Activist Deji Adeyanju has appealed to Dame Patience Jonathan, former first lady, to end the prolonged trial of her ex-domestic staff accused of stealing jewelry.
Gatekeepers News reports that in an open letter to her, Adeyanju noted that 15 former staff members have been standing trial since 2019 after being arrested over missing jewelry.
The activist noted that one of them, Sahabi Liman, fell seriously ill while in custody and later died.
He added, “That death is a reminder that justice delayed so severely becomes no justice at all.”
Adeyanju stressed that the matter had gone beyond the stolen jewelry and had instead become a case of people “locked up and suffering for too long.”
According to him, even if they had been found guilty, they would not have spent this long behind bars for such an offense. He added that if they are innocent, then “we have all watched them suffer for nothing”.
Adeyanju further appealed to the former first lady to end the case. He said, “I therefore appeal to you as a mother figure in our nation to discontinue this case as an act of fairness, to let compassion guide your decision and allow these ex-workers a chance to rebuild their lives.”
The defendants were held in Okaka Custodial Centre in Bayelsa State. According to some of the defendants; they were tortured and forced to sign confessional statements.
Liman, who had reportedly fallen seriously ill while in detention, was granted bail about three years ago to receive medical treatment, but later died in a hospital in Port Harcourt after his condition worsened.
