A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos has discharged and acquitted six men accused of disturbing public peace during the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
The defendants, Daniel Joyinbo (31), Adigun Sodiq (28), Kehinde Shola (32), Salaudeen Kamilu (29), Sodiq Usseni (33), and Azeez Isiaka (34), entered a plea bargain, pleading guilty to the charges.
Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi, while finding them guilty, cautioned and discharged them, citing their almost four-year detention period.
Their counsel, T.D. Ojeshino, urged the court to show leniency, saying “They have been in custody since 2020 and have truly learnt their lessons.”
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins, pushed for sentencing, noting that their actions on 23 November 2020, at Ebutte Metta, Lagos, violated Section 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
In response, Ojeshino pleaded for mercy, emphasising that the defendants were first-time offenders, some of whom were breadwinners.
He said, “My lord, I plead the court to temper justice with mercy as the defendants are first-time offenders. Some are breadwinners of their families and still very young.”
The court’s decision concluded the nearly four-year-long case.
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