Justice Oyindamola Ogala of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday ordered an unconditional release of a man, Kazeem Adeshina, after spending 15 years in the correctional facility without charge or trial.
   
The judge, while ruling in a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked No: D/16997MFHR/24 filed by his counsel, Mr Ben Okeke Abraham, yesterday, held that detaining Adeshina in prison without charge or trial is unjustifiable.
   
The applicant’s counsel, Abraham, had filed the suit against the Lagos State Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police and the Controller, Nigerian Correctional Service, Lagos State as first to third respondents respectively.
   
In his the fundamental rights enforcement procedure Rules 2009 was brought pursuant to Section 46(3) of the 1999 Constitution, the applicant prayed the court for a declaration that the arrest and continued detention of the applicant in the custody of the 3rd respondent at Medium Correctional Center, Kirikiri, Lagos without trial at the instigation of the first and second respondents since 2009 without a formal charge and trial is wrongful, illegal, unjustifiable and a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification Enforcement Act, Cap.10).

Justice Ogala held that “the presumption of innocence in our Constitution remains sacrosanct. It is clear to this court that no good cause has been exhibited necessitating the continued remand of the applicant and therefore this court finds that the applicant is entitled to the declaratory order sought.”
   
She, therefore, ordered the immediate and unconditional release of the applicant from the custody of the correctional center at the Medium Correctional Center, Kirikiri Lagos.