In a blatant violation of Nigeria’s constitutional provisions on the presumption of innocence, former First Lady Patience Jonathan has kept 15 of her domestic staff locked up in Bayelsa State’s Okaka Correctional Centre since 2019 over an unproven case of robbery.
SaharaReporters gathered that these workers have been rotting behind bars without a court conviction, as their trial has been repeatedly stalled on the orders of the influential former First Lady.
Sources familiar with the case raised the alarm, calling for urgent intervention to ensure justice for the detained workers.
“Since 2019, former First Lady Patience Jonathan has locked up about 16 of her domestic staff in Okaka Prison for allegedly stealing her jewellery, without first allowing a competent court of law to try them and sentence them.
Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, served as the First Lady of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015 and as the Second Lady of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010.
Credit: Sahara Reporters
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