Motunrayo, 27
Real names withheld for the purpose of privacy.
Disclaimer: WIPSI does not support or condone criminal activities in any capacity. Our mission is to ensure access to justice, fair punishment aligns with the severity of the crime as well as uphold the right to a fair trial while also working to educate those lacking access to justice and victims of ignorance, prioritising the wellbeing of society and the individuals involved.
“I had always heard of people being accused of things they did not do and then taken to prison for said thing. At the back of my mind, I had always blamed them for getting themselves in such a situation. I grew up hearing stories like that. I lived in an area of the world where the police basically hunted for people to arrest and they could do so without concrete evidence. I always thought that in knowing that, one must do his best to stay away from situations like that or that look like they could lead to that. So in my head, I thought “if you get into such a situation, it’s on you.”
Here I am six months into a jail sentence for a crime I haven’t been convicted of, trying to grab onto where it all went wrong. Here, we wake up as demanded, eat according to the schedule, and even having a bath is timed. This morning, I could have received a good beating from one of the guards if not for Jade, my bunkmate woke me up. Yes, not waking up at 4am could earn you a beating. And no, it doesn’t matter if you are pregnant. I found out I was 8 weeks pregnant after I got here.
I’m currently sitting at the open yard, where we get a few hours of sunlight and get to stretch out our legs and free our noses from the pungent smell that circulates the prison. It’s hard for me here, not because I’m pregnant, or the terrible conditions that I’m forced to live in but because I don’t think I deserve to be here. I’m in here with thieves, armed robbers and even murderers. Even those who were framed were framed for more impactful things than I was.
I lived an average life, I was content. My Husband sold construction materials and I sold food very close to his office. I didn’t have a restaurant where people could come in and eat so I usually sold food take-away plastic containers. Today, the day my life changed, the plastic containers had run out. This never happens – I guess that should have been the first indicator that my life was about to go south. I always send my kitchen assistant, Abike to go and buy and buy in bulk every week so that we’d never run out when a customer needs to be attended to. My kitchen assistant had apparently forgotten to get it since I didn’t remind her to go.
We had just started the day and customers were trooping in to get their food, so I told her to get started on preparing their food while I went to get the plastics. On getting to the market, my regular “customer” had not yet opened up – another sign that I should have taken note of. I didn’t have the liberty of being picky this particular morning because I was in a rush. I went to another shop, picked the bag of plastics I wanted to get and paid the person at the shop 20,000 Naira in cash. I had just stopped a keke (tricycle) to help me transport the plastics back to my small “restaurant” when one of the vigilantes around the area grabbed my arm.
He started harassing me, calling me names and saying how I was a thief. I wanted to brush it off and show him to the person at the shop who I paid the money to, but to my surprise, the boy was no longer there. It seemed like a movie. The woman who actually owned the shop had arrived and saw me carrying the bag of her plastics away. I tried to explain, but no one was listening, they all thought I was lying. The vigilante dragged me by the arm along the road of the market and everyone just stood, shaking their heads. He handed me over to the police and the rest as they say is History.
My Husband visits as often as he is allowed but I can’t ignore the growing hopelessness in his eyes as the months go by. I have been granted bail by the court, but I haven’t been able to perfect it and I’m still awaiting trial.”
WIPSI is currently working on the perfection of her bail and ensuring she had adequate counsel for her trial.
