A Lagos High Court has finally struck out a case of stealing filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a 73-year-old man who spent 13 years, eight months in prison custody awaiting trial as the anti graft agency was said to have failed to produce any witness in court against him.
It will be recalled that the man, whose name was given as Pa Nyeche, was arrested by the EFCC operatives when he was 60 years old. He languished in prison custody because his case file went missing, and so, he was not brought before any court.
His plight was announced on November 9 by a foundation that usually visits prisons and courts in Lagos State, the Headfort Foundation (Prison Reform Initiative), on its X handle, which added that a church that went for prison outreach referred his matter to it.
According to the report, following details of the matter received by the foundation, one of its lawyers took up his case and traced his file to the office of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution. The man was eventually brought before a court where he was re-arraigned for the offence of stealing.
The lawyer told the court at that time that the man should be released because he had already served more than the provided sentence for the offence of stealing. He was eventually granted bail.
However, while giving an update on the case on Wednesday, December 13, the foundation disclosed that the court struck out the matter on Monday, December 11, following the inability of the EFCC to produce any witness any witness which indicated that the agency could not establish any case against him.
Below is the screenshot of the post by the foundation on the latest development on the issue:
