SaharaReporters learned that the controversial decision followed a “trial within trial” conducted by the court to determine the voluntariness of the statements.
A Bayelsa State High Court has admitted into evidence the confessional statements of eight domestic workers of former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, who have been standing trial since 2019 over the alleged theft of jewellery reportedly worth hundreds of millions of naira, despite serious allegations that the statements were obtained under torture.
SaharaReporters learned that the controversial decision followed a “trial within trial” conducted by the court to determine the voluntariness of the statements.
One of the family members who witnessed the proceedings told SaharaReporters that the prosecution has now closed its case after six years of delays.
“Finally, they have closed their prosecution after six years. We are in direct defence now,” the source said.
“The most surprising aspect of this trial is that the court admitted the confessional statements forcefully obtained from the eight defendants. This was done after trial within trial proceedings.
“The defendants proved that these statements were forcefully obtained from them when they were in police custody. The police beat and tortured them. Some of these statements were even written by the police officers in 2019, and they were forced to sign them. Despite clear evidence of torture, the court still went ahead to record them as exhibits.”
According to the source, the prosecution “wasted a lot of court time and deliberately delayed their case for six years,” only to conclude their presentation of evidence on Friday.
“Now, the defendants will open their cases too at the next adjourned date,” the family member added.
The defendants are part of a group of 15 domestic staff accused of stealing jewellery from Mrs. Jonathan’s residence.
The defendants currently standing trial are Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Emmanuel Aginwa, Erema Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Salomi Wareboka, Sunday Reginald, Boma Oba, Vivian Golden, and Emeka Benson.
Originally, there were 15 defendants, but the number was reduced following the death of Sahabi Liman in 2025.
They were arrested in 2019 and have since faced prolonged prosecution marked by repeated adjournments and stalled proceedings.
In July 2025, SaharaReporters published an extensive investigation detailing how the trial had effectively stagnated, with court sessions frequently skipped without explanation. The report also revealed that several of the defendants had languished at the Okaka Correctional Centre in Yenagoa for years without bail.
During court sessions, the defendants consistently narrated how they were abducted, tortured, and denied access to legal representation.
In one testimony, Golden Vivian told the court that she was suspended and flogged after refusing to confess to the alleged theft. Other defendants corroborated her account, identifying an officer known as “O.C. Chris” and a Chief Security Officer, Colin Otutu, as central figures in the alleged acts of torture.
Despite the gravity of these allegations and what the defendants described as credible evidence of abuse, SaharaReporters found that no police officer has been investigated or charged in connection with the alleged torture.
Mrs. Jonathan has also not been summoned or questioned in relation to the matter. Her legal team, led by Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba, has been accused by defence sources of deliberately stalling the proceedings through serial motions and procedural maneuvers.
The prolonged trial has already claimed a life.
SaharaReporters reported in September 2025 that one of the accused domestic staff, Sahabi Liman, died after a prolonged illness.
Liman, who was among those arrested in 2019, had been granted bail three years earlier after his health deteriorated while in custody at the Okaka Correctional Centre.
His son told SaharaReporters that his father’s condition continued to worsen even after his release, and that he eventually died at a hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.