Sunday Okoro, a Lagos commercial driver who was arrested on December 22 for allegedly vandalising Orile Police Station during the October 2020 #EndSARS protest, is yet to regain freedom from Kiriki Prison.

During the nationwide protest, some police stations were razed by thugs in an attempt to sabotage citizens’ agitations for police reform.

According to Okoro, he was spotted by police officers in the background of a photo of some thugs burning a police station.

READ ALSO: Ibukun Ayodele, Pregnant Teenager Arrested in Akure over #EndSARS, Suffers Miscarriage in Prison

Consequently, he was detained at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, for several weeks before his arraignment at a Lagos magistrate court in February 2021.

Festus Ogun, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer who recently took up Okoro’s case, questioned his client’s arrest and illegal detention.

“How can the Police randomly arrest people because they were caught in pictures during an inferno?” he asked.

“Clearly, the Police were not diligent in their investigation before raiding the community. If they had done a thorough investigation, they would have found out that Okoro was only a bystander during the incident.”

The magistrate court in Ogba, Lagos, granted Okoro a temporary bail in March, but his family is yet to meet the conditions.

“Four other people arrested with him have since been released, but Okoro’s family lacks the financial buoyancy to perfect his bail conditions,” Ogun told FIJ. 

“He would need a surety with evidence of 3-year tax compliance and a valid national identification, but all that has been very difficult for his family to get.”

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Whilst Okoro remains in prison, Lilian, his wife, has lost a baby as a result of the burden to care for their four children.

“After I lost my baby on February 26, 2021, I was not able to follow up his case for a while until I recovered about a month ago,” she told FIJ. “If I had enough to secure his bail, he would have been out since March.”

Okoro’s hearing is billed to continue on Monday. However, chances are the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case will not appear in court, just as he has done more than 10 times.