The lockdown earlier this year taught me that ‘right to freedom of movement’ is a very important right. The ability to wake up and be able to go wherever you want without being stopped by anyone is a great blessing, one that we tend to take for granted.

Thread.

I felt restless even before the end of the first week of lockdown. I couldn’t contain the idea of being stuck in the house every minute of the day. Access to the internet, television and loved ones were not enough, I still wanted to go out.

At a point I began to imagine what it must feel like to be in Prison. These guys can’t go anywhere. They are stuck in the same space for years, some even decades. The food is terrible, there is no internet, no family nor friends. Just emptiness and hopelessness.

I know most of us would be of the opinion that they deserve it, after all most of them are criminals who put themselves in such situations. The irony however is that over 70% of inmates in Nigerian Prisons have not been convicted. Most are awaiting trial https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/387068-70-of-nigerian-prisoners-held-without-trial-prisons-chief.html

What this means is that these people are still innocent. Many are just victims of circumstance, some were framed by law enforcement, while others are being “taught a lesson” by wealthy people in the society. You’d be amazed at the number of people locked up over petty crimes.

I’ve seen scenarios where even minors have had their ages falsely inflated to 18+ by Law Enforcement agents just to remand them in Prison custody. Our whole justice system is a mess and no one seems to care except for a few organizations like @Flemer_Project.

Since its inception in 2018, Flemer has facilitated the release of over 50 inmates from different Nigerian Prisons at no cost. They have consistently provided free legal representation to indigent inmates who cannot afford same.

This thread is basically to say Thank You to @Flemer_Project for the good job they’re doing. Thank you for coming to the aid of poor Nigerians who otherwise would have been languishing in jail for crimes they didn’t commit.

Please follow Flemer here & on IG if you’re yet to.

Also if you know of any cases of wrongful imprisonments involving any member of the society, especially those who can’t afford Legal Representation, please send an email with the details of the case to [email protected] and they would take it up from there.