By Latrishka Thomas
A High Court judge yesterday released a Nigerian man who had been held in police custody for a week on suspicion of fraud.
On Wednesday, lawyer Andrew O’Kola filed an application – called a writ of habeas corpus – to force the police to produce the individual before the court to make an inquiry concerning his or her detention.
He purported that the constitutional rights of his client, who was detained on February 15 on suspicion of fraud, were being violated.
He said not only had his client been in custody without charge for much more than the 48 hours outlined in the constitution but he was also forced to suffer inhumane conditions such as sleeping on cold concrete. The conditions were so bad, he said, his client had ended up in hospital.
The application was heard on Thursday by Justice Ann-Marie Smith but none of the respondents in the matter – the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police – were present in court.
O’Kola provided proof to the judge that all of the respondents were served with the application and proceeded to put forward his claims.
He told the court that his client arrived on the island in December 2022 along with hundreds of other West Africans and had been left stranded here.
He said his client was found with a large sum of money in a house in Crosbies which he shares with several other refugees and that the monies had been pooled together in an effort to find their way out of the country.
However other stranded Africans had previously indicated that they had given money to a fellow African residing at Dickenson Bay to get a charter flight back to Nigeria.
The lawyer went on to share that he was told by a police officer that his client would not be released from custody for his own protection.
O’Kola said it was the poor detention conditions that had landed his client in hospital. He said he had been diagnosed with a viral illness and prescribed medication.
Having heard from the lawyer, the judge decided to free the man on his own reconnaissance. However he was ordered to report to the police headquarters once a day.
And since none of the respondents in the matter were present in court, they were ordered to come to court today to provide reasons why the applicant should be detained.
