The Bayelsa State High Court has admitted confessional evidence from domestic workers accused of stealing jewellery from former First Lady Patience Jonathan, despite multiple allegations of torture and duress during police interrogations.

The accused—Golden Vivian, Vincent Olabiyi, Tamunosiki Achese, Emmanuel Aginwa, and others—have consistently claimed they were brutalised by officers of the notorious Operation Puff Adder unit of the Nigeria Police Force. They testified to being suspended, beaten, and forced to sign confessions, yet the court reportedly dismissed their accounts as insincere.

A source familiar with the case told SaharaReporters:
“The court refused to listen to the accused persons who kept noting that they were wrongly accused and the confessional statement accepted by the judge was gotten through torture and duress.”

The trial, which began in 2019, has been marred by prolonged delays and skipped sessions, leaving defendants detained for years at Okaka Correctional Centre, Yenagoa without bail. One accused, Sahabi Liman, recently died after a prolonged illness, which family members attribute to the harsh conditions during detention.

The case involves 15 accused persons, including Williams Alami, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Erema Deborah, and others, all charged with allegedly stealing jewellery worth hundreds of millions of naira from Mrs. Jonathan’s residence.

No police officers implicated in the alleged torture have been investigated or charged, and Mrs. Jonathan’s legal team—led by Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba—has faced accusations of deliberately delaying proceedings through judicial tactics.

The court has adjourned the case to January 2026 for further hearings.