Ogoni Family Sues FG, Rivers Over Son's 18-Year Detention Without Trial

A family from Ogoni in Rivers State has initiated legal action against the Federal Government, the Rivers State Government, and the Ministry of Interior. This move comes after their son, Gospel Kinanee, spent 18 years in detention without facing trial, having been arrested at the tender age of 14.

Paul Kinanee, Gospel's older brother, shared with Arise News how Gospel mysteriously vanished one evening back in 2007. Extensive searches were conducted across numerous police stations and correctional centres, including the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Prison, where Gospel was eventually discovered to have been secretly held. However, at the time, no official record of his detention existed. According to Kinanee, the protracted anguish and lack of clarity regarding Gospel's whereabouts tragically contributed to the passing of both their parents.

A significant development emerged recently during a routine prison visit when a lawyer identified an inmate whose appearance matched Gospel's description. The attorney then brought Paul to the facility, where he unequivocally confirmed the inmate was his brother, now aged 32. Gospel has been left with severe mental health issues, a consequence of nearly two decades of harrowing prison experiences and isolation.

Throughout his lengthy incarceration, Gospel was denied a formal trial and deprived of legal counsel. His freedom was finally granted, along with 20 other detainees, during a recent jail delivery exercise spearheaded by Justice Simeon Amadi, the Chief Judge of Rivers State. The Kinanee family is now pursuing considerable compensation and demanding judicial accountability for what they describe as the 'destruction of their son's youth and health.'