An innocent bricklayer who spent 24 years in jail has been set free and is now sharing his ordeal.
Lukman Adeyemi, a 50-year-old bricklayer, was just 26 years old when he accompanied a friend who had been invited by the police to the station. His act of loyalty towards his friend led to his detention. He ended up spending 24 years in jail and was only freed on June 14, 2024.
He spent nine years in pre-trial detention, followed by an unbearable 15 years on death row.
Narrating his detention, he explained that when he arrived at the station with his friend, during interrogations by SARS Police officers, he endured severe physical and psychological torment, leading to coerced confessions for crimes he knew nothing about.
Sharing his story with Vanguard, he said: “I am Lukman Adeyemi, a native of Iwerele, Iwajowa Local Government, Oyo State. I am a bricklayer by profession. I was 26 years old when I had this problem.
“In August 2000, after returning home from work with a friend living with me, Ismaila Lasisi, we were told that the police came looking for Ismaila and he was asked to report to the station.
“I immediately decided to follow him to the station, and lo and behold, I was arrested and detained along with him. I was tortured to the point of death over a crime I knew nothing about, right from the police station.
“I had a close shave with death over the murder of a woman who was hired by some ex-friends of Ismaila Lasisi to fetch water for them at the construction site. The woman left home in the morning and never returned.
“Ismaila Lasisi once lived with them. He begged to come and live with me after he had a misunderstanding with these people in March. I knew these people from a distance. Our paths never crossed in life for anything. This was how I was charged to court along with these people over an offence I never had any knowledge of.
“In 2009, we were sentenced to death. We filed separate appeals, but the appeal failed at the Supreme Court.
“My story of innocence to whoever cared to listen fell on deaf ears, with many questioning, ‘If you’re not one of them, why mention your name?’ ‘If truly you are innocent, why can’t the court free you?’
“I felt abandoned by truth itself. I spent 24 years behind bars like 24 hours, a sleepless night that lasted for two decades.
“In June 2023, one of the officers of the Correctional Service, Deputy Superintendent of Correctional (DSC) AbdulKareem Awesu, introduced my case to a pastor, and I spoke with him on the phone.
“On July 17, 2023, a group from the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), led by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, visited us at the Ibara Correctional Service where they listened to all of us, including the culprits who exonerated us. The organization went with all our judgments and shed light on our innocence.
“June 14, 2024, shall remain an evergreen and memorable day in my life. Light shone upon me, rain fell on my head for the first time, and I saw the moon for the first time.
“I never knew I could pay for the sin of another man. How could I have committed an offense and still boldly walk into a police station to report myself?
“I am grateful that the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation intervened on my behalf, a beacon of hope in a sea of despair. Their belief in my innocence reignited the flame of justice within me, propelling me toward the possibility of redemption.”
Pastor Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi, the Executive Director of the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), an NGO based in Ibadan, shed light on the innocence of Lukman Adeyemi and Ismaila Lasisi.
He said: “Our attention was drawn to the complaints of these two people on their claim of innocence by the Welfare Officer DCP Awesu, who invited us to come and help these people, assuring us of their innocence and the effort made through the legal process without justice.
“We came down to Ibara Custodial Centre, Abeokuta, to hear from them. The two perpetrators confided in us that truly, they were the ones who committed the crime and that the two people were totally innocent of the crime. We adjusted our seats to hear them very well.
“It was a long drilling of questions on their part. But they insisted on their innocence. What they said carried no weight in my ears until I read through the judgment that convicted them. We obtained their judgments from both the trial court and the Supreme Court for our review. We noticed the presentation of the state before the appellate court could never allow the court to shift ground.”
Pastor Olujobi observed that “while reading through their separate judgments, there was a contradiction.”
Narrating how the release of both innocent suspects was facilitated, Pastor Olujobi said: “With all the analysis and evidence in the record, we forwarded our findings to the office of the Attorney-General of Ogun State and the Committee for the Board of Prerogative of Mercy, and they considered our appeal.
“It’s not about their story, it is about the fact that the record corroborated their story.”
Currently, Lukman Adeyemi and Ismaila Lasisi are at the CJMR Halfway Home for recovery and reintegration.
