By Desire Emmanuel
A young man who spent one month in detention and four months in prison custody over an offence he never committed has now regained his freedom.
The man, whose name was given as Haruna Musa from Kaduna State, came to Lagos in order to build a better life for himself.
However, trouble began for him when, on September 7, 2005, he was walking at an estate where his friend lives as a security guard when he heard shout of thief from some residents.
Right in his presence, two of the residents ran pass him and on seeing them, he decided to join them in pursuit of the thief.
The said thief was reported to have jumped a fence and ran into an uncompleted building from where he escaped.
Moments later, some other residents stormed the place and due to the fact that they could not recognise who Haruna was, they held him and accused him of being the thief.
Despite the fact that the other men that he joined to pursue the thief insisted that Haruna was not the person they were looking for, the residents became adamant, saying he was the thief. After beating him, he was handed over to men of the Civil Defence.
Haruna was said to have spent about one month in custody before he was arraigned in court on October 27, 2025 on three-count charge of breaking in, unlawfully disconnecting copper wire, and stealing copper wire.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of ₦250,000 with two sureties. However, due to his inability to meet the bail conditions, 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 from him, one of its lawyers began to represent him in court.
The court had to adjourn twice on the scheduled days of his trial because the prosecution failed to present any witness in court and on February 13 this year, the prosecution was absent again.
As a result of this, the lawyer urged the court to strike out the case for want of diligent prosecution. The judge granted the request, discharged and acquitted Haruna after spending four months in prison custody for an offence he never committed.
