A 55-year-old man from Ebonyi State, Sunday Anyim, has spent 13 years in Aba Correctional Centre, Abia State, without trial after being arrested in 2012 for allegedly resembling a murder suspect.

According to his lawyer, Barrister Onyekachi Ezedike Hillary, Anyim, a resident of Edoma in Izzi Local Government Area, traveled to Aba to purchase second-hand clothes, popularly called okirika, for resale. He did not have a mobile phone at the time of his arrest.

Police officers at Ehere Market stopped him, claiming he bore a resemblance to a suspect accused of killing a woman on her farmland in Obingwa Local Government Area. He was arrested, charged with murder, and remanded in custody.

“He was arrested while selling okirika in 2012. He left his family in Ebonyi and traveled to Aba without a phone,” the lawyer explained.

Since his arrest, Anyim has remained in detention without trial, while his family, unaware of his whereabouts, believed he had died. Complicating the case further, his court file was reportedly destroyed during the #EndSARS protests in 2020, delaying any legal proceedings.

His lawyer confirmed that Anyim recently collapsed on the night of December 19, 2025, remaining unconscious until the following morning. He is currently receiving treatment at the prison medical facility and is unable to walk or speak.

Efforts are now being made to locate his family and reinitiate legal proceedings to secure his release. Anyim’s last known address is Isieke Market Junction, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.