Imagine you are a commercial bus driver who secured a bus on hire purchase. When you still had N700,000 to pay, your conductor stole the bus, and you found yourself in the police station and then prison, where you would spend 21 months.

This is the story of a 63-year-old driver in Lagos, identified as Mr. Edun, who regained freedom on January 15, 2024, after being held in Ikoyi Prison for almost two years.

The driver left home for work on April 26, 2022, but two days later, he was embroiled in a legal battle.

According to a post shared on Wednesday by the Headfort Foundation for Justice, the organisation that helped Mr Edun regain his freedom, the driver was arraigned in court for stealing and remanded in Ikoyi Prison.

Mr. Edun, a 63 year old Commercial Bus Driver in Lagos left his house on the 26th of April 2022 to work as usual and as the day progressed, he felt pressed and needed to use the toilet. He then instructed his conductor to take over the driving, drop the passengers at the last bus… pic.twitter.com/SR0j2FIe8d

— Headfort Foundation for Justice (@HeadfortF) January 17, 2024

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While detailing his experience via a video shared by the organisation, the driver said: “I have been in prison since April 29, 2022. I collected a vehicle on hire purchase from a person and I have paid the money, which was remaining N700,000 until they stole it from me. It was my conductor, who carried the vehicle and ran away from me.

“As we reached a bus stop and I wanted to use the toilet, I had to tell him to drop the passenger because he could drive. He is a driver, too. I told him to drop the passenger at the front and return to meet me at the bus stop. Since that time, I did not see him. I did not know he was a thief. He carried the vehicle away.

“I went to the owner of the bus to explain what happened, and I said I would pay his balance, but he refused. When I started begging him, he refused and he took me to the police station. He said I should pay N1,450,000. I said the money I was remitting was remaining just N700,000, how then can I pay N1.45 million? I said what I cannot afford, I cannot put myself into trouble. That was how they took me to prison.”

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Meanwhile, the Headfort Foundation revealed that when it first took over Mr. Edun’s case in February 2023, there were some challenges in securing his bail and multiple adjournments.

“The matter came up again on the 15th of January 2024. Our Lawyer applied that the case be struck out for want of diligent prosecution on the ground that the matter had suffered a series of adjournments while the defendant remained detained in prison without trial. The application was upheld, and Mr. Edun was released after spending one year and nine months in prison,” stated Headfort.