Six teenagers, on Tuesday drowned in Mbang river at Ribang village, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The tragedy occurred around 5:30pm as the students were returning home from their West African Junior School Examinations.

The victims, identified as Manasseh Monday (16), Musa John (16), Pius David (15), Monday Ayuba (16), David Danlami (19) and Yahuza Audu (16), were students of Government Secondary School, Fadan Chawai.

Comrade Simon Ishaku Chinge, the national public relations officer of the Ribang Development Association, confirmed the tragic news on Wednesday. He revealed that three bodies had been recovered and buries while three others remained missing despite ongoing search efforts by the community.

“The schoolchildren left home full of hope and excitement, their parents expecting to reunite with them after their exams, only to meet their untimely death,” Chinge said.

He noted that over the years, the river had claimed numerous lives.

Daily Trust reports that the river is a crucial passage for the community and residents must travel approximately eight kilometres to access schools or medical facilities.

Chinge called on the Federal Government, Governor Uba Sani, Senator Sunday Marshall Katung of Kaduna South and their House of Representatives member to assist the community by providing a school, hospital, access road and bridge to prevent further tragedy.

Former South African president and freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, may have had others with similar experience with his when he authored his famous biography, ‘Long walk to freedom’.

One of those many victims may have been Lukman Adeyemi. Though Adeyemi is three years short of Mandela’s 27 years behind bars, but the 50-year-old bricklayer’s 24 years behind bars, after he was wrongly convicted for an offence he knew nothing about, may have destroyed whatever plans the future had for him 24 years ago.

Adeyemi’s harrowing experience, as reported by Vanguard, is a vivid case study of the gross flaws of the nations justice and criminal system. It also reminds one of a Yoruba saying, ‘ori yeye nimogun t;aise lo po’. Simply explained, it means not all convicts are guilty.

21-year-old at the time, young Adeyemi had followed a friend who had been invited to a olice station. But a seemingly show of loyalty to a friend would cost his 24 years of his life, spent in tortous conditions in jail.

While telling his story, Adeyemi describes his initial encounter with the justice system as a descent into hopelessness. He would go on to spend nine years in pre-trial detention, followed by an unbearable 15 years on death row.

The conditions he faced were nothing short of torturous, akin to a dark and endless nightmare.

According to him, during interrogations by SARS Police officers, he endured severe physical and psychological torment, leading to coerced confessions for crimes he knew nothing about.

Reflecting on his unjust predicament, Adeyemi questions the integrity and fairness of the system.

Despite being an innocent bystander, he was entangled in a legal quagmire that seemed insurmountable. His decision to accompany his friend Ismaila Lasisi to the police station, out of loyalty, led to his wrongful arrest and subsequent incarceration.

Throughout his imprisonment, Adeyemi faced scepticism and disbelief when attempting to share his truth. This prevailing sentiment of doubt and suspicion only added to his misery, as he grappled with false accusations and a lack of justice.

However, hope emerged when he encountered the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation, headed by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi. Their support and advocacy signalled a potential breakthrough in his quest for freedom.

Adeyemi said: “I am Lukman Adeyemi, a native of Iwere-Ile, Iwajowa Local Government, Oyo State. I am a bricklayer by profession. I was 26 years old when I had this problem. In August 2000, after returning home from work with a friend living with me, Ismaila Lasisi, we were told that the police came looking for Ismaila and he was asked to report to the station.

“I immediately decided to follow him to the station. Lo and behold, I was arrested and detained along with him. I was tortured to the point of death over a crime I knew nothing about, right from the police station. I had a close shave with death over the murder of a woman hired by some of Ismaila’s ex-friends to fetch water for them at a construction site. The woman left home in the morning and never returned.

“Ismaila once lived with them. He begged to live with me after a misunderstanding with these people in March. I knew these people from a distance. Our paths never crossed. This was how I was charged to court along with these people over an offence I knew nothing about. In 2009, we were sentenced to death. We filed separate appeals, but they failed up to the Supreme Court.

