By Desire Emmanuel
A man who was arrested in Ekiti State and charged with attempted murder has died in prison custody a few days after he was found innocent by a court in the state.
The man, whose name was given simply as Roland, was arrested on June 17 this year and charged with attempted murder before a court in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, a charge he vehemently denied.
After the charge was read to him, he was remanded in prison custody pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution which never came for months.
It was gathered that as weeks turned into months, Roland’s health began to fail in prison custody, making his family become worried every day.
His plight got to the attention of an advocacy group that usually visits courts and prisons, the Headfort Foundation for Justice, and after hearing from his family, one of the lawyers of the foundation decided to take up his matter.
The foundation disclosed on its verified X handle on Friday, December 12, that after months of delay, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) eventually issued the legal advice, which stated that Roland had no case to answer and he should not have been charged in the first place.
With the legal advice, the date for his case was said to have been brought forward so the court could strike out the charge. But Roland never lived to witness his freedom.
According to the foundation, a day before his case was to be struck out, his condition got worse. He was rushed to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), where he gave up the ghost.
