A Lagos state court has struck out a fresh suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against a 73-year-old man, simply identified as Nyeche.
He was ordered to be released and the case thrown out after spending 13 years and eight months awaiting trial in prison following his arrest.
CorrectNG recalls that operatives of EFCC had arrested the man when he was 60 years old but kept him in prison for more than a decade pending arraignment in court.
Human Rights group, Headfort foundation, which facilitated his release in November 2023 said they took up Nyeche’s case after a church member that went for a prison outreach in March 2022 alerted them of his case.
The humanitarian group said the case file of the Septuagenarian went missing and was not before any court between 2019 and 2023.
Headfort Foundation said when his file was finally located at the DPP office, the EFCC then requested an adjournment to prepare for trial and the court granted the application.
It reads in part; “Nyeche, a 73-year-old man, was arrested by EFCC at the age of 70 sic (60), he spent 13 years and 8months in prison awaiting trial. We took on his case after being referred by a church that went for prison outreach in March 2022. His case file went missing and he was not before any court between 2019 and 2023.”
“On the other hand, the EFCC requested an adjournment to prepare for trial and the court granted same. Then our lawyer applied for his bail and undertook to ensure his presence in court on the next adjourned date. The court granted our application on the ground that we ensure his presence on the next date.”
Giving an update on 13th of December, the NGO said EFCC could not produce any witness in court so the trial judge dismissed the case.
“After about 14years in Prison, the case of stealing against Mr. Nyeche was finally struck out by the court on Monday, 11th of Dec. 2023. Our lawyer, @AmosuMauyon applied to the court to strike out the matter because the EFCC could not produce any witness in court and they cannot establish any case against him.
We are happy to have helped him secure his freedom but there are many more still in prison begging to spend the holiday season with their families. You can help someone enjoy this Christmas outside prison. To help us help other innocent and indigent persons behind bars, kindly donate via….”
