A phone shop sales boy who spent four months in prison custody after he was arrested for allegedly selling a used phone suspected to have been stolen has now regained his freedom.
The sales boy, whose name was given simply as Dayo, aged 26 years, was said to have been employed by the shop owner at a location in Lagos State.
In July 2026, Dayo landed in trouble when a customer purchased a used Tecno phone from the shop where he worked.
The phone, which was later found to be a stolen one, was eventually traced to the customer who was arrested by the police and he reportedly brought the officers to the shop and identified Dayo as the seller of the item.
Dayo was said to have explained that the phone was brought by the previous owner, who provided a receipt and the phone’s carton. The explanation was not accepted by the officers who whisked him to the station.
After their arrest, both Dayo and the buyer were subsequently charged with offences including breaking and entering, stealing and receiving stolen property.
Though they pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, they were eventually granted bail. But while the buyer of the phone was able to perfect his bail conditions, Dayo was unable to do so. He therefore remained in prison custody since July.
His situation became uncertain until his plight got to the attention of an advocacy group that usually visits prisons and courts in the state, the Headfort Foundation for Justice and after hearing from him, one of the lawyers of the foundation took up his case and began to represent him in court.
The foundation announced the development on its X handle on Friday night, saying on October 13, the case came up in court.
The court however noted that the complainant had consistently failed to appear court. This made the lawyer to ask that the case be struck out for want of diligent prosecution.
The court granted the request, struck out the case, discharged and acquitted Dayo after spending four months in prison custody.
