Liberian lawyer Jeremiah Samuel Dugbo has revealed that his Christmas season was dedicated not to traditional celebrations, but to restoring freedom to young men who had languished in prolonged pretrial detention at the Gbarnga Central Prison.
In a public statement, Dugbo disclosed that he redirected his personal resources toward legal advocacy, successfully securing the release of at least nine detainees who had spent months, and in some cases years, behind bars without trial. The young men, born between 1994 and 2005, were accused largely of minor offenses but remained incarcerated due to their families’ inability to afford legal representation.
Appearing before the court, Dugbo invoked the detainees’ constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process and a speedy trial. Citing relevant statutes and rules of court, he petitioned for their immediate release. The court granted the request and ordered that the detainees be released forthwith.
One case, Dugbo noted, was particularly distressing. A young man identified as John had been detained for nearly a year over an allegation involving a rooster, without a single court hearing on his case. According to Dugbo, John’s prolonged incarceration exemplifies a broader systemic issue affecting indigent defendants accused of petty offenses.
“Many individuals accused of minor offenses remain incarcerated not because the State is actively pursuing justice,” Dugbo explained, “but because someone sought to ‘prove a point’ or impose brief punishment and then abandoned the case altogether.”
The lawyer said he spent two days in Gbarnga coordinating with the court, prosecutors, and correctional authorities to ensure the detainees’ release. He added that while he wished to assist more prisoners, pressing professional commitments in Monrovia limited the time he could dedicate to the intervention.
Dugbo expressed hope that the freed men would recover from the trauma of incarceration and move forward to live meaningful and productive lives.
“Freedom is the greatest gift of all,” he concluded.
The intervention has reignited conversations around prolonged pretrial detention, access to justice for indigent defendants, and the urgent need for systemic reforms within Liberia’s criminal justice system.
