Court finally strikes out charges against ‘#EndSARS protester’ who gave birth in prison

The Ondo high court has finally struck out criminal charges against Kemisola Ogunniyi, the 18-year-old detained over the #EndSARS protest in the state.

Tope Temokun, her lawyer, broke the news in a statement on Tuesday.

BACKGROUND

Ogunniyi was arrested with three others by security operatives during the #EndSARS protest in October 2020.

She and the other suspects were accused of being part of those who razed the state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akure during the protest.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit arson, riotous assembly, stealing, and malicious damage and were remanded in Surulere prison in Ondo west LGA of the state.

The other suspects are Ojo Samuel, Ayodele Bukunmi, and Ani Obinna.

However, Temokun argued that Ogunniyi — who was pregnant at the time — was innocent of the crime preferred against her.

The lawyer said the teenager was on her way to the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) to collect money for her mother’s treatment when she was apprehended by the Nigerian Army at random and handed over to the police for investigation.

In June 2021, the court granted her bail in the sum of N10 million and a surety in like sum — days after she gave birth to a boy in prison.

COURT STRIKES OUT CHARGES

Ruling on the case on Tuesday, Semiu Kuteyi, the presiding judge, struck out the charges against Ogunniyi and Bunkunmi.

The ruling came after Hellen Falowo, the state prosecuting counsel, sought an application to withdraw the charges against the defendants.

Falowo said the charges were withdrawn because it has “become impossible to locate the vital witnesses needed for the prosecution of the defendants”.

Speaking on the development, Temokun said the court’s verdict has vindicated his stance that the teenager was innocent of the charges against her.

“In the five-count charge filed against these innocent Nigerians which has robbed them of their freedom since October 2020 and kept them in prison for about nine months and in court for close to three years now are conspiracy to commit felony and arson, riotous assembly, stealing, and malicious damage,” he said.

“After close to three years, the state woke up today to realize that it did not have witness or evidence to prosecute these youths having wasted their precious youthful years since 2020.

“We must not be tired to take the powers to task and if we have abandoned these youths to their fate, who knows what would have happened. But since 2021 that we came into this case, we have insisted they were innocent.  Today, history vindicates us!”