Teen Freed After Four Years in Custody Over Slippers

A Lagos teenager spent nearly four years in prison after being arrested in 2022 for wearing slippers that resembled those of a complainant — without ever facing a proper trial — until a court this week discharged and acquitted him and a co-defendant.

The young man, whose identity has been withheld, was one of two defendants discovered by lawyers from the non-governmental organisation Citizens Gavel during a visit to the Medium Security Correctional Centre in January 2024. Both had been held since 2022 without being taken to court. One was detained over the slippers allegation; the other was picked up by police during a raid while he was hawking.

Citizens Gavel’s legal team immediately took up their cases, tracking the files from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to the court of Justice Coker. The organisation formally appeared in the matter in March 2024 and returned more than seven times. On each occasion the prosecution failed to produce a single witness, despite repeated adjournments and applications by the defence urging the court to strike out the charges.

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In early 2025 the case was transferred after Justice Coker went on official assignment. Citizens Gavel located it in the court of Justice Oshodi. When the defendants first appeared before Justice Oshodi in March 2025 the charges were read and both men pleaded not guilty. At the close of the prosecution’s case the defence filed a No Case Submission, arguing that the state had not established any case requiring the defendants to enter a defence. The court upheld the submission, discharged and acquitted both men, and brought their prolonged detention to an end.

Citizens Gavel described the outcome as especially significant. Throughout the nearly four-year ordeal, no family member of either defendant appeared in court and no other lawyer represented them. “They endured years in custody largely unseen and unheard. Today, they walk free,” the organisation said.

The case has drawn attention to the human cost of prolonged pre-trial detention and the importance of diligent prosecution. Many similar stories remain hidden inside Nigeria’s correctional centres; this one only came to light because lawyers conducted a routine prison visit and refused to let the files disappear.