A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has acquitted and discharged six men who were on trial for breaching 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)—had entered a plea bargain agreement and pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them by the Lagos State Government.
Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi reviewed the plea bargain, found the men guilty of breaching public peace, but opted not to sentence them to further time in custody. Instead, she cautioned and discharged them, noting that they had already spent nearly four years in detention.
Earlier, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, presented an amended charge, stating that the defendants had committed the offence on November 23, 2020, in Ebutte Metta, Lagos.
Their actions were deemed likely to disturb public peace, in violation of Section 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
While Dr. Martins urged for a sentencing based on the guilty plea, the defendants’ lawyer, T.D. Ojeshino, pleaded for leniency. He highlighted that the men were first-time offenders, many of whom were family breadwinners, and that they had already served significant time in custody since 2020.
“My lord, I plead with the court to tamper justice with mercy as the defendants are first-time offenders,” Ojeshino said.
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