Lagos Defendants Freed After Citizens Gavel Says They Spent Nearly Four Years in Custody
Two defendants have regained their freedom after what Citizens Gavel describes as nearly four years in custody, following a Lagos court’s decision to uphold a no-case submission and discharge and acquit them.
The justice advocacy organisation says it discovered the pair during a visit to the Medium Security Correctional Centre in January 2024.
According to Citizens Gavel, both had been arrested in 2022 and had spent a prolonged period in custody without their cases progressing to trial.
One of the defendants, described by the organisation as a teenager at the time of his arrest, was allegedly detained after slippers he was wearing were said to resemble those associated with a complainant.
The second defendant was reportedly arrested during a police raid while hawking.
Those arrest circumstances remain Citizens Gavel’s account.
IDNN has not independently established them through a primary police or court record.
Lawyers Say Cases Drifted Through Court
Citizens Gavel says its lawyers began tracing the cases through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions after meeting the defendants.
The organisation says it first appeared before Justice Coker in March 2024 and subsequently returned to court more than seven times.
According to its account, the prosecution repeatedly failed to produce a witness during those appearances.
Citizens Gavel says it filed applications asking the court to strike out the cases as the adjournments continued.
In early 2025, the organisation says it was informed that Justice Coker was on official assignment and the matter would be transferred.
Its lawyers later traced the cases to the court of Justice Oshodi.
Charges Read in 2025
Citizens Gavel says the defendants appeared before Justice Oshodi in March 2025, when the charges were read and both pleaded not guilty.
The organisation says that after the prosecution closed its case, the defence filed a no-case submission arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish a case requiring the defendants to answer.
The court subsequently upheld the submission and discharged and acquitted both defendants, according to Citizens Gavel and subsequent media reports.
IDNN has not yet obtained the ruling, charge sheet, remand orders, suit number or court-registry confirmation for independent examination.
That evidentiary gap remains important.
Bigger Questions Than the Slippers Claim
The most striking detail in the public account is the allegation that one defendant was arrested because his slippers resembled those associated with a complainant.
But the larger accountability question is what happened after arrest.
How did two defendants remain in custody for what Citizens Gavel describes as nearly four years before a court concluded that the prosecution had not established a case requiring them to enter a defence?
Citizens Gavel says neither defendant had another lawyer and no family member appeared for them during the period the organisation handled the case.
If the chronology is confirmed by the primary court record, it would raise questions about remand oversight, access to legal representation, prosecution readiness and how long stalled cases can remain within the criminal justice system.
State Response Remains Outstanding
As of IDNN’s latest source review, no substantive public response from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice or prosecuting authority had been identified addressing the reported detention period, prosecution delays or eventual no-case ruling.
That absence is not evidence of wrongdoing.
The prosecuting authority should have an opportunity to clarify when the defendants were formally remanded, what charges they faced, why the proceedings experienced repeated delays and whether it disputes Citizens Gavel’s chronology.
The primary court record would also clarify the exact legal sequence.
Freedom Does Not End the Accountability Test
The two defendants are now free, according to Citizens Gavel.
But their release does not resolve the questions raised by the reported length of their detention.
The next step is to establish the case from primary records: arrest dates, remand orders, charges, adjournment history, prosecution evidence and the final ruling.
Only then can the full responsibility for the delay be assessed.
For now, the strongest established position remains narrower:
Citizens Gavel says two defendants spent nearly four years in custody before a Lagos court upheld a no-case submission and discharged and acquitted them.
The deeper accountability question is how the case remained unresolved for so long before reaching that outcome.