For eight long years, Stephen Etule has remained behind bars in Lagos’ notorious Kirikiri Prison without trial, not for any crime committed, but simply because he couldn’t pay a N200,000 bribe demanded by the operatives of the Nigerian Police Force.
Now 30, Etule was just 22 years old when his nightmare began in 2017.
In an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters on Thursday morning, he recounted how his life suddenly turned during a police raid in the Ajah area of Lagos, where he worked at a mechanic workshop.
He said police officers stormed the area unprovoked, arrested everyone in sight, and took them to the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) facility. According to him, officers demanded N200,000 from him to secure his release.
He said: “I was in Ajah at my mechanic workshop. These police just came out of nowhere. From there, they raided everybody in the area and arrested us all. They took us to SARS immediately. And they started demanding money before they could release us all.
“They demanded for N200,000 before they could release me. I told them I didn’t have that amount at hand. What was my offence? I was not a thief; where did you expect me to see that kind of money?
“I told them I would pay them if I had that kind of money, but I did not. They told me that when I get to court, I will explain there. That was how I landed here (Kirikiri Prison), and I have been in the prison since then without any arraignment or help. I was not taken to court, and I was not taken anywhere. They did not even inform my family.
“I was arrested by police officers attached to Jakande police station. I was arrested in 2017 when I was 22 years old, and now I am 30 years old. I already wasted eight years of my precious life in prison for doing nothing. I am from Ibadan, Oyo State.”
Etule’s ordeal exposes yet another rot in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, where poor citizens are routinely arrested without cause, denied legal representation and imprisoned indefinitely without trial.
At the same time, police officers leverage the system to extort bribes from victims.
His family, too, had no idea he had been arrested. In fact, they thought he was still in Lagos, struggling to make ends meet.
His brother, who also spoke with SaharaReporters, said the family had been in the dark for years due to the lack of communication and resources.
He said: “What happened was that he left Ibadan to hustle in Lagos. At that time, he had no phone with him, even me I did not have a phone. Things were hard for us then. When he left that time, the family thought he was in Lagos, hustling and trying to make things work for himself.
“We were hoping that one day he would come back home. So after three years, we did not hear anything from him. The family looked for him, but all efforts were abortive; we did not know he was languishing inside the Kirikiri. So we stopped looking for him.
“We concluded that he is an adult; he might be living somewhere. But since then, we have been worried till his parents died. His mum died first before he travelled but his father died out of depression. His mind was restless because we could not locate his son.
“So it was this year, Ramadan, that our uncle put his late father’s SIM card in a phone, then his (Etule) number came in.
“That was when he told us that he was in prison. He told us he was arrested during a raid. He said the people he was arrested with left the detention after one week. It was only him that remained because he could not pay the bribe demanded.
“He has been inside the prison for eight years now for offences he did not commit. He was not taken to court,” the brother added.
Attempts to contact Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls or reply to a message sent to him at the time this report was filed.
SARS’ Notoriety
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)—a notorious unit of the Nigeria Police Force—was officially disbanded on October 11, 2020, following massive nationwide protests under the #EndSARS movement.
SARS was created in 1992 to combat armed robbery and violent crimes. However, over the years, it became infamous for extrajudicial killings, torture and extortion, illegal arrests and detentions, and targeting young Nigerians (especially those with tattoos, dreadlocks, or expensive phones).
Despite repeated complaints, the unit operated with impunity for decades.
The #EndSARS protests of October 2020 gained global attention after a video went viral showing SARS officers allegedly killing a young man in Delta State. This triggered mass demonstrations across Nigeria, with youths demanding the immediate disbandment of SARS, police reform and accountability, justice for victims of police brutality and compensation for affected families.
Protests spread to major cities, with celebrities, activists, and even the Nigerian diaspora joining in solidarity.
Government Response And Disbandment
Facing mounting pressure, the Nigerian government announced SARS’ dissolution on October 11, 2020, via the then-Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu. SARS officers were subsequently to be redeployed to other units.
But despite SARS’ disbandment, police brutality persists under different units, and many victims still await justice.
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