365NEWS Gathered that a 26-year-old graduate of Mass Communication from Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Peter Nicholas has stumbled upon a life-changing opportunity when he secured employment with an Abuja-based photography studio owned by the notable businessman Mike Oluwole. However, his promising career soon turned into a 10-month nightmare at Keffi Correctional Centre after he resigned via text message. He tells The pUNCH Correspondent about his protracted ordeal that seemed as improbable as it was cruel, how his prison experience marked his life indelibly and his journey to freedom
How did you begin your photography career?
It was a Reverend Father who helped me discover my skills. He paid for a one-year training course at a photography studio here in Abuja, where I mastered the craft of photography.
How did you get the job with your ex-boss?
There was a time I went to his office to sell a camera lens owned by a friend. That day, he mentioned that he needed a good photographer and photo editor and I presented myself. He took me through a series of photography tests and loved the outcomes. He offered me the job, although without an official letter.
He put me on probation for six months and started paying me N70,000 monthly, with the promise of a raise once I was confirmed. I only stayed less than three months at the firm before I tendered my resignation.
What made you resign?
I got a better offer elsewhere and informed him but he expressed displeasure because he wanted me to work and train others, especially as I had the editing skills required for the job. He wasn’t happy about my short notice. I had to leave because what he was paying me wasn’t enough. When I wasn’t working for him, my freelance jobs were sufficient to secure an apartment and feed myself.
You resigned, but why via a text message and not officially?
I admit that was a mistake on my part. However, since I wasn’t given an employment letter, I didn’t see the need to write a resignation letter. Moreover, I wasn’t the first person; he didn’t give anyone an employment letter.
If your text message was about resignation, why were you arrested for insulting him in the same text?
That’s not true. The message I sent on 10 October 2023 stated that I was no longer interested in working with him. To further explain my reason for resigning, I sent another text on October 14, advising him to learn leadership and management skills because of how he humiliated a colleague who collected N125,000 from a client into his personal account since the customer couldn’t pay into the company’s account.
The colleague was arrested, molested by the police, and eventually taken to their station despite reimbursing the company. After that, I lost interest in working at his studio. No staff member had ever stayed there for more than three months, though the customers weren’t aware. On October 15, he had me arrested for insulting him.
Why didn’t you reach out to your parents or loved ones when you were arrested?
My parents don’t live in Abuja. They are from Benue State but live in Akwa Ibom, and I didn’t call them when I was arrested. I thought it was something that would be resolved that day. However, I was detained and later charged at the Upper Area Court in Mpape, Abuja, where I was granted bail of N100,000, which was later reduced to N50,000.
Despite making several calls, I couldn’t raise the funds and was eventually taken to prison, where I spent 10 months.
Describe your experience in Keffi Correctional Centre
Terrible! Absolutely terrible! My first three months were hell until I met a chaplain who later helped me because I always played the keyboard in the prison’s church. He grew fond of me. Initially, I was kept in isolation for newcomers for two weeks before being placed in a cell with 109 other inmates.
I slept on the floor and didn’t bathe for more than three months because I had no money to buy a bucket of water. The water was sold by inmates who were fortunate enough to go outside.
I also survived on prison rations. To top it all, I was in a cell with hardened criminals—robbers, kidnappers, murderers, innocent inmates awaiting justice, and those without records. There was no segregation whatsoever.
Were you compelled to do hard labour during your time in prison, or what was your daily routine like?
We didn’t do anything except sleep and hail the president and vice president of inmates in the cell at intervals.
What are your parents’ occupations, and did you inform them or your siblings that you were in prison over an unfulfilled bail condition?
My father is a retired soldier, and my mother, a trader. I didn’t inform my parents because of my mother’s underlying health conditions. Although I’m the third of six children, I didn’t inform any of my siblings.
I only contacted my elder brother, asking him to send N50,000 to complete a task this month, which he promised to do by the end of the month. I couldn’t call the other siblings because I didn’t have my phone with me. Before this incident, I was not on good terms with my father, so I kept it from my brother to prevent him from informing my father and making me appear as the bad child of the family.
Weren’t you declared missing when neighbours in your place of residence didn’t see you?
They thought I travelled. Until the matter went viral, they had no idea I was in prison.
Your ex-boss alleged that you stole the company’s phone, so you were arrested for “insulting him” and theft. How true was that?
I resigned from the job before he declared his phone missing. I believe that the text message I sent to him instigated the theft accusation.
Did you deny the theft allegation in court?
Yes, I did. That’s why I wasn’t convicted for it.
Your boss also claimed that you’d been in prison before for theft. Is that true?
Yes, I’ve spent six weeks in prison before when I had an issue with a friend who took me to court. His camera and lenses were stolen, and he didn’t believe that I wasn’t in possession of them, but we settled the matter amicably after which I left prison.
Did you reach out to your ex-boss in prison at any time to ask him to help you out?
I did, but he could only send N20,000, which wasn’t enough to meet the N50,000 bail condition. When I reached out to him, he said the warder had previously told him it was N20,000 and that he wouldn’t send more than that. Before I was sent to prison, he also sent a letter to the court stating that he was no longer interested in the case, but it was rejected because it wasn’t properly dated.
