Patrick, a Nigerian man who was arrested in a police stop and search operation while travelling to Ebonyi State, has been released after spending three years in jail.

According to Hope Behind Bars, a justice reform organisation, Patrick was arrested in January 2021 after police officers stationed at a checkpoint in Okada, Edo State, claimed to have found a local gun in the possession of one of the passengers in the vehicle he was traveling in.

However, while everyone who was arrested in the vehicle was released, he remained in detention as he could not afford the bail fee at the time.

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“In January 2021, Patrick was travelling to Ebonyi State when his bus was stopped by the Police at a Checkpoint in Okada, Edo State and the passengers’ belongings were searched,” wrote Hope Behind Bars.

In January 2021, Patrick was travelling to Ebonyi state when his bus was stopped by the Police at a Checkpoint in Okada, Edo State and the passengers' belongings were searched. The Police officers claimed they found a Locally Made Gun in one of the travel bags and because of… pic.twitter.com/evQjNGz5ht

— HOPE BEHIND BARS AFRICA (Criminal Justice Reforms) (@hopebehindbar) May 3, 2024

“The Police officers claimed they found a Locally Made Gun in one of the travel bags and because of this, everyone in the vehicle was arrested. After paying their bail, every bus passenger was released except Patrick because he was too poor to afford the bail amount that was set.

“Patrick maintained that he never owned a gun and had no knowledge of the alleged gun that was found. He would go on to spend 3 years behind bars – for two of those years he wasn’t charged before any Court, or provided with legal representation for his defence until we intervened.”

Patrick’s case was stalled after the investigating police officer (IPO) in charge of it failed to produce the gun, which led to his detention. The officer also failed to appear for cross-examination.

“The case suffered numerous adjournments because the prosecution did not appear in Court. Interestingly, during the trial, when asked to present the alleged gun recovered during the arrest to the Court as evidence, the IPO claimed that it was with an Exhibit Keeper; yet it was never presented to Court and the IPO never appeared for cross-examination.

“When Patrick finally got his chance to open his defence in Court, he testified that the alleged gun was not recovered from him or never shown to him.

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“We argued that the Statements made by the Complainant, who never came to the Court to testify, were documentary hearsay and should be expunged from the Record of the Court. Finally, we urged the Court to grant Patrick his freedom, emphasizing the lack of substantial evidence against him. Eventually, the Court ruled in our favour.”

Patrick was subsequently released after evidence showed he knew nothing about the local gun discovered in the vehicle in 2021.