John Gift Tobia was arrested by the Nigeria Police in 2017 at Rumuokoro Junction in Port Harcourt. He was arraigned before a magistrate court, which ordered his remand in prison.
However, no formal trial followed his detention for over eight years.
His release was secured on Tuesday, June 4, 2025, through the efforts of a popular human rights lawyer, Hope Azinuchi Azeru-Oziri, popularly known on Facebook as, Law in Pidgin.
The lawyer, who took up the case pro bono, said she was divinely led to fight for Mr. Tobia’s freedom after she visited the prison on January 6, 2025.
Delivering its judgment, the High Court of Rivers State declared that the prolonged detention of Mr. Tobia without trial was both illegal and immoral.
The court ordered his immediate release.