Two men who were arrested during police raid after a fight broke out in a community in Lagos State and who ended up spending 11 months in prison custody have now regained their freedom.
The young men, whose names were given simply as Ayomide and Taiwo, were arrested when the police were called after the fight had broken out. The police arrested everyone they found on the street and took them to the station.
They were arrested on the December 10, 2025 and three days after, on December 13, they were arraigned on a three-count charge of belonging to an unlawful society, breach of peace and threatening a community member.
They pleaded not guilty and were granted bail. However, while others arraigned with them were able to meet their bail conditions, Ayomide and Taiwo could not do so and they were remanded in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre.
On January 16 this year, their plight got to the attention of an advocacy group that usually visits prisons and courts in Lagos State, the Headfort Foundation for Justice, and on hearing from them, one of the lawyers from the foundation took up their matter and began representing them in court.
The foundation announced the development on its X handle on Friday morning, saying since January, the case suffered several adjournments.
On August 15, when the case came up again, the lawyer applied for the matter to be struck out, but the prosecutor asked for a lengthy date for adjournment as her witness was not in court due to what she described as special duty, which the court granted.
On the adjourned date being November 9, the witness was still not in court and this made the lawyer to apply again that the matter be struck out for want of diligent prosecution.
The court eventually granted the application, struck out the case, discharged and acquitted Ayomide and Taiwo after spending 11 months in prison custody.
