Osun State Judiciary has said that Segun Olowookere and Sunday Morakinyo, who were reported to have been sentenced to death for stealing a fowl, were convicted for armed robbery.
The case became public knowledge after Mr Olowookere’s parents called for their son’s freedom on Talk to B, a podcast anchored by actress Biola Adebayo.
A statement issued by the judiciary and signed by the registrar F.I. Omisade on December 20, 2024, said: “An educated person does not need to be a lawyer to understand that someone cannot be sentenced to death for stealing a fowl—nor for stealing even one billion naira—unless they were armed during the commission of the crime.”
He noted that both boys were going about Oyan town and its neighbourhood robbing innocent and unsuspecting people at gunpoint, disclosing that “luck ran out on them in April 2010 when they were caught in action while robbing poultry. Arms were recovered from them. They also confessed to committing several armed robberies.”
He stated that they were found guilty and the judge imposed the death sentence mandatorily prescribed by law.
Mr Omisade also debunked claims that the boys were underage when they were tried before the court, noting that the confessional statements of the two convicts reflected that they were 19 and 18 years of age when they committed the crime.
“It is, therefore, a desperate design to whip up undeserved sentiment. The entire scenario woven around this case has been skewed to malign the personality of the trial judge and denigrate the Osun State High Court as an institution.
“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 the mercy of the Governor,” the statement said.
