Vulcaniser Regains Freedom After Being Illegally Detained For 2 Months By Police

Headfort Foundation For Justice Comes To Dele Lawal’s Aid After Illegal Detention

Dare Lawal a 35-year-old man from Ogun State, is married with two children and a vulcanizer/motorcycle rider. On the 2nd day of May 2024, Dare was on his way to his friend’s house along Eleweran in Abeokuta to carry his motorcycle when he was raided by some policemen and taken to the police station.

At the station, Dare was asked series of questions if he knew any person called “Mighty”, if he had ever carried such a person as a passenger, and if he was a member of any cult group which he responded in the negative. The police searched Dare thoroughly but nothing incriminating was found on him.

Even though nothing was found on Dare and he could not be linked to any crime, he was charged and arraigned in court on the 13th day of May 2024 after 10days in police custody. He was charged with 2 other persons that he has never met before for conspiracy to commit crime, for belonging to an unlawful society and for breach of peace.

He was granted bail in the sum of 500,000 and a surety who must be a licensed bondsman. However, his bail could not be perfected due to financial constraints and all efforts to get his family proved abortive as his phone had been confiscated by the police.

On the 5th day of July 2024, our lawyer took on the case and made an application to the court that the matter be struck out as there was no evidence linking Dare to the offence and the court after perusing the statement of the defendant struck out the charges against Dare after he spent about 2months in prison for no just cause.

Dare was arrested and detained without incriminating evidence, violating his right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrest. The arrest and detention of Dare without evidence raise questions about the police’s conduct and potential abuse of power, which could lead to wrongful convictions of innocent citizens of Nigeria. The Nigeria Police Force must ensure that prosecutions are based on credible evidence, not speculation.

Credit: Headfort Foundation for Justice

Headfort Foundation is an all-women Nigerian law firm led by Oluyemi Adetiba-Orija. The group offers free legal services to poor people and those who are unable to get bail, as well as people facing long pre-trial detentions.