By Samuel Ike, Abuja

A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has discharged eight men accused of kidnapping, murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms after the state government withdrew the charges against them, citing public interest.

The presiding judge, Justice Yusuf Adebayo Dikko, discharged the defendants on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, following an application by the prosecution, represented by Senior State Counsel Cyril N. Kolo. The lawyer told the court that he was acting on the instructions of the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ibrahim Sulyman.

The defendants are Suleiman Mohammed, Ibrahim Ahmed, Yekeen Raji, Aliu Saheed Babatunde, Abraham Alaka, Jooji Fajenyo, Salihu Umar and John Gazale. They were accused of involvement in a kidnapping incident in Agbamu, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State, in August 2023.

Counsel to the defendants did not oppose the prosecution’s application but urged the court to discharge and acquit their clients, arguing that they had endured considerable hardship, including time in detention, while facing serious criminal allegations.

Justice Dikko, however, granted the application to withdraw the charges and discharged the eight men without acquitting them. The distinction is significant because the ruling did not amount to a judicial determination that the defendants were innocent or guilty of the allegations.

Following the court session, a member of the defence team said the defendants were arrested in August 2023 and allegedly presented publicly as terrorists. The lawyer claimed that the publicity surrounding the arrests subjected the men to stigma, adding that some of