Marc Chidiebere Nwadi, a man who spent six years in prison without a trial, has been awarded ₦7.5m by the Lagos State Government.
The state government, through the State Judicial Panel on the Restitution for victims of SARS-related abuses and other matters, on Friday delivered the judgment on the man’s case, noting that he suffered in the hands of police officers owing to his inability to offer a bribe.
Chairman of the panel and ex-Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Doris Okuwobi presented a cheque of N7.5 million to the petitioner on behalf of the state government.
“We hereby give an award of N7.5 million in favor of the petitioner,” Justice Okuwobi said, noting that the petitioner endured six years in prison without any justification.
“The petitioner was incarcerated in the prime of his life without justification for six years and was never tried or sentenced for any crime despite enduring a long six-year stay in prison and losing a vital part of his youth and opportunities.”
It was revealed that it took about three years when a corps member was posted to serve in the prison that a message was sent to his family. Through that corps member, he was released after three years through some missionaries.
The petitioner who was said to be 18 years when he was arrested was freed at the age of 24 years. Now he is 40 years and just got justice
He has written two books while in prison and founded an NGO to encourage the youths to stay on the right path.
