The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Oinigbajo, has directed that 253 persons arrested by the Nigeria Police in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests be released immediately for non-disclosure of a prima facies case.
A prima facie case is presented at a pretrial hearing to determine whether a case merits going to trial, though it does not have to prove that the defendant is guilty.
Oinigbajo however said 92 persons would be prosecuted for various offences including arson, armed robbery and murder.
This was disclosed in a statement titled ‘Lagos Attorney-General directs release of 253 persons arrested by the police’ and signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Kayode Oyekanmi, on Sunday
The statement revealed that the Nigeria Police forwarded 40 case files of 361 persons arrested for criminal offences in connection with the violence that followed the EndSARS protests to the Directorate of Public Prosecution for legal advice between 4th to 5th of November, 2020.
It said, ‘‘Out of the 361 persons, the Director of Public Prosecutions shall be prosecuting 92 persons for different offences ranging from arson, stealing, breaking into buildings, armed robbery and murder, while the office have advised that 253 persons be released forthwith for non-disclosure of a prima facie case. In the meantime, 2(two) case files in respect of 16 persons have been advised for further investigation by the Police.”
The statement added that ”the Office of the Attorney General, Lagos State will ensure that those arrested by the police are treated in accordance with due process of law, while it remains committed to maintaining the rule of law and ensuring peace and order in the State.”