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Some of the former domestic workers of ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan, who are currently being held at the Okaka Custodial Centre, Bayelsa State, have lamented their abuse and delay in trial, alleging that they are living in misery and torture.
Two of the workers, in an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, cried out for help, alleging that they were spending years in prison.
Our journalists have discovered that the employees had been at the custodial center since 2019, as their trial was perpetually being adjourned due to constant postponements.
The victims include Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Emmanuel Aginwa, Erema Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Sunday Reginald, Vivian Golden, Emeka Benson, Boma Oba, Salomi Wareboka, and Sahabi Lima.
The defendants faced the High Court of Bayelsa at Yenagoa, the state capital, in 2019.
They were accused of stealing seven gold bangles and jewelry, five Samsung air conditioners, two upholstery chair sets, and six Samsung flat-screen TVs, valued at N200m.
They were again struck with 18 charges hanging on the question of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit felony to wit: robbery, conspiracy to commit felony to wit: burglary, and stealing, amongst others.
A charge read, "Golden Vivian, Erama Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, Wiliams Alami, Tamunokuro Abaku, Boma Oba, Emmanuel Aginwa, Emeka Benson, Tamunosiki Achese Fiberesima, Wariboko Salome, Sahabi Liman, Reginald Sunday, John Dashe, and others now at large, sometime in June 2019 at Otuoke community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, did conspire to kill Her Excellency Dame Patience Jonathan (former First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) and thereby committed an offense."
One of the suspects, who is in custody and spoke to Saturday PUNCH, lamented that they were detained illegally.
The detainee added that before that period, the police had not produced evidence against them.
We have been detained since 2019. We used to be domestic staff of the then-first lady, Patience Jonathan. There was an accusation of burglary in one of her apartments in Otuoke in 2019, and she opted to arrest all her staff."
"We were not doing any work even in that apartment; from there, there is no proof to bring to the court, and the case is not proceeding; she is still waiting for witnesses to show up till today," the worker claimed.
The arresting worker was pleading for help.
"Please, we want your intervention. We want help," the detainee stated.
Another prisoner complained that they were being ill-treated on instructions issued by the past first lady.
The inmate said, "These people want to kill us. Within this prison, they are threatening us. Do whatever you can for us so that we can get out of here. At the station, they tortured us and (said) they would take us in the back and beat and hang us.".
"After they beat us, she would be hearing us on the phone and telling them that it was not good enough that they should bring us to her home and hotel. That is how we have been treated."
Families demand speedy trial
Some of the defendants' parents and siblings called on the Attorney General of the Federation, the National Human Rights Commission, and Bayelsa State Chief Judge to bring an end to the continued detention of their relatives.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH on the issue, a sister to one of the detainees (Tamunosiki), Gladys Achese, bemoaned the detention of her sister.
Achese maintained that the 36-year-old woman should be released, stating that she would weep each time she visited her sister.
"This is no easy experience. It is usually traumatizing whenever I visit my sister in prison. When I went there, I was simply crying; she was the one consoling me," Achese explained.
She revealed that her parents had written to Mrs Jonathan, but nothing concrete came out of the visit.
Achese explained that her parents were affected by the issue.
"They have been to and fro from Bayelsa to Port Harcourt since 2019 just to see her. I am not faulting my sister either way, but the court ought to act correctly and grant them a fair hearing," she explained.
"They should also listen to the case and pass judgment. They have been shoving everything aside for six years now. We want the court to be provided with the autonomy to do its job. It is a bailable offence; they should bail them out, and they will present themselves to the court session from their locations."
Steve Ibiene, whose brother William Alami is also in custody, lamented over the experience, citing that he had been agitated since his brother was jailed.
Ibiene asserted, "We just want them to be made to do what is right. Let the court prosecute them as soon as possible, and if they are guilty, then make them serve their jail term. They should not be imprisoned without being tried. They should be investigated. No court has found them guilty, yet they have been in prison for six years."
If they are found guilty in the future, what will happen to the six years they've already served? They should let all of them out. No court has ruled that they are guilty of the offense."