I have a friend, Mark, at Yiaga Africa, whom I reached out to from prison. I met him through the voluntary work I did for his platform. His number was in the book I took with me to prison, so I contacted him. He was the one who informed the Abuja-based foundation, which later came to my rescue. If they hadn’t helped me, I would probably still be there because the Upper Area Court in Abuja is no longer functional.
How has your experience in prison affected your views on power dynamics from boss to subordinate? Will it take a toll on your mental health or professional outlook?
Honestly, I was mentally down; I wasn’t myself. I couldn’t believe I spent 10 months of my life in prison. I believe he just wanted to oppress me. I’m just glad I’ve moved on and settled all rifts with my father. I’ve built a good customer database, and I just want to return to my photography. When I left prison, I visited my ex-boss to show him how dishevelled I was; he couldn’t help but give me N20,000 to take care of myself.
Meanwhile, Mike Oluwole, the former boss of the 26-year-old Abuja-based photographer, Nicholas Peter, has broken his silence about his ex-staff member’s detention for 10 months in Keffi Correctional Centre.
Oluwole in an exclusive interview on Monday, underscored his ex-staff’s alleged frivolous character, mismanagement, theft, and defamation as the justifications for his arrest.
According to him, Nicholas came to his office to sell a camera lens, which he later discovered to be stolen, adding that he put him on the spot to know about it even though he lied that it was for his friend who was bedridden and needed funds urgently.
“When he came to my office to sell the camera lens, I asked about its owner. He claimed that it belonged to his friend, and I put him on the spot to confirm. I made him sign that he sold it to me. I then told him how much I needed a good photographer and photo editor and he showed interest. I put him on a series of photography tests, which he passed outstandingly.
“I then employed him on probation for six months with a monthly pay of N70,000, and he consented. But I noticed something with Nicholas: he is always demanding. My company has a scheme called ‘I owe you (IOU)’ to help relieve staff members of their financial burdens until the end of the month when they get their salaries to repay. He was always defaulting in the scheme and would beg me to help him spread the pay beyond the next month.
“When he resigned, he only sent a text, and I asked him if that was the appropriate way to go about things. He then began to insult me, advising me on how to go about human management and leadership. I learned that our office phone was missing; I rang him to no avail after CCTV revealed that a day before his resignation, he had returned to the office, disconnected the office camera, and connected it while heading out. Unperturbed by his actions that are costing my customer database, I reported him to the police, and he was arrested,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Pesther said the photographer was questioned about the disappearance of the phone for days before his case was transferred to the court, stressing that he later confessed to stealing the phone, but it was too late to stop the prosecution.
He maintained that when the pressure for his release was mounting up, he wrote to the Upper Area Court, Mpape in Abuja, where he was prosecuted, to stop the case, but his letter was not approved.
“I heard that the letter was rejected because it was not properly written, of which I did due diligence. I learned about the bail fee when he got to Keffi Correctional Centre. At first, he said it was N20,000, which I sent to one of the people he contacted to beg me for his release. He rang me again and said that it was N50,000. I didn’t believe him because he had always had a distrust for him. So, I informed them to refund me. I did all I could to facilitate his release, and when he returned, he came to my office, and I sent N20,000 to him again with the promise that I would help him get an offer if he changed for good.
Reacting to the viral tweet about Nicholas’ detention, Oluwole said he was shocked to see that, and he learned that the foundation was just trying to get funds from the young man’s situation.
“The person that made the tweet never called me nor heard my own side of the story but went ahead to put such an onslaught post about me, my brand, and even my wife,” he noted.
However, when contacted, Funke Adeoye, founder of Hope Behind Bars Africa, who recently tweeted about Nicholas’s situation, said she was just touched by it and many others that she had done in the past.
She said, “In my foundation, part of my team’s mandate is providing free legal services to indigent awaiting trial inmates who cannot afford legal representation or innocent people behind bars. In some instances, we also help with payment of fines for individuals who cannot pay where they have been charged with a minor crime.
“Someone from a sister organisation, Yiaga Africa, reached out to us about Nicolas’ case, and a member of my team reached out to Keffi Correctional Centre to give us correct details on both the issue and character of the person in question.
“We were informed that Nicholas had been there for 10 months for ‘intentional insult’ and was there because he could not pay some money.
“Normally, we only pay bail sums or fines if there is funding for them, and when Nicholas’ case came up, there wasn’t. So, my colleague reached out to a couple of individuals, and someone anonymously gave us N50,000. My colleague Hassan went to the correctional centre and facilitated his release. When he got out, we gave him some stipends, asked him if he had a place to stay, and told him to settle in and reach out to us later to discuss reintegration plans.”
Speaking on whether the people were paying her for securing the photographer’s release, Adeoye said she never sought financing for her foundation but for Nicholas and that she was glad that people were turning up for him on social media, where his account details were posted.
She further dispelled the rumour that she had used the tweet to taunt Oluwole or his business while admitting that the post was harmless and that she was ready to defend it at any time.
Recall that, an interview on Saturday where Nicholas narrated his tumultuous experiences in prison after he resigned via a text message
