Osun man sentenced to death for stealing fowl leaves Kirikiri facility

31-year-old Segun Olowokere has been released from Kirikiri prison after 10 years of being on death row for stealing hens and eggs.

Mr Olowokere and his co-suspected Sunday Morakinyo were arrested in Oyan, Odo-Otin Local Government of Osun State in November 2010. They were sentenced to death by the Osun State High Court, Ikirun Division, on 17 December 2014.

The Osun State judiciary on 26 December justified the death penalty imposed 10 years ago on Mr Olowokere and his accomplice. Speaking through the Chief Registrar of Osun State High, F. I. Omisade, the state’s judiciary, said the facts of the case had been distorted and maliciously misrepresented to the generality of the people.

The state’s judiciary said unknown to many people, records showed that the two convicts had a history of robbery.

According to the chief registrar’s statement, 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,” the statement added.

It added that the punishment prescribed by the law for such offences was hanging to death.

Road to Freedom

Olowokere’s parents, some human rights groups, and well-meaning Nigerians have fought for his release for years. This sentencing stirred an outcry from citizens who thought the judgement outweighed the offence.

Recently, his parents were seen in a podcast crying and pleading that their only child be pardoned.

The podcast’s virality was believed to have reached Governor Adesola Adeleke, who directed that Mr Olowokere be pardoned and released to protect life and its sanctity.

The chief registrar noted that Mr Olowookere was not underage when he committed the crime and was prosecuted as alleged on social media. He said the convict was 19, not 17, then.

Recent development

Contrary to expectations of a release early next year, Olowokere’s release came on Monday, 30 December.

Celebrating his release on her Instagram page, actress Abiola Adebayo shared a video with Olowokere beside her as he was released from prison.

“This is Segun Olowokere. We are just leaving Kirikiri. He’s finally out of the correctional centre,” she said.

She thanked well wishes for their support: “Thank you so much for the love we get. Thank you so much for the support”. She especially thanked the governor as he orchestrated the move.

She encouraged Nigerians to support Olowokere with jobs and gifts to get him standing and ready to run.

In the video, she shared testimonies of inmates and wardens who weren’t excited about his leaving, as his absence would cause a vacuum in their lives. “He has an excellent testimony from the facility that he is a very good person. Some of them were crying that he was leaving, ” she said.