The first lady charged people with theft and brought them to prison, not a cell. She has been the one delaying the case since she is a powerful person. Whenever they appear in court, they say that the prosecutor is not present.
Ex-first lady never came to court'
Another relative, Boma Hubert, said his brother, Reginald Sunday, who worked in the ex-first lady's hotel in Otuoke, was accused of stealing jewelry at the presidential villa in Abuja.
He described the continued detention of his brother as illegal, attributing it to the ex-first lady's absence in court since the case started in 2019.
Hubert added, "She (Patience Jonathan) never appeared in court since the case started in 2019. The court used to hear cases twice a month before, but since 2023, the court has only been sitting once a month.".
"Earlier this year, the judge stated that the case can be dismissed since the ex-first lady has never appeared in court, but nothing has been done to release them. I think she (Patience Jonathan) is using her power and influence so that they won't be released."
Also, the father of another defendant, Offor Cosmos, said he was exhausted, and his wife nearly died when the incident occurred.
Cosmos said his son had gone to Bayelsa to work for the former first lady, and he never imagined things would turn out this way.
He spoke, "My son is in pain. He has pile and it is paining him terribly. I am calling on the government to help me because I do not know what is happening. The woman should be asked to leave my son."
Case witnesses 40 adjournments
Saturday PUNCH reports that efforts by a human rights group, Tech4Justice, to have the bail of the defendants granted were foiled.
The group accused the judiciary of Bayelsa State of succumbing to intimidation by influential individuals surrounding the former first lady.
Providing an indication of the problem of delays surrounding the case, a legal ally of the group, Funmi Adedoyin, clarified that the prosecution had yet to conclude its case, noting that the defence of the accused persons had not yet been opened.
She revealed that the case had been adjourned more than 40 times between 2019 and 2025.
Adedoyin clarified, "We have made applications, made representations, and applied for bail several times. But the judiciary does not appear willing to advance the case. These young women and men have been left in prison.
"Due to the political clout of the complainant in the case, we have encountered several hurdles. The judge who was handling the case was later promoted to the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State.".
"Ever since her promotion, it has been challenging for her to balance administrative work with hearing this specific case. She keeps traveling on official duties. In recent times, however, she has started taking some interest in the matter, with attempts towards expedited hearing."
The lawyer also complained about the frequent non-appearance of police prosecutors in court, citing that it had further delayed the proceedings.
"For the past two adjournments, last month and this Wednesday week, the case could not proceed because the police prosecutor was not around. Several police officers have handled the case, and majority of them have been redeployed from Bayelsa, some of them are now based in Lagos and other places. They normally make up excuses that they are on special duties.".
"Most of the adjournments are due to police witnesses not showing up. And also, the overall speed of justice in Nigeria contributes to the delay, especially since courts took vacation for several months," she added.
Adedoyin said efforts were made to secure the bail of the detainees, but the applications were turned down at the early stage of the trial.
"They have been arrested. We attempted to seek bail at the beginning of the case, but it was rejected. Trial has been ongoing, but many reasons have led it to today," she stated.
She said she was disheartened by the death of one of the female suspects whose son passed away when she was in prison and was unable to attend his funeral.
"Three of the accused are on bail on health grounds, including one who had tuberculosis," the counsel added.
'Charged with conspiracy to kill'
Adedoyin raised an eyebrow over the fact that rather than investigate those who directly committed the theft, the police arrested all in domestic service at the behest of the alleged instruction of the complainant.
She revealed that beyond what was being reported, the 15 domestic staff were charged with conspiracy to kill the ex-first lady.
"Everybody in the villa who was there was picked up. Police know the offence of theft is bailable. Because of that, they accused them of a totally different offence from alleged jewel stealing – conspiracy to kill Madam Patience Jonathan. That is another shock about what happened."
This was to make sure that they would not be able to escape in any way. The police did not even have any evidence to suggest that these individuals were armed. That is why it has been quite hard to secure their bail," she continued.
Efforts to get a response from Mrs Jonathan were futile.
Efforts to call and text the Media Adviser to the Jonathan family, Mr Ikechukwu Eze, were unsuccessful as of the filing of this report.
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