Some former domestic staff of ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan, who are being jailed in the Okaka Custodial Centre, Bayelsa State, have condemned their maltreatment and delayed trial, alleging they are enduring hardship and torture.
Two of the workers, who talked exclusively with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, asked for rescue, claiming they were imprisoned.
According to our sources, the workers have been at the prison institution since 2019, as their trial has been repeatedly delayed owing to adjournments.
Those affected are Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Emmanuel Aginwa, Erema Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Sunday Reginald, Vivian Golden, Emeka Benson, Boma Oba, Salomi Wareboka, and Sahabi Lima.
The defendants were taken before the High Court of Bayelsa sitting in Yenagoa, the state capital, in 2019.
They were accused of stealing seven gold bangles and jewellery, five Samsung air conditioners, two sets of upholstery chairs, and six Samsung flat-screen televisions worth ₦200 million.
They were also charged with 18 charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit crimes, namely armed robbery, burglary, and theft, among others.
A charge read, “Golden Vivian, Erama Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, Wiliams Alami, Tamunokuro Abaku, Boma Oba, Emmanuel Aginwa, Emeka Benson, Tamunosiki Achese Fiberesima, Wariboko Salome, Sahabi Liman, Reginald Sunday, John Dashe and others now at large, sometime in June 2019 at Otuoke community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did conspire to kill Her Excellency Dame Patience Jonathan (former First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) and thereby committed an offence.”
One of the defendants, who spoke to journalists from prison, decried that they were being unlawfully detained.
The detainee mentioned that up till that moment, the police had yet to present any evidence against them.
“We have been in prison since 2019. We were domestic staff of the former first lady, Patience Jonathan. In 2019, there was a case of breaking into one of her apartments in Otuoke, and she decided to arrest all her workers.
“We were not even working in that apartment; since then, there has been no evidence to prove to the court, and the case is not proceeding; she is still waiting for witnesses to come till today.
“Please, we need your intervention. We need help,” the detainee noted.
Another detained staff member alleged that they were being maltreated on the orders of the former first lady.
The inmate said, “These people want to kill us. In this prison, they are threatening us. Anything you can do for us to leave here, please do. When I was at the station, they tortured us and threatened they would take us to the back and beat and hang us.
“After they beat us, she would be on the phone listening to our voices and telling them it was not enough that they should bring us to her hotel and house. That is how we have been treated.”
Chronicle NG gathered that it learnt that efforts by a human rights organisation, Tech4Justice, to secure the release of the defendants on bail were frustrated.
The group accused the Bayelsa State courts of bowing to pressure from important individuals connected to the former first lady.
A legal partner of the group, Funmi Adedoyin, provided insight into the problems surrounding the case, stating that the prosecution had not finished its case and that the accused had not opened their defence.
She disclosed that the case had been adjourned more than 40 times between 2019 and 2025.
Adedoyin said, “We have filed applications, made representations, and sought bail on many occasions. But the judiciary appears unwilling to proceed with the case. These young men and women have been forgotten in prison.
“Due to the political weight of the complainant in the matter, we have encountered several hurdles. The judge who was handling the case was later elevated to the position of Chief Judge of Bayelsa State.
“Since her elevation, it has been difficult for her to combine administrative duties with presiding over this particular case. She is often away on official assignments. However, in recent times, she has begun to give the matter some attention, with efforts towards accelerated hearing.”
The lawyer also condemned the frequent absence of police prosecutors in court, saying it had further stalled proceedings.
“For the past two adjournments, last month and again on Wednesday this week, the case could not proceed because the police prosecutor was absent. Several police officers have handled the case, and most of them have been transferred out of Bayelsa, with some now serving in Lagos and other places. They often give excuses about being on special assignments.
“Many of the adjournments have been due to the absence of police witnesses. Also, the general slow pace of justice in Nigeria contributes to the delay, especially as courts went on vacation for several months,” she said.
Adedoyin stated that efforts were made to secure the detainees’ bail, but the applications were denied at the early stage of the trial.
“They have been behind bars. We applied for bail at the beginning of the case, but it was denied. The trial has been ongoing, but several factors have delayed it until now,” she said.
She lamented over the plight of one of the female defendants who lost her child while in custody and was unable to attend the funeral.
“Three of the defendants are currently on bail on health grounds, including one who had tuberculosis,” the counsel added.
Adedoyin stated that rather than investigating individuals directly engaged in the theft, the police arrested all domestic staff on the complainant’s purported request.
She disclosed that, in addition to what had previously been published, the 15 domestic staff members had been charged with conspiring to murder the former First Lady.
“Everyone in the villa was arrested. The police know that stealing is a bailable offence. Because of that, they charged them with another offence entirely different from the alleged theft of the jewellery – conspiracy to kill Madam Patience Jonathan. This is another exposé on what happened.”
“This was to ensure that they would not have any means of escape. The police did not even have any evidence suggesting that these people were armed. That is why it has been very difficult to secure their bail,” she added.
At the time of filing this report, the former First Lady had yet to comment on the incarceration of her former domestic workers.
