Deji Adeyanju begs Patience Jonathan to discontinue jewellery theft case

A human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, Tuesday, begged former Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, to compassionately discontinue the case over alleged stealing of jewellery after one of the accused persons, Sahabi Liman, allegedly died in prison custody.

Adeyanju made the plea in an open letter titled ‘ Open Letter by Deji Adeyanju to Dame Patience Jonathan after the death of Her Former Domestic Staff Standing Trial for Theft of Jewelry in Bayelsa Prison’, and signed by him, which was made available to Vanguard.

According to him, Liman allegedly fell seriously ill in prison and died. He added that “death is a reminder that justice delayed so severely becomes no justice at all.”

The letter reads in full: “For more than five years now, fifteen of your former domestic staff have been standing trial over allegations of missing jewellery. They were arrested in 2019, kept in custody, and have since been dragged through the courts without resolution. Along the way, one of them, Sahabi Liman, fell seriously ill in prison and has now died. That death is a reminder that justice delayed so severely becomes no justice at all. It should also make us look again at the entire case and the toll it has taken on all involved.

“This is no longer about the stolen jewelry, but about people who have been locked up and suffering for too long. Even if they had been found guilty, they would not have spent this long behind bars for such an offense. And if they are innocent, then we have all watched them suffer for nothing. Punishment must have proportion, and what is happening here is far beyond proportion.

“I therefore appeal to you as a mother figure in our nation to discontinue this case as an act of fairness, to let compassion guide your decision and allow these ex-workers a chance to rebuild their lives.”