I just felt like sharing this testimony from a fellow Nigerian just to tell us that there is hope for the oppressed.

Many of you, members of DPA, may never understand this group as well as I do. But I am part of this movement in ways that will shock you when you learn the details. In 2011, I was detained by the EFCC at the their detention center in Okotie Eboh Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. While I was there, one American lawyer was brought to the cell. The moment we, the inmates, heard about him, there was something about him that is quite difficult to forget.

The lawyer's name is Emeka Ugwuonye. He was given an exclusive cell - an entire room with its own toilet and bath. It was Cell Room 101. He was a special inmate. There was something about his case that no-one really understood. Right from moment he came into the cell, he began to assist all the inmates in their cases. We all loved him and he loved us back. He was bold and daring. From detention he fought the system. There came a time when he was placed in solitary confinement. All the inmates went on strike to stop his solitary confinement. He encouraged us. He cheered us and he supported us.

My encounter with Barrister Emeka Ugwuonye was profound and quite close. I and one other inmate called Debo, were his Personal Assistants during the time we were all detention.

I was ultimately transferred to Kirikiri Prison, where I spend 4 years of my life, without trial. Even though Mr. Ugwuonye was released, as we all knew he would be released and he returned to the United States, he remained interested in my case.

My case is peculiar in all respects. I just don't want to be the one to tell my story. But I will say that I ended up in the system even though I did nothing. Mr. Ugwuonye understood that I was innocent and he was determined to exonerate me right from the moment I met him.

My problems were not just that I was falsely implicated and a commercial transaction turned into a criminal case. My main problem was that I did not understand the importance of having a good lawyer early in your case.

After I was arrested by the EFCC, I hired a lawyer who charged me 300k Naira. I thought it was simple and easy because I could afford that. My first lawyer so badly screwed up my case and the court denied me bail, which was how my trouble got worsened. I hired a second lawyer who charged me 400k. There was no progress at all. He could not face the EFCC lawyers.

Barrister Emeka Ugwuonye had retured to the United States but he kept trying to follow up on my case. All that while I was in the Kirikiri Maximum prison. From the United States, Barrister Ugwuonye decided to intervene in my case. In 2013, he hired a lawyer in Nigeria for me and he paid him with his own money. For the first time, there were signs of progress. My case began to go forward. But the delays continued and I remained in detention. Barrister Ugwuonye felt frustrated with the slow pace of progress in my case. He told me that he was planning to increase his presence in Nigeria, that because of my case, he was going to move into Nigeria sooner than he planned.

I was shocked when in 2014 Emeka Ugwuonye personally appeared in court in my case and announced to the court that he came all the way from America to Nigeria because of my case. From that day, everything changed. I was shocked. From my discussions with him during the time we were in detention together, I knew that in America he charged $400 per hour as his fees. So, how could I ever pay him?. I had been in detention for years. I had lost everything I had. It was impossible to hire a new lawyer. Yet, I asked Barriser Ugwuonye how much he was going to charge me. He smiled and told me not to bother because I could not really afford his fees. That was how he defended me in my case free of charge.

In 2015, after 4 years in prison awaiting trial, Emeka Ugwuonye got me free. And I was released to go home and meet my family for the first time. The day I left prison, I did not go straight home. Mr. Ugwuonye asked me to come over to his house in Ikoyi. When I got there, he took me in his car straight to Park & Shop on Victoria Island, Lagos and bought me a phone and personal stuff that i needed. He then told me he did it in the name of DPA. That was the first time I got to know about DPA.

Moving forward, before I was arrested in 2011, I was running a successful export business, dealign in commodes. Upon my release, I returned to the business. Because of the declining value of Naira, export business has been in boom. I resurrected my business and our first contract was worth 2 million dollars. I was happy to hire the law firm of ECULAW as our lawyers. That was my way of saying thank you to Mr. Ugwuonye for all he did for me.

Now, I am happy to have the opportunity of saying thank you to DPA for what it did for me. As I have discussed with Barrister Emeka Ugwuonye, I shall be paying 10k every month to DPA forever. More than that, I want to invite other members of DPA to join me in making monthly contribution to the group. Without the spirit of DPA, nobody would have helped me. I believe I am the first person that DPA helped. Now that I have the capacity to show appreciation, I would be glad to do so. Beyond my feeling of gratitude, I think it is important to encourage Barrister Ugwuony to continue the good work he is doing through DPA. If more people could join me in the effort, many more people facing difficulties would benefit. As little as 1000 Naira monthly, or even 500 Naira can make a whole lot of difference in getting more helpless victims out of trouble through DPA and Barrister. Emeka. I don't know the modalities, but I would hope that the DPA management would set up a platform for those of us who will be making monthly contributions to the group.

Thank you

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U r here to advertise DPA...ur story wil neva make frontpage....DPA ko,DYA ni