Adeyanju further noted that Mrs Jonathan’s ex-staff were arrested in 2019 and have been in prison since then.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Activist and human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has penned an open letter to Nigerian First Lady, Patience Jonathan, urging her to show magnanimity and order the release of her former domestic staff in prison after one of them allegedly died .
He made the passionate plea on Tuesday in a letter he shared on his official Facebook page.
According to Adeyanju, one of the fifteen ex-staff, who was standing trial for missing jewellery along with the others has passed away.
He added that the deceased identified as Sahabi Liman and fourteen others were arrested in 2019 and kept in custody since then.
He further lamented that the suspects have been dragged through the courts without resolution, arguing that justice delayed is justice denied.
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Adeyanju wrote, “For more than five years now, fifteen of your former domestic staff have been standing trial over allegations of missing jewellery.
“They were arrested in 2019, kept in custody, and have since been dragged through the courts without resolution. Along the way, one of them, Sahabi Liman, fell seriously ill in prison and has now died.
“That death is a reminder that justice delayed so severely becomes no justice at all. It should also make us look again at the entire case and the toll it has taken on all involved.
“This is no longer about the stolen jewellery, but about people who have been locked up and suffering for too long. Even if they had been found guilty, they would not have spent this long behind bars for such an offense.
“And if they are innocent, then we have all watched them suffer for nothing. Punishment must have proportion, and what is happening here is far beyond proportion.
“I therefore appeal to you as a mother figure in our nation to discontinue this case as an act of fairness, to let compassion guide your decision and allow these ex-workers a chance to rebuild their lives”.
