Man Claims He Was Jailed at 13, Freed at 60 After Spending 47 Years in Prison

A Nigerian man has shared a heartbreaking account of how he allegedly spent 47 years in prison after being detained as a 13-year-old over an incident involving a damaged vehicle in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The man, who said he is now 78 years old, claimed he was arrested while hawking sugarcane for his father and was never properly tried before being transferred from one correctional facility to another for decades.

According to his account, he was living in Maiduguri and attended school while helping his father, a sugarcane farmer, sell sugarcane after classes.

He recalled that on the day his ordeal allegedly began, he accidentally knocked off the headlight of a parked car while pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with sugarcane in search of shade from the scorching afternoon sun.

Rather than fleeing, he said he waited at the scene for the vehicle’s owner to return.

“I wanted to run, but my conscience wouldn’t let me. So I stood there waiting,” he recalled.

The man alleged that the owner of the vehicle, who later identified himself as a police officer, beat him before taking him to a police station, where he was locked in a cell.

He claimed he remained in police custody for about a month before being taken to court, where the matter was not heard. According to him, he was subsequently remanded in prison.

He further alleged that he remained in custody for years without trial, serving in prison work units before being transferred between correctional facilities in several states, including Bauchi, Ibadan and Kano.

According to the account, he eventually became known among inmates as “Baba” after spending decades behind bars.

The man claimed his case only came to light when a state governor visited the correctional facility shortly before leaving office and asked him why he was imprisoned.

He alleged that an investigation followed, leading authorities to discover that the police officer who had ordered his detention had become a traditional ruler.

According to the account, the governor later granted him amnesty and assisted him with rehabilitation after his release.

The former inmate said the traditional ruler allegedly offered to compensate him with a house and other support, but he declined, saying no material gift could restore the decades he lost in prison.

“He took my youth. He took my future. He took my life,” he said in the emotional account.

The story has generated widespread reactions on social media, with many Nigerians expressing sympathy while calling for an independent verification of the claims and, if substantiated, accountability for any miscarriage of justice.

As of the time of filing this report, Shemariah Media has not independently verified the claims contained in the man’s account, including the identity of the police officer, the governor referenced, or official records relating to the alleged imprisonment.