By Damilola Ogunsakin

Lukman Adeyemi detailed his 24-year imprisonment stemming from a misguided act of loyalty to a friend. In an exclusive interview with Vanguard Live, Adeyemi describes his initial encounter with the Nigerian criminal justice system as plunging into hopelessness. He spent nine years in pre-trial detention, followed by an agonizing 15 years on death row. 

The conditions he endured amounted to torture, akin to a relentless and nightmarish ordeal. Reflecting on his interrogations by SARS Police officers, he vividly portrays the physical and psychological torment he faced, coerced into confessing to crimes he knew nothing about under duress and threat.