Some of you who read the on-line news outlet, 234next.com, may be familiar with the story of a juvenile who was impregnated by someone in a position of trust within her environment. She is also accused of stealing by her guardian who provided no concrete proof to the police but somehow got the police to arraign her on theft charges. The young woman was unfortunate enough to have her case assigned to an irresponsible magistrate who should have noted her age during her first court appearance. The said magistrate also failed to sit on the bench on four occasions to preside over her case. The magistrate's oversight and failure to show up in court has resulted in the young woman being remanded in jail as a minor which, as I learned from comments made by other posters on 234next.com, is illegal in the state of Lagos.

The accused, Ms Monday has spent seven months in jail awaiting trial. She gave birth to a baby boy last week while still imprisoned. Since she is poor and has little education, she has had no legal representation until Next started to run her story on June 18.

As if all the above was not enough hardship, the “law” in the state of Lagos, according to a prison official quoted by Next,  may eventually take away her child because of the circumstances surrounding his birth.

As for the question of paternity, I find it difficult to believe that the justice system in the state of Lagos cannot fund a simple DNA test to determine paternity if, as Ms. Monday claims, points to her guardian Mr. Nadu, the man who accused her of theft and got the police to imprison her. It is also salient to note that whoever impregnated Ms. Monday must have started having intercourse with her while she was underage. This would constitute statutory ra pe in my part of the world. But I learned that statutory ra pe law does not exist in Lagos (is this true?). Instead, the law has something called “unlawful carnal knowledge”, which I am not sure is applicable to having sex with a minor. Someone please advise, if you know.

My question to those of you living in Lagos is this: Is there an organization there that can help this woman regain her freedom? I am prepared to fund her bail and contribute to her legal defense (yes, I do believe she is not guilty).  My wife has been bugging me to do something ever since I showed her this story on Aug 1^st. She is not a Nigerian, but I am sure that if she could get a license to practice in Lagos, she would pack up and go there to defend Ms. Monday.

Could anyone living in Lagos please find the telephone number of the Office of the Public Defender in Lagos and post it here? I would be very grateful if somebody in Lagos could undertake this little task.
 

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5594508-147/the_pregnant_prisoner___.csp

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5596138-147/pregnant_inmate_gets_legal_representation_.csp

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5601847-147/prison_inmate_gives_birth__.csp

I found the telephone numbers of The Office of the Public Defender in the state of Lagos.

Comfort and baby now released; case continues.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5608093-147/free_at_last___.csp

seyibrown:

Comfort and baby now released; case continues.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5608093-147/free_at_last___.csp

Thank God. Prompt response from Fashola. Lagos state should OPD should follow up the case to end and ensure she gets justice.

It's a slight relief that at last, her case has the attention of the state governor. At the same time, it is quite disturbing that something like this happened at all. The fact that she had to be remanded in prison for over seven months because the magistrate handling her case failed to show up in court on four occasions should raise questions about the judicial system in Lagos. The judicial board in Lagos, if there is such a board, should take steps to terminate the magistrate's appointment to the bench. The supervisor of the court system in Lagos should also face reprimand for not filing an order of removal after the magistrate failed to appear in court the second time.

This case also exposes some deficiencies in the judicial system in Lagos. When a defendant who is unable to afford legal counsel is arraigned before a court, it should be the court's responsibility to appoint a public defender to file a legal defense in the defendant's behalf. Had Next newspaper not pursued this story with the first installment on July 18 (they've run about six or seven installment to date), the injustice served Ms. Comfort Monday might not have been brought to the public’s attention. It's frightening to think that perhaps many more cases of the unjustly incarcerated clog the prisons in Lagos and no one has taken any interest in their cases because they almost invariably involve the poor, uneducated souls who have no connection up the ladder of influence.

Even more troubling is the flimsy evidence the police used to arraign Ms. Monday. No learned prosecutor – certainly not where I live – would ever arraign an accused person on the quality and quantity of evidentiary material used to railroad Ms. Monday to prison. It doesn't help that she is semi illiterate, a juvenile, and perhaps could not fully comprehend the gravity of the charges against her.  I would like to think that when the dust has settled a bit, the state governor, his attorney general and the state's chief justice would review this case for deficiencies in the state's judicial system and address such deficiencies with urgency.
   

ps. thanks to the few who had shown interest in this case.

@ Pifa, please may God bless you and your wife for your hearts of gold. Nigeria needs people like you. You are what Nairalanders should be like. Please honor me by extending my best wishes to your wife also. Thanks.

There are so many innocent people in Nigerian jails courtesy of our corrupt and inefficient police, judicial system and citizens who oppress other citizens just because they have money or connections! It is disheartening! I hope more people will rise in support of getting justice for the oppressed!