Nigerian lady in Cote d'Ivoire seeks help after she was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment

- A Nigerian lady, Itunu Olajumoke Babalola, has cried out for help after going to prison for a crime 'not committed' in Cote d'Ivoire

- Itunu's trouble started when she reported the case of theft of her items worth N300,000, a development that became her undoing

- According to her, after she refused a settlement of N100,000 for the stolen things, she was arrested for committing the crime

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A Nigerian journalist, David Hundeyin, on Sunday, March 14 shared how the life of a 23-year-old trader, Itunu Olajumoke Babalola, took a horrible turn.

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David disclosed that in 2019, the lady had to travel all the way from Cote d'Ivoire to Ibadan in Nigeria to visit her ailing mother.

Before she travelled, the lady items worth thousands of naira were stolen. After reporting the case to the police in the country, she never allowed the incident to stop her from seeing her mother.

When she got back to Cote d’Ivoire, Itunu was informed that the thief has been caught, who happened to be a 14-year-old boy.

On Wednesday, November 6, she was invited by the police and the DPO offered to settle her with N100,000, saying the thief was his nephew.

The Nigerian lady rejected the settlement to the chagrin of the police officer who according to the journalist did everything to frustrate her case.

Despite hiring a lawyer for the case, the police were said not to corporate. The following day, in the evening, David stated that the Ivorian police arrested her and charged her with stealing her own items.

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After spending four days in detention, she was offered freedom provided she agrees to the N100,000 settlement, an offer the lady again rejected.

Her move to go to court turned out bad for her as she was later sentenced to 20 years in jail term. Itunu's effort to clear her name has been futile.

The lady said she has spent over N1 million on the case and has exhausted her savings.

See the journalist's thread below:

Below are some of the reactions to her story:

@de_whisperer said:

"Thank you @DavidHundeyin for bringing this to light."

@titolavida said:

"This story is very painful and sad. She must get justice and compensation from the Ivorian government..."

@Donmeca said:

"It's really sad! This show of power and connections is maddening. The victim serving jail term while culprit laughs off. Shame."

@Uniquedrips said:

"This is heartbreaking. I pray she gets justice and return home soon."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that a lady with the Twitter handle @EbonyJackin made many emotional on the platform after posting about her dad who just got out after he was imprisoned in 1997.

In a tweet on Saturday, January 23, the lady said after her dad got out, he brought some food to her workplace.

The 29-year-old woman said that act made her feel like a baby all over again. @EbonyJackin added that there were times in her childhood when she wished her dad would do that.

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Joseph Omotayo writes for the human interest desk at Legit.ng. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University with a degree in Literature in English. He loves basketball and books. He tweets @omotayome.

Source: Legit.ng