How 12-Year Old Spent Ten Years In Prison For Bailable Offence

Emeka Nzuruike was only 12 years old when his life was turned upside down in 2015 only because of the assistance he rendered to someone he called “senior brother” in his community, Ikeduru in Imo State.

The “brother” Thompson George had asked Emeka to help him take some items from an upstairs building to the downstairs.

“He told me that someone would be downstairs with a vehicle to pick up the items. I did as he asked. He left and said he would ‘show me love’ later,” he narrated to THE WHISTLER.

However, the ‘love’ George showed Emeka was the kind that would leave a lasting scar on his heart.

“I was at my family house, helping my grandmother, when one of my “village” brothers came in and asked if I had committed any crime. I told him I hadn’t and asked why he was asking. He said some people were looking for me outside,” he narrated.

When Emeka stepped out, he was met with men in khaki uniforms, accompanied by vehicles – a bus and a Hilux – with George, who had been severely beaten and handcuffed.

“I was asked if I knew him, and I said yes. They claimed I was part of the gang that stole plasma and TV, which I had loaded into the vehicle. I told them I knew nothing about the theft, I only helped George load the items into the vehicle. They beat me up and threw me into the Hilux, taking us to the police station,” he said.

During their time at the police station, Emeka said they were subjected to threats, torture and pressured to reveal the truth about the stolen items, but he maintained his innocence.

“Days later, they brought us out, allowed us to bathe, and even bought us food. Then, they told us it was our last day on earth, saying they would shoot us,” he said.

With the fear of living his last day on earth, Emeka and Thompson were pushed into a bus, but it turned out they were being driven to court.

“After the judge read out the charges and asked if I was guilty, I pleaded not guilty. George also pleaded not guilty. We were then remanded at the Owerri Federal Prison,” he said.

Emeka was just 12 years old when he was imprisoned, and because he couldn’t meet his bail terms, he remained there for years.

“I had no one to help me, so I stayed there. George, who had implicated me in the crime, met his bail terms and was released, leaving me behind. He didn’t even visit me for once in the police,” he narrated.

He clarified that he had no blood relation to George and that he referred to him as ‘brother’ simply because he was one of his seniors in the community.

Speaking about his family, Emeka explained that he never knew his mother and had lived with his grandmother since he was little. He added that his father, who lived in Benue with his stepmother, showed no interest in him – “he doesn’t care about me.”

For ten years, Emeka remained in prison until one day, when God intervened in the young boy’s life.

“One morning, I was extremely hungry and wanted to see if any visitors could spare some money to buy garri. There’s a visitors’ room where visitors stay. The prison guard instructed an inmate to use a koboko on anyone passing through that area.

“When he saw me approaching, he told me to go back. I pretended to return, but instead, I rushed past him to the area and approached one of the visitors. I knelt down and begged him for money,” he said.

The man Emeka met happened to be a legal practitioner, who would save him from a life of penury in prison.

“I didn’t know he was a barrister. One of the prison staff told me to go back, but the man asked me to wait. He noticed the rashes all over my body and asked what happened. I told him it was an infection I contracted in prison.

“He asked about my case, and I shared it with him. When he asked for my age and how long I had been in prison, I told him. He calculated that if I was 22 now and had stayed for ten years, I must have been only 12 when I entered prison,” he said.

The lawyer, Barr. Alexander Nzeadi, promised to help him, but Emeka, having stayed in prison for so long with no hope, took the promise with skepticism.

“I thanked him, but I didn’t believe he would return. Many lawyers had promised to help, but they never came back,” he said.

However, Nzeadi, who is a senior associate at Leeds Legal, a legal firm in Owerri, returned a few days later, “He asked about the court where I was remanded and my family. I gave him my family’s address, and he said he would take me to court.”

Despite these efforts, Emeka remained hesitant to feel hopeful, afraid to get his hopes up.

“The day I was supposed to go to court, I was anxious, wondering if my name would be called. To my relief, it was. My fellow inmates were happy for me, telling me this was my path to freedom. I was still cautious about feeling anything like happiness.

