailed the tweets. Below are some of the reactions from Nigerians gathered by BreakingTimes:

@DaFBI: “A friend of mine was in prison for 2 months, when he talks about cases there you almost cry. A young child in prison for years for stealing onions, people in prison awaiting trial for charges that ought to be dispensed in the first court session.”

@NewSleekRay07: “This guys need to pay serious damages for what they did to #Junior and other wrongfully accused that are waiting trial. They shouldn’t be allowed to go scotfree please. Let justice take its cause and let serious investigations be carried out before an arrest please.“

@TimothyEmmanue2: “The justice system in Nigeria, has failed the generality of the masses with exception to the elites. We are at a crossroad in this country. O God!!! Have mercy on us. Justice delayed is justice denied. Junior will overcome.”

@chiedoziedeclan: “In 2018, an NGO contacted me to help them execute a project on prison decongestion in 9 states.Theirs was to pay fine for convicts who have option of fine not more than 50,000k. In the cause of that work,I was almost depressed. Nigerians are suffering.”

@DapoVibes: “Our Government only boasts about roads and crap but there’s no value for human life.Why should people’s lives be wasted in Prison for crimes they didn’t commit. Nigeria needs a total overhaul. ?

Meanwhile, Popular Nigerian activist SegaLink, has revealed that they are currently investigating the matter.

He revealed that Junior was indeed arrested, based on the digital records they found.

“We’ve been on this case since my last tweet. Special thanks to my brother Distinguished @Lamboginny & the patriots at the @followlasg Judicial System. We’ve jointly gone through the digital records & have found his file. He was arrested in 2014 by SARS & appeared in court in 2015,” SegaLink tweeted

He continued: “So deeper deliberation and fact finding is ongoing as we speak by the efficient Ministry of Justice in Lagos that just made a believer of us. I believe this will be resolved once we check the veracity of all claims. Thank you @Lamboginny, @RuggedyBaba, @SIAF_NG & @citizen_gavel.”

“Before the end of day tomorrow we should have a favorable update. @Hausa_girl thank you for escalating and bringing this to our notice. I will keep you updated. Keep your phone close. #EndImpunity #Justice4Chidozie #HomeComing ??”