Shaffy Bello, Helen Paul, others react to teary testimony of a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 10 years

Nigerian celebrities are responding to a guy named Martins' heartbreaking account of his illegal imprisonment.

The man described how he was unfairly imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit during a seminar at Living Faith Church, often known as Winners.

He claims that in 2009, when he was leaving a football game, some police officers took him into custody without his consent and forced him to appear in court for a crime that belonged to someone else.

Martins was imprisoned for 10 years after being charged with murder and robbery before God delivered him in 2021.

He continued by saying that the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission (JDPC) sent several individuals to assist him in reopening his case, which resulted in his release.

He said: “My name is Martins, I want to thank God and I want Youths and those who love football to be attentive. I only went to watch the Barca match.

“I only went to watch football, that’s all I know, and as I was coming back the police backed beside me and said I should enter. I tried proving stubborn and then put tear gas on me, that’s all that I know. When we got to the station, they just put me straight into the cell. No statement, nothing, like a joy. So the third day, this woman I will never forget ASP Diko, just came and said bring him out, his case is settled already, let’s take him.

“Before I knew it, they took me straight to court, and they were calling another person’s name, which I wasn’t the one. They came to force me up and they said I collab with some people to kill and rob, which I didn’t know anything about. I thought it was a joke. 2019 they stopped taking me to court, and in 2020, some people came to preach and I keyed into a testimony.

“So 2021, some people from the Justice Development and Peace Commission came. So a woman came to call me from the cell and they listened to my story. They had to trace my name back to UI, found my name, and found everything. So it was my name they took to the court to find out that I wasn’t the right person.

“After 10 years I was released, though I lost my mother, lost my life, but I didn’t lose my wife”.

Taking to comment section, Shaffy Bello, Helen Paul, Warri Pikin, and Woli Arole shed tears on his behalf.

Woli Arole: “Thank God for freedom”

Shaffy Bello: “Jesus!”

Helen Paul: “God have mercy”

See some reactions from netizens below

David Chisom: “May we not suffer for what we don’t know of

Mr Tosh: “Sadly this happened to my neighbor, the van stopped and asked him to enter, he refused and he was pushed in. What saved him was his neighbor in school hostel saw what happened and started alerting his siblings. Like play they took him to state CID and was bailed with 70k. Just like that. God for his a country like Nigeria.”

Chinny Elsie wrote: “Nigerian police need to pay this man“