By Desire Emmanuel
A man who spent three years in prison custody and five years on legal battle after he brought a cutlass to a mosque in Lagos State for his protection has regained his freedom after a court discharged and acquitted him.
The man, whose name was given simply as Nureni, a furniture maker in Lagos, went to the mosque (names withheld) with his family to observe prayers on April 12, 2021.
It was gathered that due to the fact that the area where the mosque is had become unsafe as a result of frequent harassment by area boys and other thugs who targeted worshippers, he carried a cutlass with him to the mosque.
However, while returning home after the prayers, he was accosted by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).
But despite his attempt to explain the reason he was carrying the cutlass, he was apprehended and handed over to the police. While in police custody, Nureni was reportedly tortured and told to confess to crimes he never committed.
After spending a day in police custody, he was transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), where he spent two months, during which he was reportedly subjected to severe torture.
On June 17, 2021, Nureni was arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and arming himself with a cutlass to terrorise innocent worshippers.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was subsequently remanded at the Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre, where he remained for three years.
According to an advocacy group that usually visits prisons and courts, the Headfort Foundation for Justice, in a statement regarding the matter on Friday night, for three years, Nureni remained in custody with no meaningful progress in his case. There was no advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), no trial and no explanation for why such two-count charge was brought without supporting evidence.
After hearing about his plight from a prison warder during one of its visits on December 20, 2023, the foundation decided to take up his matter and one of its lawyers began to represent him in court.
In August 2024, the lawyer filed a bail application, and after spending three years in custody, Nureni was granted bail on August 13, 2024.
“Despite the granting of the bail, the matter continued to stagnate. There was still no DPP advice. Our legal team persistently followed up by writing letters and making repeated visits to the DPP’s office. It was only after the court issued two hearing notices to the DPP that the advice was eventually issued,” the foundation disclosed in the statement posted on its X handle.
In the advice issued, the DPP concluded that there was no sufficient evidence to prosecute Nureni for armed robbery and advised instead that he be charged for breaking into a place of worship with a cutlass.
Even after the issuance of DPP’s advice, the prosecution failed to diligently pursue the case and after several adjournments, the case came up again February 3, 2026.
The prosecution once more failed to produce any witnesses. The prosecutor informed the court that he could not reach his witnesses and requested for another adjournment.
“We strongly objected to this. We informed the court that this was a 2021 matter, that the defendant had already lost years of his life to detention, and that the conduct of the prosecution showed a clear lack of interest in prosecuting the case. We applied that the matter be struck out, on the basis that the prosecution had been given more than sufficient time and opportunity to prosecute if they were serious,” the foundation added.
The court agreed to the prayers of the lawyer, struck out the case, discharged and acquitted Nureni after three years in prison custody and five years of legal battle.
