Sh*ck As Patience Jonathan’s Aide Dies In Middle Of Jewellery Theft Trial

According to Ireporter Online, one of the 15 domestic workers of former Nigerian First Lady, Patience Jonathan, who had been on trial for over five years for allegedly stealing expensive jewellery, has died after a long illness.

The deceased, identified as Sahabi Liman, had been on bail for three years following his deteriorating health while in custody at the Okaka Correctional Centre in Yenagoa. A prison official confirmed the development, stating that Liman had been battling the same illness before he was released on health grounds.

Liman’s son explained that his father’s condition worsened before he passed away in a Port Harcourt hospital. He noted that Liman had initially shown signs of recovery but was readmitted weeks ago, where he eventually died. “I was with him on Friday night and left around 9 p.m., but by midnight, we received a call that he had died,” he said. Liman, aged 45, was buried in Port Harcourt according to Islamic rites.

A family source linked his death to the hardship he endured during his time in detention, stressing that his health began to decline while in prison. According to the source, it was only after his condition became critical that prison officials released him on Madam’s directive so he could be treated by his family.

Liman’s death comes just days before the Bayelsa State High Court in Yenagoa is scheduled to deliver a decisive ruling on September 24, 2025, which could determine the fate of the 14 remaining defendants in the case.

The workers, arrested in 2019, were accused of stealing jewellery allegedly worth hundreds of millions of naira belonging to Mrs Jonathan. They have consistently denied the allegations, claiming they were tortured into making confessions. Defendants, including Golden Vivian and Tamunosiki Achese, testified that they were flogged until they collapsed, accusing a police officer identified as O.C. Chris and Mrs Jonathan’s Chief Security Officer, Colin Otutu, of direct involvement in the torture.

The court is expected to rule on whether the contested confessional statements, challenged by defence lawyers as being obtained under duress, should be admitted as evidence. The defence maintains the statements are invalid and should be thrown out.

Mrs Jonathan’s legal team, led by Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba, has faced criticism for allegedly deploying delay tactics and filing frivolous motions that have prolonged the proceedings. The case, now in its sixth year, has been plagued by adjournments, leaving the other defendants in prolonged detention at Okaka Correctional Centre as they await the upcoming ruling, which could either bolster the prosecution’s case or collapse it entirely.