One Of Patience Jonathan’s Domestic Workers On Trial Since 2019 Over Missing Jewellery Dies After Battling ‘Illness Allegedly Contracted In Prison’

One of the 15 domestic workers of former Nigerian First Lady, Patience Jonathan, who have been facing trial for over five years on allegations of stealing expensive jewellery, has died after a long battle with illness.

the deceased, identified as Sahabi Liman, had been on bail for the past three years after his health deteriorated while in detention at the Okaka Correctional Centre, Yenagoa.

A prison officer confirmed the development to SaharaReporters on Monday.

“One of Patience Jonathan’s workers, Sahabi Liman, who was on bail, has passed away. It was the sickness he had been battling with before he was granted bail,” the official said.

His son, who also spoke with SaharaReporters, narrated how his father’s condition worsened before he finally succumbed at a hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“My father was granted bail about three years ago to treat himself, and at some point, he was recovering, but he was taken back to the hospital a few weeks back. It was at the hospital that he died,” his son said.

“I was with him on Friday night and left around 9 pm, but we got a call around midnight that he had died. He was around 45 years old before his death and already buried according to Islamic rites in Port Harcourt.”

Another source close to the family linked Liman’s death to the hardship he endured in detention.

“The sickness that led to his death developed while he was in prison. He was arrested by Madam (Patience Jonathan) alongside others for the alleged offence. His health began to deteriorate in prison. At first, they did not grant him bail, but when it became obvious he would not survive the illness if he remained locked up, Madam asked the prison officers to release him to his family,” the source said.

“After he was released on bail, the family spent all their fortune on his health before he finally died on Friday,” the source added.

The development comes just days before the Bayelsa State High Court in Yenagoa is expected to deliver a crucial ruling on September 24, 2025, which could decide the fate of the remaining 14 domestic workers still standing trial.

The workers, arrested in 2019, were accused of stealing Mrs. Jonathan’s jewellery, allegedly worth hundreds of millions of naira. However, they have consistently maintained their innocence, accusing police operatives of extracting forced confessions through brutal torture.

During previous hearings, defendants, including Golden Vivian and Tamunosiki Achese, narrated how they were suspended and flogged until they collapsed. Others identified a police officer named O.C. Chris and Mrs. Jonathan’s Chief Security Officer, Colin Otutu, as being directly involved in their torture.

The judge is expected to rule on the admissibility of these confessional statements after a “trial within a trial,” with defence lawyers insisting the documents were obtained involuntarily.

Despite detailed testimonies of torture, no police officer has been investigated or sanctioned. Multiple sources familiar with the proceedings have insisted that the charges were fabricated to punish the workers.

Mrs. Jonathan’s legal team, led by Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba, has also been accused of deliberately prolonging the trial through delay tactics and frivolous motions.

The trial, which began more than five years ago, has dragged on with repeated adjournments. Meanwhile, the surviving defendants remain in custody at Okaka Correctional Centre, awaiting a ruling that could either reinforce the prosecution’s case or collapse it entirely.