₦airaland Forum

A Nigerian man has shared a remarkable account of spending 47 years in prison after allegedly being detained at the age of 13 over the accidental damage of a police officer’s car mirror.

The story, published by Inside Life and credited to Alhassan Mai Lafiya, has attracted widespread attention on social media. However, the claims have not been independently verified by Yaro Insider.

According to the account, the man was born in Maiduguri, Borno State, and worked alongside his father selling sugarcane after school.

He claimed that while resting under a tree one day, he accidentally brushed against a parked vehicle, causing its side mirror to break. Rather than flee, he said he waited for the owner to return and explain what had happened.

The narrator alleged that the car owner, who later turned out to be a police officer, assaulted him before taking him to a police station, where he was detained without any formal explanation.

He further claimed that after about a month in police custody, he was taken to court. When the court did not sit that day, he was allegedly remanded in prison, where he remained for decades as he was transferred between correctional facilities across different states.

According to the account, it was not until he reached the age of 60 that a visiting state governor questioned why he had been incarcerated.

The narrator claimed that an investigation was subsequently launched, leading to his release after authorities allegedly discovered irregularities surrounding his prolonged detention.

He also alleged that the police officer responsible for his detention had later become a traditional ruler and expressed regret when they eventually met.

The account concluded with the man saying he rejected offers of compensation, arguing that no amount of material support could restore the decades of his life that had been lost. He said he was later pardoned and assisted by the government to start a small business.

Source: https://yaroinsider.ng/2026/07/24/imprisoned-at-13-freed-at-60-a-lifetime-stolen/

I was jailed at 13 for accidentally breaking a car headlight.

I spent 47 years behind bars without trial, transferred from prison to prison and forgotten by the world.

At 60, a governor asked me one question: "What brought you here?"

That question gave me my freedom.

Today, I'm 78 years old. Money cannot buy back stolen time. Justice delayed is a life denied.

Happy Birthday to me. 🎂

Source

Freedom to walk upanda in good health is matchless.

Hezzyluv:
Freedom to walk upanda in good health is matchless.

na God go help us in this koutry

This is a very sad case even though it is not uncommon. His entire life, the productive years have been taken from him by one power drunk individual. May God protect us in this world

I read the story yesterday and I was so emotional.
They denied the man his youth.
If he is debating in his mind whether to forgive or not to forgive that emir,on his behalf I won't forgive that ex police officer.

Why reject financial compensation? It's not as if its a free money, he merits any amount given to him as compensation. Sometimes people need to think before acting.



Life sha

franchasng:
Why reject financial compensation? It's not as if its a free money, he merits any amount given to him as compensation. Sometimes people need to think before acting.



Life sha

The man has probably lost hope in humanity. He just wants all of you to leave him alone till his time comes

Nigeria happened to him, I thought that his kinsmen are on the corridors of power, what stopped them from bailing him.

So sad.
But may sir, you are too stubborn then but humble now.
So sorry for you.
Nigeria happen to you.

So sad.
But may sir, you are too stubborn then but humble now.
So sorry for you.
Nigeria happen to you.
And congratulations to you sir.

This story is not complete....more different from what I read somewhere online..

The owner of the car just finished praying...came outside to meet the man still waiting to explain

This is an everyday happening in Nigeria.

I once spent six months in Lagos police cell simply because our compound gutter was dirty...

I never knew I had been used to replace a criminal who was released overnight.

The story long but you see this our country, be careful when it has to do with police

Is this content or reality?

Nigerian reality is rivalling Congolese content creation.

yaroinsider:
Source: https://yaroinsider.ng/2026/07/24/imprisoned-at-13-freed-at-60-a-lifetime-stolen/



Source

Sorry for your plight.
You would accepted the compensations as well in good faith. Thank God you are hale and hearty.

https://www.nairaland.com/7823746/man-wrongly-arrested-held-testifies
This one happened in Lagos.

The compensation he deserves is more than invaluable. He is right when he rejected the kind of material compensation which I know amounts to nothing to how much time and life that has been wasted

This is one of the rare situations where I will say Vengeance does not belong to God


I no go talk pass that one

They said honesty is the best policy, but in the case of this man,it really did him wetin no good.
Imagine denying him all his productive years just for breaking a car's mirror.
Where's he going to start from, someone that should be playing with his grandchildren will now be expecting his first child at what age.
Some people are wicked sha.
47 years!

Some people are more wicked than the devil oo. As a matter of fact,devil still dey under apprenticeship when it comes to the level of wickedness of some persons o. How do you even sleep knowing that you threw someone in prison for years for petty reason like that? Make God no allow us meet some kinda people for this life o. God forbid bad things. Evil pro pro pro max, that's what these kinda people are

How many years come remain for the old guy to live and enjoy existence in that body?

Like Jesus said.. "It is finished..."


A pity

A lot is actually wrong with this country and the whole rotteness seems to be deeply rooted in every human sector you can think of, from the next to useless leadership, the justice system and the rest.

Imagine more than 40 years of a man wasted because no due process was followed just 'do you know I am' is more than enough to send a man to jail. Too terrible.

franchasng:
Why reject financial compensation? It's not as if its a free money, he merits any amount given to him as compensation. Sometimes people need to think before acting.



Life sha

What kind of financial compensation can appease a 60year old man who has been denied of a life of his own? He's no longer agile, no wife, no children, no family! Where's happiness going to come from? He would have even lost touch with the realities over the decades.

You can't blame him for rejecting the compensation.

He also alleged that the police officer responsible for his detention had later become a traditional ruler and expressed regret when they eventually met.

What a country. Imagine the trauma he must have been going through

Nigeria constitutions failed

yemre:
What kind of financial compensation can appease a 60year old man who has been denied of a life of his own? He's no longer agile, no wife, no children, no family! Where's happiness going to come from? He would have even lost touch with the realities over the decades.

You can't blame him for rejecting the compensation.

it's really sad, life can be very unfair

Nicotinekills:
This is an everyday happening in Nigeria.

I once spent six months in Lagos police cell simply because our compound gutter was dirty...

I never knew I had been used to replace a criminal who was released overnight.

The story long but you see this our country, be careful when it has to do with police

Is prison life tough as they say

No amount of money can ever compensate for what this man has lost.

Even if they give him 1 trillion dollar self...😩

Why is nobody asking why they threw a 13yr old into a prison in the first place?

where lie fit save you, no talk truth oo

franchasng:
Why reject financial compensation? It's not as if its a free money, he merits any amount given to him as compensation. Sometimes people need to think before acting.



Life sha

Will the money change what has happened to him?

Haydens:
Nigeria happened to him, I thought that his kinsmen are on the corridors of power, what stopped them from bailing him.

If not for now that social media is available and people can post on his behalf on social media, pls tell me what a sugar cane seller can do to raise awareness 47yrs ago.
Mind you, not like his dad was an educated person o, before you'd say ok, he will know the appropriate channels to go through to have his son released

Reading Nigerins comment above shows most are semi illiterate. A 13 year old taken to prison and the police office be it Emir or not, is not arrested for wasting away a child's years? It is not just a matter of breaking a windscreen but teenager.