A 73-year-old man, Nyeche, who has spent 13 years and eight months awaiting trial in prison after he was arrested by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives has finally regained his freedom.
According to the Human Rights group, Herdfort Foundation, which secured his release, Nyeche was arrested when he was 60 years old.
The body in a statement said they took up his case after a church member who went for a prison outreach in March 2022 alerted them of his case.
The NGO said Nyeche’s case file went missing and was not before any court between 2019 and 2023.
In a post made via X, the foundation wrote: ‘’We traced his file to the DPP office and brought him before a court on 20th October 2023 when he was re-arraigned for the crime of stealing. We argued that Nyeche should be released because he has already served more than the provided sentence for the crime of stealing if found guilty.”
The NGO said, on the other hand, the EFCC requested an adjournment to prepare for trial and the court granted same.
‘’Our lawyer applied for his bail and undertook to ensure his presence in court on the next adjourned date. The court granted our application on the ground that we ensure his presence on the next date. Finally, on the 20th of October, 2023, Pa. Nyeche experienced freedom after 13 years and 8 months in prison.”
