Patience Jonathan

The Bayelsa State High Court has directed an immediate trial for 15 domestic staff detained for nearly six years at the Okaka Correctional Centre, Yenagoa, over missing jewellery allegedly linked to former First Lady, Patience Jonathan.

The move follows a rare consensus between the prosecution and defence teams during Thursday’s hearing to fast-track a case long plagued by delays.

“The court proceeded well today, and both parties have agreed to finish the case as soon as possible, with an accelerated hearing. So victory is coming,” a source close to the defence told SaharaReporters.

Arrested in 2019, the accused—mostly former members of Mrs Jonathan’s household staff—have remained behind bars without bail. The case has dragged on for years amid allegations that the delays were deliberately orchestrated by the former First Lady’s private legal team.

A previous investigation revealed that private prosecutors Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba, representing Mrs Jonathan, had repeatedly used stalling tactics such as presenting witnesses with inconsistent testimonies and requesting extended adjournments.

“One of them comes from Lagos while the second travels in from Port Harcourt. They’ve been handling this case from day one, presenting witnesses who come to tell lies. One witness took almost two years,” said a source familiar with the case.

Another insider claimed the delays were intentional. “The aim is to frustrate the process and keep these innocent people in prison as long as possible. It’s an abuse of the legal system,” the source added.

Tactics allegedly included citing illnesses, unavailable witnesses, and procedural excuses. “Sometimes, Ige Asemudara would claim he is sick or his witness has work. Other times, he just asks for long adjournments,” another person involved in the case stated.

A source disclosed that the presiding judge initially postponed hearing bail applications to “first listen to the prosecution’s evidence,” only to later deny bail entirely on the grounds that the charges were capital in nature.

“When the case started in 2019, they all applied for bail,” the source said. “But the judge told their lawyers to wait so she could hear some evidence. After that, she shockingly denied bail, saying the offences were capital and therefore not bailable.”

In response to the allegations, the Bayelsa State High Court denied involvement in the delays and reaffirmed its commitment to speedy justice. The court maintained that available records show delays were due to the presence of multiple defence lawyers needing to cross-examine witnesses and several adjournments at counsels’ requests.

The 15 detainees—Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Sahabi Lima, Emmanuel Aginwa, Erema Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Salomi Wareboka, Sunday Reginald, Boma Oba, Vivian Golden, and Emeka Benson—remain incarcerated without trial or conviction.

Her daughter, Deborah Erema, has been in detention alongside 14 others since 2019, following accusations of jewelry theft made by Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a heart-wrenching video obtained by SaharaReporters, a frail 90-year-old woman has issued a desperate plea to Nigeria’s former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, begging for the release of her daughter, Deborah Erema, who has been unlawfully detained for over five years.

The elderly woman, whose health is visibly failing, broke down in tears as she lamented her current state of hunger, neglect, and isolation.

“Nobody go give me food, nah only her dey give me. I don’t have anybody. I just go beg beg. I am now a begger. See me as I dey now,” she said in the emotional footage.

“Please release my daughter, make she go find food for me. Nah she dey give me food. I don beg tire. I don tire. Make una leave my pikin for me. If I die now, who go bury me. Nah only her I get.”

Her daughter, Deborah Erema, has been in detention alongside 14 others since 2019, following accusations of jewelry theft made by Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Deborah Erema and the other accused, mostly domestic staff who worked for the Jonathans, were arrested in connection to the alleged theft of jewelry belonging to the former First Lady.

Despite spending more than five years behind bars, they have not been convicted in any court of law, SaharaReporters has learned.

The list of detainees includes Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Sahabi Lima, Emmanuel Aginwa, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Salomi Wareboka, Sunday Reginald, Boma Oba, Vivian Golden, and Emeka Benson.

These individuals have remained cut off from their families, careers, and lives—all under the shadow of unproven allegations orchestrated by someone who once held sway at the highest levels of Nigerian power.

The unjust detention has already cost Deborah dearly. Her daughter, who had been single handedly caring for her aged grandmother  died recently after a prolonged illness.

“She had so much to carry. She was a single mother with two or three kids. The burden of taking care of the children, her sick grandmother, and worrying about her mother in prison was just too much,” a source familiar with the situation told SaharaReporters.

“She eventually fell ill and died. It was a slow, painful death, worsened by the hopelessness of it all.”