A Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in the Ikeja area of Lagos has acquitted and discharged six men who were standing trial for breaching public peace during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.
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 charge of breaching public peace, as brought against them by the Lagos State Government.
After reviewing the plea bargain agreement, Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi found the defendants guilty and convicted them of the offence.
In place of sentencing, however, she cautioned and discharged them, noting that they had already spent almost four years in custody.
Earlier in the proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, presented an amended charge to the court.
He stated that the defendants committed the offence on November 23, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. in Ebutte Metta, Lagos.
According to him, their actions were likely to cause a breach of public peace, an offence that contravenes Section 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Dr. Martins urged the court to sentence the defendants based on their guilty plea.
In response, the defendant’s legal representative, T.D. Ojeshino, pleaded for leniency, arguing that the defendants were first-time offenders, some of whom were breadwinners for their families.
He emphasised that they had been in custody since 2020 and had learned their lessons.
“My lord, I plead the court to tamper justice with mercy as the defendants are first-time offenders.
