IN a consciously monetised, rather lawless society where there are hardly any consequences for egregious behaviour, it can be no surprise that the justice system is not exactly upright. The criminal justice system is a vital component of society, a reflection of its intricacies and eccentricities, and a commentary on its values. If stories of people being chained in underground cells, detained for years without trial, or confined behind bars for years on end without the courtesy of a trial are routine, it is precisely because the criminal justice system has found no way to transcend the limitations that effectively hobble the general society. And that is why stories like the chilling one recently told by Lukman Adeyemi, a 50-year-old bricklayer who recently recounted his 24-year ordeal behind bars, may not cease any time soon. This is not a cynical prognosis: it is the sad reality of Nigeria’s nationhood.
Narrating his ordeal, Adeyemi, a native of Iwerele, Oyo State, said: “In August 2000, after returning home from work with a friend living with me, Ismaila Lasisi, we were told that the police came looking for Ismaila and he was asked to report himself at the station. I immediately decided to follow him to the station. Lo and behold, I was arrested and detained with him. I was tortured to the point of death over a crime I knew nothing about, right from the police station. I had a close shave with death over the murder of a woman who was hired by some ex-friends of Ismaila Lasisi to fetch water for them at the construction site. The woman left home in the morning but she never returned home. Ismaila Lasisi once lived with them. He begged to come and live with me after he had a misunderstanding with these people in March. I knew these people from a far distance. Our paths never crossed in life for anything. This was how I was charged to court along with these people over an offence I never had any knowledge of. In 2009, we were sentenced to death. We filed separate appeals but they failed up to the Supreme Court.”
Adeyemi had reportedly been coerced by men of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) into admitting to the charge of murder. Sadly, the perpetrators of the crime refused to affirm his innocence, but allegedly only did so in prison. However, the story changed following his encounter with the Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), a non-governmental organisation which mounted an advocacy on his behalf. The intervention of the organisation headed by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi marked a turning point in Adeyemi’s quest for freedom after an agonizing 15 years on the death row. Adeyemi said: “On July 17, 2023, CJMR, led by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, visited us at the Ibara Correctional Service where they listened to all of us, including the culprits who exonerated us. The organisation went with all our judgement and shed light on our innocence. June 14, 2024 shall remain evergreen and memorable day in my life.”
Speaking on the case, Pastor Olujobi, the CJMR Executive Director, said: “Lukman Adeyemi and his friend filed separate appeals at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. We realised that none of the lawyers explored the way each person was arrested in this case. This is what the lawyer at the trial court should have done but very unfortunately, he didn’t. The failure of the perpetrators to declare them innocent of the crime could not have helped them at that time….With all the analysis and the evidence in the record, we forwarded our findings to the office of the Attorney-General of Ogun State and the Committee for the Board of Prerogative of Mercy and they considered our appeal. This is not about their story, it is about the fact that the record corroborated their story.”
Unless the account rendered by Adeyemi is inaccurate, this story presents serious cause for worry. The accused referenced torture as an interrogation method and if what was/is known about the defunct SARS outfit is anything to go by, there is nothing to doubt in his story. For a long time, SARS conducted its affairs like a terror outfit, dispensing its own version of justice. If the outfit had been more painstaking and thorough in its handling of the case under reference, perhaps the story could have been remarkably different. Even if the perpetrators of the crime for which Adeyemi and Lasisi were arrested claimed that they were their accomplices, a thorough investigation was certainly warranted in the circumstances. The fact that this was allegedly not done casts grave doubts on the kind of policing system that the country operates. Even if other aspects of Adeyemi and Lasisi’s story, as told by them, are not accurate, we believe that confessions obtained through torture are not a reliable measure of guilt. What if the suspects who nailed Adeyemi and Lasisi, only to make a U-turn in prison, were actually coerced into doing so? The way the defunct SARS carried on, there is no doubt that many innocent people suffered for crimes they never committed, and in fact the full details of the extent of its miscarriage of justice may still be in the offing.
It is a no-brainer that prison is not meant for innocent people. Indeed, even those guilty are meant to be reformed, and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) has been pursuing this philosophy with a reasonable degree of success. Detainees in Nigeria’s correctional centres have been known to obtain both graduate and postgraduate degrees, including PhDs. However, the cause of justice is not served where police investigation is shoddy and innocent people are imprisoned. The use of torture as an interrogation method is patently criminal and fraught with dangers, but there is no evidence that it has ceased. That is why the authorities must undertake a thorough review of the crime investigating system.
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