How Mechanic Spent 5 Months In Custody After Man He Rescue From Accident Scene Accused Him Of Theft
A mechanic who spent five months in both police and prison custody after a man he rescued from an accident scene accused him of stealing his phone has now regained his freedom.
The mechanic, whose name was given simply as Lukman, from Ogun State but residing in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, was eventually arrested by the police in the state following the accusation by the accident .
Trouble began for him on May 5, 2023 when his wife went into labour and he took her to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti .
However, on his way back from the hospital, he saw an accident scene involving someone he knew. Lukman rescued the person and took him to the same hospital where he was coming from.
It was gathered that two months later, Lukman saw the same man and they exchanged greetings. Lukman gave him a ride on his motorcycle to his home.
However, to Lukman’s surprise, the man and his brother accused him of stealing his phone on the day of the accident.
Lukman was arrested and taken to the police station where he spent three days before being transferred to another police station in Ado Ekiti. He was in custody at the station for nine days.
He was eventually charged to court for the offence of stealing, a charge to which he pleaded not guilty. He was admitted to bail but because he could not meet the bail conditions, he was remanded in prison custody.
His plight was announced by a foundation that usually visits prisons and courts, the Headfort Foundation (Prison Reform Initiative) on its Twitter handle on Monday, which added that after listening to him, a lawyer from the foundation decided to represent him in court.
The lawyer found out that for more than four months, Lukman’s case did not come up in the court because the police prosecutor did not show up neither was there any witness to testify against Lukman.
The lawyer therefore applied for the case to be struck out for want of diligent prosecution. The judge granted the request, discharged and acquitted Lukman after he spent five months in custody.
