Six men, namely Adigun Sodiq (28), Salaudeen Kamilu (29), Daniel Joyinbo (31), Kehinde Shola (32), Sodiq Usseni (33), and Azeez Isiaka (34), were discharged and acquitted by an Ikeja Chief Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
They had been charged with breaching public peace during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.
The defendants entered a plea bargain agreement, pleading guilty on a single count of breaching public peace, as charged by the Lagos State Government.
Following the agreement, Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi delivered a guilty verdict and convicted the defendants. However, instead of imposing a sentence, she opted to caution and discharge them, citing their prolonged detention of nearly four years as a mitigating factor
The Director for Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, had presented an amended charge, stating that the defendants’ actions on November 23, 2020, in Ebutte Metta, Lagos, contravened Section 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendants’ counsel, T.D. Ojeshino, appealed for leniency, citing their first-time offender status, family responsibilities, and prolonged detention.
He said, ” My lord, I plead the court to tamper justice with mercy as the defendants are first-time offenders.
Some are breadwinners of their families and still very young.
They have been in custody since 2020 and have truly learned their lessons.”
