By Desire Emmanuel
A man from Niger Republic who spent nine months in prison custody due to his inability to speak and write English has now regained his freedom.
The man, whose name was given simply as Yakubu, aged 34 years, came to Nigeria in search of work and ended up as a scrap dealer in Lagos State.
It was gathered that in July 2025, while going about his work, a man approached him and told him he wanted to sell a few items including a condemned shock absorber, iron rods, among others.
As he and the seller were negotiating the price, a vigilante member appeared and arrested both men. During the arrest drama, the seller was said to have run away and Yakubu was left behind. He was thereafter taken to the police station.
At the police station, it was found out that Yakubu could neither speak nor understand English and his spoken Hausa was completely different from what anyone who understands Hausa at the station could speak.
Following this, a statement was said to have been written for him at the station and he was allegedly ordered to put his thumbprint which he did.
After three days in police detention, he was taken to court and when the charge of stealing was read to him, he didn’t understand. But when a court official who managed to communicate with him interpreted the charge, he pleaded not guilty.
Following his not guilty plea, the magistrate granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 but due to his inability to meet the bail condition as he didn’t have any family in Nigeria, he was remanded in prison custody.
His plight got to the attention of an advocacy group that usually visits prisons and courts, the Headfort Foundation for Justice, and after hearing about him from a prison warden, one of the lawyers of the foundation decided to take up his matter and began representing him in court.
The foundation announced the development on its X handle on Friday night.
Following many adjournments due to language barrier and inability of the prosecution to appear in court during hearings, the lawyer urged the court to dismiss the case for want of diligent prosecution as the man had spent nine months in prison custody.
The magistrate granted the prayer of the lawyer. On April 15, 2026, he cautioned Yakubu and discharged him after spending nine months in prison custody.