“When we got to court, the judge treated other cases and when it came to my own case, I was told to stand at the dock. My lawyer started speaking. He was really rapping in English that I didn’t understand. After he had finished, there was silence all over and the judge was writing and writing…when he finished writing, he raised his head and told me that I was thereby discharged and acquitted,” he said.

Emeka couldn’t believe his eyes; it was surreal that ten years of torture would end with the judge’s pronouncement.

“It was like I was in a dream. My lawyer told me I was a free man now and that we would go to the prison to collect my belongings. He said he would bring my release warrant and come to take me out. At the prison, I was told to sign an undertaking, and then I could leave,” Emeka narrated.

As Emeka and his lawyer stepped out of the gate to regain his freedom, a drama unfolded.

“At the gate, I saw a boy similar to me when I first came to prison ten years ago. He was clearly a minor. The prison officers said he was underage and couldn’t be held there, but the police insisted he was of age.

“It brought back bad memories because I was told the police had put my age as 19 instead of 12. If my lawyer hadn’t intervened, the boy would have ended up like me,” he said.

Just outside the prison gate, Emeka began to acclimatize to the outside world.

“The breeze on my face made me realise I was finally free. Cars were passing by, and it felt like heaven. I was seeing trees. I was seeing children, people passing by. That is when I realised how much I had missed in ten years,” he said.

Describing life in prison, Emeka mentioned that even dogs wouldn’t eat the food served to prisoners.

“They gave us a small spoon of watery beans with stones. The soup, I used to call it wisdom soup but the other inmates call it chakpagiri. It comes with no pepper, no oil. It is like milk and very watery. I call it ‘wisdom soup’ because any time that I don’t have anything to eat and I eat it, it makes me remember so many things,” he explained.

With the help of the lawyer who freed him, Emeka is taking life one day at a time. Nzeadi had immediately taken him to the hospital to treat the infection and is making plans to enroll him in adult education.

“I don’t know how to thank this barrister. He’s my God-sent. Now, I’m undergoing therapy, and he is planning to enroll me in adult education so I can read and write,” he said.

Emeka, who has never received formal education, dreams of starting his own motor parts business one day.

“I believe God has a plan for me. I believe God is on my side, and I won’t disappoint anyone helping me,” he added.

Speaking to THE WHISTLER on Emeka’s ordeal, Nzeadi explained that the police had incorrectly listed his age as 19 instead of 12.

“It was scandalous for the court to rely on the charge sheet prepared by the police when the minor was right before the court,” he said.

After meeting Emeka, Nzeadi, who is also a member of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, sprang into action to secure his freedom.

“And after that, I had to go to the courts to apply for the Certified True Copy (CTC) and the charge sheets. The reason was to know the particular charges against him and also to look at the process that led to his remand in prison,” he explained.

Upon reviewing the documents, Nzeadi discovered that Emeka had been granted bail in 2016, but was unable to meet the stringent conditions.

“The court granted him bail in 2016 where he was to produce a surety of level 13 or 14, a N100,000 bail bond, and the surety must reside within the jurisdiction of the courts,” the lawyer said.

Given the circumstances of Emeka’s case, the lawyer decided to apply to the court to strike out the charges against him.

“Bail is not an end to trial. Bail still means you are still awaiting trial, but just attending from home,” Alex noted. “So what we did was to bring an application before the court for the matter to be struck out and for Emeka to be discharged unconditionally.”

The application was filed, and a court date was set. Nzeadi obtained a production warrant to ensure Emeka’s presence in court on the designated day. On July 29, 2025, the application was moved, and the court granted the prayers, ordering Emeka’s release from custody.

Nzeadi made a heartfelt appeal to the government to assist Emeka, enabling him to start anew and move beyond the ten wasted years resulting from a wrongful accusation.

”We are pleading with the first lady of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu and the wife of the Imo State governor, Barr. Chioma Uzodimma to look into Emeka’s case and assist him. We are calling on the federal government and Imo State to look into his matter and see if they can provide succour for him. We are coming by way of compassionate appeal,’’ he pleaded.

How 12-Year Old Spent Ten Years In Prison For Bailable Offence is first published on The Whistler Newspaper