Court Orders Release of Man Detained Eight Years Without Trial

November 4, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke

The Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, has ordered the immediate release of Mr. Sewedo Folorunsho, who was detained for eight years without trial at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre over an alleged murder.

In a judgment delivered on October 22, 2025, Justice Adenike Shonubi declared Folorunsho’s detention unlawful, describing it as a gross violation of his fundamental rights to personal liberty, human dignity, and fair hearing as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

The court consequently ordered Folorunsho’s unconditional release and awarded ₦500,000 in damages against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.

Folorunsho, through his counsel, Monday Ubani (SAN), had filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, the Attorney-General of Lagos State, and the Deputy Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Lagos.

According to court documents, the applicant was arrested by the police in 2012 over an allegation of murder and was arraigned in 2017 before an Ebute Metta Magistrate’s Court on a holding charge. However, no information was ever filed before the High Court to commence his trial.

As a result, he remained in custody at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre until the court’s recent judgment.

Justice Shonubi held that the prolonged detention without trial violated the applicant’s constitutional rights and amounted to an unlawful deprivation of liberty.