“My story of innocence to whoever cared to listen fell on deaf ears, with many questioning, ‘If you’re not one of them, why mention your name?’ and ‘If truly you are innocent, why can’t the court free you?’

“I felt abandoned by the truth itself. I spent 24 years behind bars like 24 hours, a sleepless night that lasted for two decades.

“In June 2023, one of the officers of the Correctional Service, Deputy Superintendent of Correctional (DSC) AbdulKareem Awesu, introduced my case to a pastor, and I spoke with him on the phone.”

LUKMAN ADEYEMI WALKING INTO FREEDON AFTER 24 YEARS

The Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation steps in “On July 17, 2023, the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), led by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, visited us at the Ibara Correctional Service. They listened to all of us, including the culprits who exonerated us. The organization reviewed our judgment and shed light on our innocence. June 14, 2024, will remain an evergreen and memorable day in my life. Light shone upon me; rain fell on my head for the first time, and I saw the moon for the first time.

“I never knew I could pay for the sin of another man. How could I have committed an offence and still boldly walk into a police station to report myself?

“I am grateful that the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation intervened on my behalf, a beacon of hope in a sea of despair. Their belief in my innocence reignited the flame of justice within me, propelling me toward the possibility of redemption.”

The Executive Director of CJMR, Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, elaborated on their efforts: “Our attention was drawn to the complaints of these two individuals by Welfare Officer DCP Awesu, who assured us of their innocence and the efforts made through the legal process without justice.

“We visited the Ibara Custodial Centre in Abeokuta to hear from them. The true perpetrators confessed that they committed the crime and that Adeyemi and Lasisi were innocent. We reviewed their judgments from both the trial court and the Supreme Court and found that the state’s presentation before the appellate court never allowed the court to shift ground.

“Lukman Adeyemi and his friend filed separate appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. None of the lawyers explored the way of arresting each person involved in this case. The course of probing the arrest process unfolded the truth.

“In the record of proceedings, we stumbled on evidence from PW1, a police officer who detailed the arrest. The contradictions in the judgments, the confessions of the real perpetrators, and the corroboration of their innocence led us to forward our findings to the office of the Attorney-General of Ogun State and the Committee for the Board of Prerogative of Mercy, who considered our appeal.”

Pastor Olujobi highlighted issues like poor lawyering, misleading police information, and relentless prosecution as key factors in wrongful convictions in Nigeria. He emphasized that while police evidence is typically held in high regard, not all evidence is accurate or reliable.

Recognizing the fallibility of judges, the appellate process exists to rectify lower court errors. When justice remains elusive after exhausting legal avenues, CJMR reviews court evidence and presents cases to the Board of Mercy for consideration.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command has paraded a Point of Sale (PoS) operator, Sunday Musa, also known as Dan Gwari, who allegedly specialises in supplying sex workers to bandits in their camp, as well as distributing money to their families in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Benneth Igweh, the commissioner of police in the FCT, who disclosed this while parading the suspect at the command in Abuja on Tuesday, said he was arrested during a coordinated clearance operation by operatives of the anti-kidnap unit of the command at Kagarko.

He said the suspect was also the chief informant and logistics supplier to banditry groups under the general command of one Ardo, who he said was on the run.

He said the suspect confessed to also being the facilitator of the movement of nurses, hard drugs and sex workers on request by the banditry groups.

“The suspect has also confessed to being a financial courier through which money is distributed or shared to the bandits’ families. He confessed to have so far distributed over N20 million on behalf of the bandits,” CP Igweh said.

He added that the suspect further confirmed that the bandits, led by Ardo (general commander), have over 15 members, all with AK-47 rifles.Igweh further disclosed that the police had also arrested a 41-year-old housewife, Ruqquaya Ibrahim, who allegedly supplies foodstuff and other logistics to the bandits.

He said the suspect, who is a resident of Sabon-Wuse, Niger State, had confessed to supplying food items to one of the groups under the commander of Shumau, who is currently on the run.

The commissioner of police revealed that the suspect was arrested at Gidan-Dogo forest on her way to supply food to the bandits, adding that she led the police to Shumau’s residence, where 14 rustled cows were recovered.