Published 23rd Jun, 2023

A 23-year-old scrap collector has regained freedom from prison seven months after he was wrongly accused of stealing.

The young man, identified as Ayomide, was going about his business of picking discarded and condemned items in August 2022 when a woman raised a false alarm of theft.

As seen in a post shared by Headfort Foundation on Thursday, the woman raised the alarm while he was about to pick up some short iron rods in an uncompleted building.

“Before he knew what was happening, people gathered and started beating him. The woman said that Ayomide might be the person who came the previous night to steal their generator, television, pots and other items she mentioned,” the foundation said.

Ayomide is 23 years old and a native of Ijebu-Ode. He is a scavenger that picks discarded or condemned items and resells them to feed himself. Sometime in August 2022, pic.twitter.com/Tn15TtHOZT
— Headfort Foundation (Prison Reform Initiative) (@HeadfortF) June 22, 2023

According to Headfort, Ayomide was arrested and taken to Oke-Odo police station in Lagos State, where he was detained for about two weeks before taken to court.

He was arraigned in court in September and charged on a three-count charge of stealing and unlawfully causing damages to some items.

“During our court cell visitation at Ogba magistrate court, our team of lawyers met Ayomide and @theclaonuagu took his brief and started representing him. Trial commenced and concluded,” the foundation wrote.

“Judgement was delivered and the court found Ayomide not guilty of the 1st and 2nd count charges of stealing but was found guilty of the 3rd count of unlawfully causing damages to items.

“He was sentenced to 7 months imprisonment. Although Ayomide had spent longer than the required punishment for the offence in the 3rd count, he already served that prison term which started counting from the date of arraignment. Ayomide was therefore discharged and free.”

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