NewStats: 3,263,623 , 8,180,806 topics. Date: Friday, 06 June 2025 at 09:28 PM 456d64

An innocent bricklayer who spent 24 years in jail has been set free and is now sharing his ordeal. Lukman Adeyemi, a 50-year-old bricklayer, was just 26 years old when he accompanied a friend who had been invited by police to the police station. His act of loyalty towards his friend led to him being detained. He ended up spending 24 years in jail and was only freed on June 14, 2024.

He spent nine years in pre-trial detention, followed by an unbearable 15 years on death row.

Narrating how he was detained.

He explained that when he got to the station with his friend, during interrogations by SARS Police officers, he endured severe physical and psychological torment, leading to coerced confessions for crimes he knew nothing about.

Sharing his story with Vanguard, he said: "I am Lukman Adeyemi, a native of Iwerele, Iwajowa Local Government, Oyo State. I am a Bricklayer by profession. I was 26 years old when I had this problem.

"In August 2000, after returning home from work with a friend living with me, Ismaila Lasisi, we were told that the Police came to look for Ismaila and he was asked to report himself in the station. I immediately decided to follow him to the station, lo and behold I was arrested and detained along with him. I was tortured to the point of death over a crime I knew nothing about, right from the police station.

I had a close shave with the death over a murder of a woman who was hired by some ex-friends of Ismaila Lasisi to fetch water for them at the construction site. The woman left home in the morning and she never returned home. Ismaila Lasisi once lived with them. He begged to come and live with me after he had a misunderstanding with these people in March. I knew these people from a far distance. Our paths never crossed in life for anything. This was how I was charged to court along with these people over an offence I never had any knowledge of.

In 2009 we were sentenced to death. We filed separate appeals but the appeal failed to the Supreme Court. My story of innocence to whoever cared to listen fell on deaf ears, with many questioning, ‘If you’re not one of them, why mention your name?’ ‘If truly you are innocent why can’t court free you?’

I felt abandoned by truth itself. I spent 24 years behind bars like 24 hours, a sleepless night that lasted for two decades. In June 2023 one of the officers of the Correctional Service, Deputy Superintendent of Correctional (DSC) AbdulKareem Awesu introduced my case to a Pastor and I spoke with him on phone.

On 17th July 2023, a group Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation, CJMR, led by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi visited us at the Ibara Correctional Service where they listened to all of us including the culprits who exonerated us. The organization went with all our judgement and shed light on our innocence.

June 14, 2024, shall remain evergreen and memorable day in my life. Light shone upon me, rain fell on my head for the first time and I saw the moon for the first time. I never knew I could pay for the sin of another man. How could I have committed an offense and still boldly walk into a police station to report myself?

I am grateful that the organization Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation intervened on my behalf, a beacon of hope in a sea of despair. Her belief in my innocence reignited the flame of justice within me, propelling me toward the possibility of redemption. Pastor Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi the Executive Director of Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation, CJMR, an NGO based in Ibadan shed light on the innocence of Lukman Adeyemi and Ismaila Lasisi.

He said: "Our attention was drawn to the complaints of these two people on their claim of innocence by the Welfare Officer D Awesu, who invited us to come and help these people assuring us of their innocence and the effort made through the legal process without justice. We came down to Ibara Custodial Centre, Abeokuta, to hear from them. The two perpetrators confided in us that truly, they were the ones who committed the crime and that the two people were totally innocent of the crime. We adjusted our seats to hear them very well.

It was a long drilling of questions on their parts. But yet they insisted on their innocence. What they said carried no weight in my ears until I read through the judgement that convicted them. We obtained their judgements from both the trial court and the Supreme Court for our review. We noticed the presentation of the state before the appellate court could never allow the court to shift ground.” Pastor Olujobi said he observed that “while reading through their separate judgements, it was a contradiction.”

Narrating how the release of both innocent suspects was facilitated, Pastor Olujobi said: “With all the analysis and the evidence in the record, we forwarded our findings to the office of the Attorney-General of Ogun State and the Committee for the Board of Prerogative of Mercy and they considered our appeal.

It's not about their story, it is about the fact that the record corroborated their story." Currently, Lukman Adeyemi and Ismaila Lasisi are at the CJMR Halfway Home for recovery and reintegration process.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/06/how-i-spent-24-yrs-in-prison-for-following-friend-to-police-station-lukman-adeyemi/

wow just wow

Nigeria judiciary system is gone.

anonymuz:
Nigeria judiciary system is gone.

Rest
. No be Everytime u go dey bash your country
It happens everywhere even in the U.S, except you don't follow news enough. Even Quora has a lot of this kinda news

Life tho....he went in as a boy, came out as a

DevilsEqual:


Rest
. No be Everytime u go dey bash your country
It happens everywhere even in the U.S, except you don't follow news enough. Even Quora has a lot of this kinda news

Life tho....he went in as a boy, came out as a

It’s like na you wan displace helinues for who stupeed for this forum o

Many are still in languishing ..

Everyone has a story

May we not be unfortunate to suffer another man's crime.

24 years just wasted away like that?
OMG!

It is very painful to have this kind of thing happen to anyone!
Lost his youth.. .

It happens most times, I watched a video where a guy was picked up when he was returning from viewing centre, and was used to replace someone in prison,he spent 13 years there, lost his mother, father,and family

It's well, may God direct us.

If it's in the US he'will be compensated with millions of $$. 24 years no be beans oo. He don spend all his useful life in prison.
Don't be surprised if he's given a paltry sum of 10k to take bus home. Very Pitiable

Congratulations to him for being released but for justice to be seen done to him for the misplaced incarceration, he would need to be compensated for all the years he spent in prison.

One of the hazards of loyalty

The Nigerian justice system is just too pathetic, they'll drag you into what you know nothing about just to make it seem as though they are working!

My advice to rich men on Nairaland, if you see an injured or unconscious person while driving a long the road, for your own good, if you can ignore and zoom off, please do. If not, these Animals on Uniform will pin it on you and say you were the one who hit him/her.

And to the Poor men on Nairaland, go and hustle

Animal republic.

The police station must be owned by ibo

divine restoration. 🙏

Lots of innocent folks are actually languishing in prison.

Wow 24y that’s bad and sars is bad unit Nigeria police force as ever made

This is very harrowing

Evil force,that is why strange things happen to them.They are all the same.They took 24years of his life.Ogun...take revenge.

DevilsEqual:


Rest
. No be Everytime u go dey bash your country
It happens everywhere even in the U.S, except you don't follow news enough. Even Quora has a lot of this kinda news

Life tho....he went in as a boy, came out as a

so because US does it means we should adopt it too abi? People like you are part of Nigeria's problem

I ed the movie all eyes on us

Is there any form of compensation?

No lawyer as at the time of arrest and no lawyer now to file a case

SARS has wasted a lot of innocent lives

Hmmm

Nigeria happened to you Sadly.



Wittyness

Quite sad and pitiful...NPF really needs to step up their game.......

24yrs wasted, no life outside the prison walls, no friends, no father, no mother, just a bleeped country, so if this guy becomes a hardened criminal now, who are we to blame?

24 years of the life you cannot get back ....this is so sad .
Even if it's a child someone has or a house someone built they would likely still prosper. It is well.

It shall never be well with any sars officer or who ever introduce SARS in Nigeria. Your family and offspring will suffer injustice