#EndSARS: 6 protesters freed after nearly 4 years in custody
A Chief Magistrates’ Court in the Ikeja area of Lagos has convicted and discharged six men who had been on trial for nearly four years for their involvement in the 2020 #EndSARS protest.
The men, identified as Daniel Joyinbo (31), Adigun Sodiq (28), Kehinde Shola (32), Salaudeen Kamilu (29), Sodiq Usseni (33), and Azeez Isiaka (34), were charged with breaching public peace during the protests.
The defendants had entered a plea bargain agreement, in which they pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them by the Lagos State Government.
Following the plea bargain, Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi reviewed the agreement and found the defendants guilty of breaching public peace.
However, instead of imposing a sentence, she cautioned and discharged them, acknowledging that they had already spent almost four years in custody.
During the court proceedings, Dr. Babajide Martins, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), presented an amended charge.
He stated that the defendants committed the offence on November 23, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. in the Ebutte Metta area of Lagos.
Their actions, according to Dr. Martins, were likely to cause a breach of public peace, which contravenes Section 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
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Dr. Martins urged the court to sentence the defendants based on their guilty plea. However, the defendants’ legal representative, T.D. Ojeshino, pleaded for leniency. He argued that the defendants were first-time offenders and that some of them were the primary breadwinners for their families.
He also highlighted that they had been in custody since 2020 and had learned their lessons.
In light of these considerations, Magistrate Osunsanmi decided to caution and discharge the defendants, allowing them to regain their freedom after nearly four years in detention.
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