10 Years Behind Bars: Man Reveals How Poor Inmates Slept on Ground, Ate Rationed Food

Imagine spending 10 years in prison for a crime you insist you never committed, only to emerge and reveal that poverty could determine whether an inmate slept on a bed or the bare ground. That is the painful account shared by Afolabi Shakiru after his release in 2026.

Afolabi Shakiru spent 10 years behind bars after being arrested in January 2016 in connection with a case he said he was innocent of. Following a review of his case, he was acquitted and released in 2026. He later described harsh prison conditions, saying inmates without money or wealthy relatives often slept on the ground and survived on rationed food.

10 Years Behind Bars: Man Reveals How Poor Inmates Slept on Ground, Ate Rationed Food

Afolabi Shakiru has opened up about the harsh conditions he endured during 10 years behind bars, revealing how poverty allegedly determined the comfort available to inmates.

Shakiru said inmates without money or wealthy family members were often forced to sleep on the ground and survive on rationed food.

He shared the account in an interview with Punch Newspapers on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, after regaining his freedom following a decade in prison over a crime he maintained he did not commit.

According to him, his ordeal began in January 2016 when operatives of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, allegedly pursued some suspects into his compound.

Shakiru said the officers arrested him, some members of his family and a friend before taking them to a police station.

However, while the other people arrested with him were later released, Shakiru said he remained in custody.

His case was subsequently taken to court, after which he was sent to prison.

Ten years later, his case was reportedly revisited. He was eventually acquitted and released in 2026.

‘I slept on the ground’

Recounting his experience behind bars, Shakiru described the daily routine and food given to inmates.

He said meals were strictly rationed. According to him, inmates were served beans in the morning, while garri was provided in the afternoon and at night.

He also claimed that inmates with money could pay for better sleeping arrangements, while those without financial support had to sleep on the ground.

In his words:

«“In the prison, we have time to sleep, we have time to eat. In the morning, they will cook beans. In the afternoon, they will give us 1 cup of garri and night, 1 cup of garri.»

«“If you have money, you will collect bed and sleep on bed. If you don’t have money or rich family, you will sleep on the ground and eat rationed food.”»

His account has brought renewed attention to the difficult conditions that inmates may face, particularly those without financial support from outside prison.

Shakiru’s release, after a decade behind bars, has also raised questions about the human cost of prolonged imprisonment and the need for cases to be reviewed where serious doubts exist over a conviction.