The Headfort Foundation for Justice@HeadfortF has recounted how it rescued 35-year-old Dare Lawal, who was arrested on the road by the Nigeria Police Force while heading to his friend’s place and then later imprisoned.
Lawal, who is a vulcanizer, also works as a motorcyclist, is married and is a father of two.
On the 2nd day of May 2024, Lawal was on his way to his friend’s house along Eleweran in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to carry his motorcycle when he was raided by some policemen and dragged to the police station.
At the station, Lawal was asked a series of questions, which included if he knew any person called “Mighty.”
He was also asked if he had ever carried a passenger called Mighty and if he was a member of any cult group which he responded in the negative.
The police searched Lawal thoroughly but nothing incriminating was found on him.
Even though nothing was found on Lawal, and he could not be linked to any crime, he was still charged and arraigned in court on the 13th day of May 2024 after 10 days in police custody.
Headfort Foundation for Justice@HeadfortF on its Xspace, said: “He was charged with two other persons that he has never met before for conspiracy to commit a crime, for belonging to an unlawful society and for breach of peace.
“He was granted bail in the sum of N500,000 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 two months 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.”
