A 55-year-old man from Ebonyi State, identified as Sunday Anyim, has remained in custody at the Aba Correctional Centre in Abia State for 13 years without trial after being arrested in 2012 for allegedly resembling a murder suspect.
According to his lawyer, Anyim, who hails from Edoma, Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was arrested along Ehere Market in Aba while selling second-hand clothes, popularly known as okirika.
Anyim had travelled from Ebonyi State to Aba to purchase okirika for resale and had no mobile phone at the time of his arrest, the lawyer, Barrister Onyekachi Ezedike Hillary, said.
Police officers accosted Anyim at the market, claiming he bore a resemblance to a suspect accused of killing a woman on her farmland in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.
He was subsequently arrested, charged with murder, and remanded in custody.
“He was arrested along Ehere market while he was selling okirika in 2012,” the lawyer said.
“According to him, he left his family in Ebonyi and traveled to Aba to purchase okirika, and he had no phone.
“While selling the Okirika, police saw him and said he looked like one suspect that killed a woman on her farm land in Obingwa.”
Since his arrest, Anyim, who is married with children, has remained in Aba prison awaiting trial, while none of his family members ever visited him, as they were unaware that he was alive and in detention.
“He was later arraigned for murder, and since then, he has been in Aba prison awaiting trial. He has been in Aba prison for 13 solid years awaiting trial,” the lawyer added.
According to the lawyer, Anyim’s family in Ebonyi State believed he had died after leaving home in 2012 and never returning.
Further compounding his ordeal, his case file was among court records reportedly destroyed during the #EndSARS protests in 2020, a development that stalled any progress on his prosecution and prolonged his detention.
The lawyer told SaharaReporters on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, that Anyim’s family member has been located and attempts are being made to reinitiate legal proceedings and secure his release.
The lawyer told BELLNEWS that Anyim collapsed and fainted on the midnight of Friday, December 19, 2025, remaining unconscious until morning.
He was taken to the prison medical facility, where he is receiving treatment, while the lawyer said he is unable to speak or walk, and attempts to interview him further were unsuccessful due to his deteriorating health.
According to the lawyer, Anyim’s last known residential address is Isieke Market Junction, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.