Court orders release of man detained eight years for murder without trial

— Awards ₦.5m damages against Lagos CP

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has ordered the immediate release of one Mr Sewedo Folorunsho, who has been awaiting trial for alleged murder in Kirikiri prisons for eight years without trial.

In a judgement delivered on October 22, 2025, but obtained by Vanguard on Monday, Justice Adenike Shonubi declared the detention unlawful and a violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person, and a fair hearing as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The court consequently ordered Mr Sewedo’s unconditional release from custody and awarded ₦500,000 in damages against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.

Sewedo, through his counsel, the law firm of Monday O. Ubani, SAN & Co., had filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State (1st Respondent), the Attorney General of Lagos State (2nd Respondent), and the Deputy Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Lagos (3rd Respondent).

Court documents showed that the applicant was arrested by the police in 2012 over an allegation of murder and detained in a police cell before being arraigned in 2017 before the Ebute Metta Magistrate Court on a holding charge.

However, no information was filed before the Lagos High Court to commence his trial, leading to his continued detention at the correctional facility from 2017 until the judgement date.

Justice Shonubi held that the prolonged detention without trial contravened constitutional provisions and amounted to an unlawful deprivation of liberty.

Reacting to the judgement, the applicant’s counsel, Mr Monday Ubani, SAN, commended the court for upholding the rule of law. He was represented in court by Mr Iwowo Anthony, who adopted the written address of the application on behalf of the firm.

The court’s order has been transmitted to the prison authorities for compliance.(Vanguard)