Osun Judiciary Clarifies Case
In line with the true spirit of Christmas, the Governor of Osun State, Sen. Ademola Adeleke has pardoned a man sentenced to death by hanging for stealing a chicken and eggs.
News Rider reports that Segun Olowookere was convicted in 2014 for the offence by Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court.
As part of his commitment to extend love to prisoners, Adeleke directed that Olowookere should be pardoned.
Olowookere’s co-defendant, Sunday Morakinyo, was also granted pardon by the governor.
This was even as the governor extended the prerogative of mercy to 51 other convicts.
In a statement posted on the governors X platform, he directed the Commissioner for Justice to initiate processes to grant prerogative of mercy to the young man.
He noted that Osun is a land of justice and equity, and the government must ensure fairness and protection of the sanctity of lives.
Given the judge's proclamation, the case generated hues and cries, as many Nigerians lamented that the sentence was rather too harsh for the offence.
Irrespective of the tension associated with the case, Olowookere and Morakinyo were bundled to Kirikiri maximum security prison in Lagos state. They were kept in the death row wing.
Since then, Olowookere's parents, human rights groups and other Nigerians have fought for his release.
They had consistently appealed to Nigerians to assist in their son’s predicament.
Following the viral video, Adeleke directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun to begin a full scale investigation into the case.
The governor however granted prerogative of mercy to Olowookere and others.
He is expected to be freed early in 2025.
Full List Of Convicts Granted Pardon
The governor recommended 30 convicts for outright release for simple offemces.
1.Olubo Sunday
2. Isah Umar Biodun
3. Fawas Kareem
4. Omirin Temitayo
5. Olarenwaju Ayomide
6. Dare Sunday
7. Oladapo Tunde
8. Ganiyu Saheed
9. Adewumi Sodiq
10. Adebayo Adeoye Kehinde
11. Lasis Kazeem
12. Dauda Ojo (59 YEARS)
13. Ismaila Raji
14. Oseni Micheal
15. Ajayi Korede
16. Abiona Nurudeen
17. Oshi Samuel
18. Sheu Yusuf Olatunji
19. Ojo Aanu
20. Mustapha Kehinde
21. Lasis Abeeb
22. Alexandra Iorlaha
23. Ojo Taiwo
24. Azeez Mujeeb
25. Akinyemi David
26. Adeosun Adekunle
27. Olaobaju Samuel
28. Adura Adefemi
29. Paul Basil
30. Kunle David
Twelve inmates convicted for simple offences were granted outright pardon. They are:
1. Olabomiji Nurudeen
2. Mustapha Isah
3. Olalekan Abdullahi
4. Ayomide Olojede
5. Akeem Raphael
6. Adeyemi Abiodun
7. Oladipupo Segun
8. Omisakin Sunday
9. Ademola Adio
10. Tunde Olapade
11. Late Chief Wole Ola Rufus Ojo
12. Omoloye Olajide Olayemi
Also, four convicts on capital offences were recommended for outright pardon for good conduct. They are:
1. Sunday Morakinyo
2. Segun Olowookere
3. Tunde Olapade
4. Demola Odeyemi
Six persons convicted for capital punishment were recommended for outright release on health grounds. They are:
1. Oluwafemi Fagbemi
2. Bewaji Sunday
3. Amehin George
4. Ayomide Arulogun
5. Taiwo Oluwatobi Stephen
6. Abubakar Abdulazeez
One convict, Ojekunle Timothy was recommended to be commuted from death to 15 years imprisonment, having spent at least 10 years in custody.
There are currently over 3,500 persons on death row in various prisons across the country.
Nigeria has not carried out an execution since 2012, a situation that was hinged on the failure of governors to sign the death warrant.
In The Beginning
Segun Olowookere was 17 years old in 2010 when he was arrested alongside his accomplice, Morakinyo Sunday.
They were apprehended in Oyan, Odo-Otin Local Government of Osun State on November 2010. They were accused of robbing a policeman attached to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Okuku, Tope Balogun, of two chickens and eggs.
The duo were also accused of conspiring in November 2010 to rob one Oguntade Faramade of his fowls and eggs worth N20,000.
They were also accused of robbing one Balogun Taye of his two mobile phones and attempting to rob another person, Alhaja Umani Oyewo in her house.
But On 30 January 2013, the police arraigned them before Justice Jide Falola of Osun High Court in Ikirun for robbery and stealing.
The charges revealed that the convicts were armed with cutlasses and a Dane gun to rob one Elizabeth Dare of a gallon of vegetable oil.
Both of them pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were caught.
However, Mr Olowooke was said to have made a confessional statement to the police in which he admitted to committing the crime.
The trial judge, Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court sentenced the duo to death by hanging on December 17, 2014.
Osun Judiciary Clarifies Case
The Osun State Judiciary has kicked against false reports claiming that Segun Olowookere and Sunday Morakinyo were sentenced to death for stealing a fowl, describing the statement as intellectual dishonest.
This was even as the judiciary condemned Nigerians responsible for the misleading claims.
The Chief Registrar of Osun State High court, F. I. Omisade disclosed on Thursday that the facts were distorted and maliciously misrepresented to the generality of the people.
The statement reads: "What has been laid before the public domain is that this boy was convicted and sentenced to death for stealing one fowl.
"The purveyors of this falsehood are mischief makers, and they have exposed their abysmal level of intellectual bankruptcy."
He noted that records showed that the two convicts had a history of robbery.
"Both of them were going about in Oyan town and its neighbourhood robbing innocent and unsuspecting people at gunpoint.
"Luck ran out on them in April 2010 when they were caught in action while robbing a poultry farm. Arms were recovered from them. They equally confessed to committing several armed robberies," he added.
Omisade hinted that the punishment prescribed by the law for such offences was hanging to death.
"They were charged before the High Court of Justice, Ikirun Judicial Division presided over then by Hon. Justice S.O. Falola. After a full trial which lasted from 11 February 2013 to 17 December 2014, they were found guilty and convicted of armed robbery," the statement reads.
The chief registrar disclosed that Olowookere was not underage when he committed the crime and prosecuted as alleged on social media.
He clarified that the convict was 19 years old, and not 17 years old then.
"His extra judicial statement and the information upon which they were tried attest to this. The second accused person, Morakinyo, was 18 years as at that time.
"The trial judge, in His Lordship’s characteristic magnanimity, large heart and fatherly disposition, did what the law prescribed and went further to recommend them for mercy of the governor," he said.
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