A family in Rivers State has demanded justice after their son, Gospel Kinanee, allegedly spent 18 years in prison without legal representation or a formal trial after being arrested at the age of 14.
According to the family, Gospel was arrested in 2007 when he was just 14 years old and subsequently detained at the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Correctional Centre under circumstances they described as unlawful.
Speaking during an interview with Arise Television, Gospel’s elder brother, Paul, recounted that the teenager disappeared after leaving home one night in 2007.
He said the family searched extensively for him, visiting several police stations and correctional facilities, but authorities consistently denied having any record of his whereabouts.
Paul said the prolonged uncertainty devastated the family, claiming the emotional toll contributed to the deaths of both their mother and father.
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The breakthrough reportedly came recently when a lawyer visiting the correctional centre noticed an inmate who resembled Gospel.
During a subsequent visit, the lawyer returned with Paul, who identified the inmate’s as his missing brother.
Now 32 years old, Gospel was said to have suffered severe mental health challenges after spending nearly two decades behind bars without trial.
His release came during the Rivers State Jail Delivery Exercise, led by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, in which 21 inmates were freed from the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre.
The family also alleged that while his real name is Gospel Kinanee, prison records listed him as Baridi Sunday, a discrepancy they believe contributed to the difficulty in tracing him over the years.
The family has since instituted legal action against the Federal Government, the Rivers State Government and the Ministry of Interior, seeking justice and compensation for what they describe as the wrongful detention of their son and the lasting physical, psychological and emotional trauma he endured.