A Lagos man, Afolabi Shakiru, has recounted his painful experience of spending about 10 years in custody while awaiting trial for an armed robbery allegation he says he did not commit.

Shakiru was one of two men, alongside Bola Salami, who were discharged by a Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere after spending about a decade in custody.

The court, presided over by Justice Yetunde Adesanya, discharged the men on April 1, 2026, after striking out the prosecution’s case over what it described as a lack of diligent prosecution.

Arrested After Police Pursued Suspects

According to Shakiru, his ordeal began in January 2016 when operatives of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad allegedly pursued some suspects who they claimed had entered his compound.

He said he, alongside some members of his family and a friend, was arrested and taken to the police station.

While the others were eventually released, Shakiru said he remained in custody and was subsequently taken before a court before being remanded in prison.

He spent the following years behind bars as the case dragged on.

Ten Years Without A Trial

The case was eventually transferred into a prolonged legal limbo, with Shakiru remaining in custody for years without the trial reaching a conclusion.

Court records showed that the defendants had been arraigned in 2016 on allegations of armed robbery.

However, during the entire period, the prosecution called only one witness, the Investigating Police Officer, and the witness’s testimony had not been subjected to cross-examination.

Defence Challenges Prosecution’s Delay

When the matter came up again on April 1, 2026, defence lawyers Emmanuel Ochai and O. Worer urged the court to expunge the evidence of the prosecution witness because the witness was unavailable for cross-examination.

They also asked the court to strike out the charge, arguing that the prolonged delay had violated their clients’ constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial.

The court upheld the application and expunged the evidence of the prosecution witness.

Justice Adesanya subsequently struck out the case and discharged Shakiru and Salami.

‘I Lost 10 Years Of My Life’

For Shakiru, his release marked the end of a decade he says he can never recover.

He has now opened up about what it meant to spend his youth behind bars while waiting for a case that ultimately failed to progress to a conclusion.

His experience has also renewed concerns about prolonged pre-trial detention in Nigeria, particularly cases involving defendants who remain in correctional facilities for years without conviction.

A Case That Never Reached Its Conclusion

Rather than being convicted or sentenced after a full trial, Shakiru was eventually freed after the prosecution’s case was struck out because of the prolonged failure to diligently prosecute it.

The case underscores the human cost of delays in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, where accused persons can spend years in custody before their cases are concluded.

For Shakiru, the court’s decision finally brought freedom, but after almost 10 years of his life had already been spent behind bars.