Mr Ogbonnaya Igbojionu an Abia indigene and two others have been freed after 22 years on death row.
The intervention of Abia State governor, Alex Otti gave room to their freedom
Igbojionu and the two others were sentenced to death by a High Court.
The freed convicts were presented to t Governor Otti, Enugu lawmaker, Hon Simon Oshi, who contacted him for his intervention .
The lawmaker said that he got wind of the matter through a social media influencer, Olumide Ogunsanwo, adding that on learning about the incident, he quickly contacted the Abia governor for his intervention.
”Now, when the popular social media influencer brought it up on social media, I took it upon myself and said, let me actually go and verify if what they are saying is true.
”So, I went with a team of lawyers and also our popular influencer here too, to visit the two young men in Kirikiri prison. On getting there, I started interacting with them.
”And I asked him, where are you from, he said he’s from Abia State. I told him, I know your governor, he’s a very good man and an amazing leader. I will pass this message across to him and get back to you.
”They were sentenced to death in 2003 over a case of a stolen generator that he bought. So, I told His Excellency. Immediately, the next day, he sent the Attorney General of Abia State to Kirikiri to go and verify if all I told him was actually true.
”The Attorney General went there, got back to him, and he said, no, this can’t be. It can’t happen to a son of the soil in Abia State when he is the governor.
“So, His Excellency, being a good leader and an amazing father to us all, hurriedly wrote a letter to the governor of the state where they were held.
”From there, he kept on pushing and after spending 26 years in prison, His Excellency brought them back and now they have seen freedom, Hon. Oshi narrated.
Otti thanked Hon Simon Oshi for his doggedness, consistency and encouraged him to continue to do what he is doing for the society.
He appreciated the social media influencer for a job well done, adding that God might have allowed him (the social media influencer) to be remanded in the correctional facility for two weeks, just to help Mr. Igbojionu and co to regain their freedom from death sentence and life imprisonment.
”A typical Nigerian would say it doesn’t concern me but because you’re a very good person, you took it upon yourself. If you didn’t bring it to my attention, I wouldn’t have known.
”So, by the time we enquired, the twist was that they were in Lagos but it was an Ogun State matter. I want to use this opportunity to also thank my brother, governor, colleague, and friend, Dapo Abiodun, for also following through and being consistent.
”When I brought it to his attention and wrote the letter, he acknowledged it and said he was going to work on it. Just last week, I was away when he called me outside the country and said they have now been released.
”For us, justice is everything. You can have all the money in the world but if you don’t contribute to building a fair and just society, your money is useless.
”We’ll all come and go. People leave so much behind. Once you close your eyes and you don’t open them, that’s it. That’s the end. Whatever you would have accumulated and acquired would become useless,” the Governor stated.
He assured that his government would give them the necessary support to bounce back to life and directed the Commissioner for Local Government and his Power and Public Utilities counterpart, who were present at the event, to work with the relevant departments of government to ensure that they are reintegrated into the society.
He said: ”It may not be their direct role, but I’m giving them the assignment to work with the relevant parts of government to ensure that they are reintegrated back into the society.
”We will support you and get you back into the society. Having said that, I want to welcome you back to this part of the world. Thank God for preserving you up to this time, ” Gov. Otti added.
Igbojionu, while thanking the Governor on behalf of other freed inmates, narrated his ordeal.
He said that as a dealer in generating sets, he bought a generator from one Segun Ajibade in 1999, and sold it only for the person who sold the generator to him, to effect his arrest with the police.
According to him, he was beaten him up and forced him to sign a statement they wrote by themselves while refusing to let him read through it.
After trial, he disclosed, he was taken to court and sentenced to death where he stayed from 1999 and remanded in prison till 2003 when he was sentenced to death.
