Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has granted pardon to Segun Olowookere and Sunday Morakinyo who were convicted for stealing a fowl.
Mr Olowookere, who was only 17 years old at the time of his arrest in November 2010, was convicted and sentenced to death on December 17, 2014, by an Osun State High Court. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, robbery, and stealing.
The case resurfaced recently after Olowookere’s mother emotionally appealed on a podcast for help, pleading for mercy for her son. Her story gained significant traction on social media, prompting Adeleke to intervene.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke confirmed the pardon of Olowookere, Morakinyo and 51 other inmates.
The statement partly read, “In line with the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Governor Ademola Adeleke has exercised the prerogative of mercy towards 53 convicts serving various convictions within the Nigerian Correctional Service.
“Now know ye therefore that, I, Senator Ademola Jackson Adeleke, the Governor of Osun State of Nigeria, in exercise of the power conferred on me by paragraph (a), (c) and (d) of subsection (i) of Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended), I am pleased to extend my grace and mercy unto the said inmates.
“Convict recommended for outright pardon for good conduct (capital offences) are: Sunday Morakinyo, Segun Olowookere, Tunde Olapade and Demola Odeyemi.”
Last Wednesday, Adeleke directed the state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice to begin a full investigation into the case and initiate processes to grant the man a prerogative of mercy.
