Six men who had been imprisoned for over four years after being arrested during the 2000 #EndSARS protests have been released from a Lagos State Magistrate Court located in Ogba. Magistrate Bolanle Osunsanmi released the defendants—Daniel Joyinbo, Adigun Sodiq, Kehinde Shola, Salaudeen Kamilu, Sodiq Usseni, and Azeez Isiaka—on Thursday following a warning. After entering a guilty plea to the only modified charge that the Lagos State Government had presented against them, the defendants were released from custody. The allegation, dated August 22, 2024, claimed that they had behaved in a way that would have violated Section 168(d) of the Lagos State 2015 Criminal Law by causing a breach of peace.
Dr. Babajide Martins, the Director of Public Prosecutions, states that the alleged incident happened in the Ebute Metta neighbourhood of Lagos on November 23, 2020, at about 12 o’clock in the evening. “The defendants acted in a way that could have disturbed public order, which is a punishable offence under the state’s laws,” Martins said to the court. Section 168(d) of the Lagos State 2015 Criminal Law provides that the offence of conduct likely to provoke a breach of peace carries a punishment of three months in prison or a fine of N15,000.
Depending on the seriousness of the case and other factors, the court may decide to impose one or both of the fine and imprisonment. Osunsanmi questioned the defendants on their understanding of the penalties after they pleaded guilty. She questioned, “Are you aware of the terms of your guilty plea and the court’s duty to impose the maximum punishment for this charge? The plea deal described in the amended charge was acknowledged and accepted by the defendants.
T.D. Ojeshina, the defence attorney, requested leniency from the court while the prosecution urged the judge to sentence them in accordance with the guilty plea agreement. “My Lord, please grant the court a modicum of mercy in addition to justice. These young men have already served almost four years in jail as first-time offenders. “Some of them are the breadwinners of their families and have suffered greatly. They have learnt their lessons,” Ojeshina said.
Osunsanmi acknowledged that the defendants had already served their time after taking into account the representations from both parties. “Given that these men have been incarcerated for almost four years, I find them guilty as charged, but I will release them since they have already served the entire required sentence,” the judge declared. The magistrate gave the six men a severe warning before releasing them, informing them of the grave repercussions of their behaviour and advising them to live law-abiding lives going forward.