A little over two years ago, 57 innocent men were unlawfully arrested by the Nigerian Police at a birthday in Lagos. Since then, they have been harassed, blackmailed and denied their right to a fair hearing.
In August 2020, The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs), the organisation that has been actively involved in the turnout of events on the case since 2018, began an online campaign — Acquit The 57. The idea behind the campaign was simple: Acquit the 57 men for lack of evidence, especially since the men have had their lives upended for two years.
Today, TIERs released an official update on the case. “Today, the case of the 57 men who were arrested two years ago on false charges was struck out,” the statement read. ”While this is good news that the men no longer have to show up in court repeatedly to defend this charge, we are disappointed that the case has been struck out instead of being dismissed.”
According to the release by TIERs, a strikeout means that they are free to go away now, but the police can arrest them again anytime in the future on these same charges, which is why the goal was a dismissal.
“The wheels of justice are slow, but they have finally landed at our doorstep,” Xeenarh Mohammed, the Executive Director of The Initiative for Equal Rights, tells The Rustin Times. “Although we were aiming for an acquittal and a dismissal. For now, we would take a strikeout. The most important thing is that the boys are free and they can finally start to pick up the threads of their lives,” she adds.
“Since it was found that the Prosecution lacks evidence for the crimes alleged, the proper order should have been a dismissal. As it stands now, we see that the justice system has again failed to mete out justice,” TIERs official statement continues. “Thank you to everyone who joined us to demand justice. We do not take your support for granted, and we hope that you will continue to use your voice to speak up against injustice.”
