Olatunji Olaide was wrongfully arrested and subsequently sentenced to death. He shares the harrowing experience of his time in prison and his survival and freedom with BN and how he kept his head high in the face of the storm.We hope that you are inspired by it.
Back in 1988 I trained as a photographer but back in the 80s I didn’t have enough photography work to sustain me so I worked with my father who traded in cattle. My father was an old man so I joined him and I used to go to the bush to buy the animals. I was married with two sons. That year, as the time for the Ileya Festival drew closer, we were going to supply some companies with cattle so I had to go and buy them from Niger state. He listed all the things that I was going to buy – cows, rams and goats. I left Lagos on the 30th of May, 1988 to Gwari in Niger state. I had to go inside the bush to select the animals I wanted so that I would get a trailer to convey them to Lagos. The Arrest Because of the language barrier, I needed an interpreter for the negotiations. We were in the bush when some policemen came and asked me if I was a visitor. I said yes, I was a visitor that I had been coming to the village for many years. The man said they were looking for people who ran into the bush. I said I didn’t know anything about it that I was selecting rams there. Then they arrested me and took me to the police station even though the interpreter told them I had been coming to the village for some time. The next day, the 1st of June, they said the case could not be handled at that station and it was transferred to the State CID at Niger. From there they transferred me to Ilorin in Kwara state. All the while, I never knew what they were accusing me of. After a week, some policemen came from Lagos, they said they were from the Anti-Terrorsist squad and they conveyed me and some people that were arrested with me to Lagos. I was with N325,000 cash which I wanted to use to buy cows at Niger. The money followed me up to Ilorin but when we got to Lagos, I didn’t hear anything about the money again. The Police men did not give me or my family members. Pain, Torture & Court Trial They took me to Adeniji Adele Police Station, Lagos. That was when they started giving me hell.
They hung me, beat and tortured me. That was the day I knew they were accusing me of murder. They said somebody was killed in Lagos and his car was snatched and they later found the car around the village where I was in Gwari. The policemen said the people fled into the bush that was why they were looking for visitors around that area. All the while I had no idea why I had been arrested. The confessional statement in my case file, they wrote it themselves and forced me to sign. After that they transferred me to Ikoyi Prison and that was where they resumed another round of torture. I spent almost 9 months there before they took me to court with four other men. I didn’t even know those men. They charged us all for conspiracy to murder. My lawyer told me to plead ‘Not Guilty’ so I did and from there they took me to Kirikiri Medium Security Prison. Sentenced to Death Four months later, they said we had a case to answer at Apapa Court. After reading the charges, they took us back to Ikoyi Prisons.The trial started in 1989 and it ran on for 6 years. On February 15, 1995, Justice Da Silva sentenced me to death. I told the judge that day, “You have condemned me, but God did not condemn me.” My Mum, my Dad, my children and family members were in the court that day. I was transferred to the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison. Life as a Man Sentenced to Death They put me in a condemned cell. It was hell on earth. They kept 9 of us in a very small room. That was where we took our bath, ate, slept, defecated and eased ourselves. There were no beds. Who would give us beds? By law, they don’t let any condemned man come out. But sometimes, they let us out for about one hour in a day. Life in the prison was very rough. There, I hardly slept. The prison authorities gave us food but not good food. In the condemned prisoners cell, you wouldn’t know which day they will call you and just execute you. In 1996, I can’t remember the date, we were 9 in the cell. They took 8 of them out, they never brought them back. When they call your name like that, you know what will happen. They executed all of them. Olawale Olaide(brother) & Olatunji Olaide Communication with the Outside World Then, when we want to communicate with our family or our lawyers, we go to the welfare unit and write a letter. We must wear our blue uniform and they’ll put handcuffs and chains on our legs.
Olawale Olaide(brother) & Olatunji Olaide |
Mr. Olaide standing outside the Prison the day he was released
He
introduced me to Chino Obiagwu, the Executive Director of LEDAP. When I met Mr.
Obigwu, the first thing he said to me was “My friend, I am taking up your case
and I’m going to win that case. Are you ready to sign for me?” I said I will
not sign with biro, I will use thumbprint. Then he said “I will give you a
warning. Don’t call me, don’t send anybody to me. Are you going to have
patience?” I said, “Is it me that you are talking to about patience?” The Final
Appeal I didn’t even have faith at all. Sometimes, when Pastor Popoola came to
prison, I would hide from him. The prisoners don’t go to the Court of Appeal,
it is only the lawyers that were representing us. He didn’t even tell me
anything and I didn’t bother to ask. Sometimes they were communicating with my
family but I didn’t believe anything will happen. Mr. Olaide standing outside
the Prison the day he was released The Call that Changed My Life On the 5th of
June 2012, they called me to come to the Welfare Unit to get the progress of my
case. I said I wasn’t not going there. Some people that were sitting with me
said I should go but I said I wasn’t going, that they will just be lying to me.
Later I called Pastor Popoola. He said “Egbon” (Big brother), I said “wetin be
dat” (what is it?). He said “o ti sele o” (It has happened). He said the court
of Appeal has let me go. I just started shouting, I didn’t know what to do, how
to thank him. I was very happy. My Perception of the Police, Prison and
Nigerian Justice System The police are bad, they are not doing a good job. They
are killing innocent people. Lawyers will collect your money, they will not do
any job. If a person has spent 6 years on trial and is sentenced to 15 years,
they will not count the years spent on trial, they will just start counting the
15 years from the judgment day. Justice was not done in my case. Justice is for
only people that are rich and it is not supposed to be so. Justice is supposed
to be for all Nigerians. The man who calls himself a judge will see the truth
and will not even listen.
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My judge was biased towards me
and I don’t know why. We still have people languishing in that prison. People
that have spent 28, 30, 33 years. The government is not doing well. How long
will somebody be in prison? Which time will he spend the rest of his life? Let
the justice prevail. People are changing there. A lot of people are becoming
born again. Imagine, somebody who did not go to school for his whole life will
attend primary school, secondary school and go to Open University there. Let
the government come to the aid of these poor men. A 14 year-old boy is in
prison there charged for robbery case. What Freedom Means To Me Freedom is
good. The freedom to be able to walk about, to do the things I want to do by
myself. I’m not even used to it yet but it’s very good. I’m breathing different
air, eating different food. Just these few days, my system has already changed.
I thank God for Pastor Popoola. God will be with him. I thank God for Chino
Obiagwu and LEDAP. He didn’t collect one naira from me, up till today. Advice
to People who find themselves in Similar Situations The only advice I would
give is hold on to God.Be patient and have faith. Let that person be saying to
himself, “God if I’m a sinner, forgive me and set me free. Let the people of
the world see your glory in me”. It takes a lot of pain, it’s not an easy task
for somebody to be in prison. Looking Ahead I will still go back to my job. If
the Government wants to help me, fine but I believe my family and my children
will take me up. I’m very hopeful. The rest of my life is going to be a very
good life because I am going to take everything so easy. If it comes, I give
thanks to God, if it doesn’t come, I give thanks to God Almighty.
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