In what is perceived as a misuse of power, emerging reports reveal that the former First Lady of the federation, Patience Jonathan, currently holds fifteen domestic staff in prison over a case of missing jewellery.
The domestic staff have reportedly been remanded in Bayelsa Stateโs Okaka Correctional Centre since 2019 over a jewellery theft that remains unresolved.
Investigations by a leading media outlet, SaharaReporters, indicate that these staff have been unconstitutionally serving terms without a proper trial and court conviction.
SaharaReporters noted that their trial has been stalled several times due to the use of veto power and orders from the former First Lady.
Following the latest developments, anonymous sources have informed the general public about the case, how it unfolded, and the measures taken thus far to ensure that the unlawfully convicted victims receive justice, and how same has been truncated by orders from “above.”
Excerpt:
โSince 2019, former First Lady Patience Jonathan has locked up about 16 of her domestic staff in Okaka Prison for allegedly stealing her jewellery, without first allowing a competent court of law to try them and sentence them.
“Some years ago, TECH4JUSTICE was able to provide legal services for them, which they have been doing ever since. But since the current Chief Judge came on board, she has been deliberately dragging the case on Patience Jonathanโs instructions. She is a stooge of the former First Lady,โ
โThey areย at Okaka Prison in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. They are 15 in number and have been in prison since 2019. They were domestic workers for the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan.”
โIn 2019, there was a case of breaking and entering in one of her apartments in Otuoke, and she decided to arrest all her workersโeven though they were not working in that apartment at the time.โ
“Since then, there has been no evidence to prove the case in court, and the case is not proceeding.ย They keep saying they are waiting for witnesses to come forward untilย today.”
The imprisonment of the domestic staff without trial is perceived as a breach of Nigeria’s constitutional guarantee on innocence as stated by the constitution that every person accused of a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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