A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has discharged and acquitted Ibrahim Usman after he spent nearly 10 years in detention without conviction, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the allegation of defilement against him beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Rahman Oshodi, who delivered judgment on Tuesday in Charge No. ID/4091C/2017, held that the prosecution’s case was significantly weak and failed to establish the necessary elements of the offence under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The court also criticised the prosecution and custodial authorities, describing the prolonged detention as a serious institutional failure within the criminal justice system.
Usman was arrested on June 14, 2016, over claims of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in February 2016 at Ipaja, Lagos. However, charges were not filed against him until March 2017.
The court observed that when the matter came up for arraignment, officials at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Custodial Centre repeatedly failed to present the defendant before different judges despite several production warrants.
This continued between October 2017 and February 2020, resulting in the case being struck out on February 13, 2020, by Justice Sybil Nwaka, now of the Court of Appeal, for lack of diligent prosecution after the defendant could not be produced in court.
It was later discovered that the prosecution was unaware the defendant was still being held in custody.
Even after the matter was reassigned, custodial authorities again failed to produce him between December 2023 and January 2024 despite fresh court orders. He was eventually brought before the court on March 14, 2024.
Justice Oshodi described the actions of the custodial authorities as persistently deficient.
“A production warrant issued by a High Court is a lawful command. The custodial authorities’ failure to comply with it in this case is a matter of grave institutional concern,” the court held.
During trial, the prosecution called only one witness, a medical doctor who merely interpreted a report prepared by another doctor who neither testified nor tendered the report in evidence.
Under cross-examination, the witness admitted he did not personally examine the alleged victim.
The court held that, in the absence of the medical report and testimony of its maker, the evidence could not sustain the charge.
Justice Oshodi further ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the age of the alleged victim and did not provide evidence connecting the defendant to the offence, noting that key witnesses, including the complainant, were not called.
“The prosecution’s evidence was so manifestly insufficient that it required no answer,” the judge held.
The court also ruled that the defendant’s decision to rest his case on that of the prosecution was justified since no prima facie case had been established.
Justice Oshodi stressed that the delay was not caused by the court but by the prosecution’s failure to diligently pursue the matter and the custodial authorities’ disregard for court orders.
He noted that systems such as the Lagos Criminal Information System were established to prevent such situations by tracking defendants across the justice system.
“The fate of this defendant illustrates what happens when such systems are not effectively utilised. He was detained at public expense for years without trial,” the judge said.
Justice Oshodi subsequently discharged and acquitted the defendant, ordering his immediate release from custody.
“The defendant is not guilty. I discharge and acquit him. He is to be released forthwith,” he ruled.
