After 26 years of waiting to be taken to the gallows, an Abia State citizen, Mr. Ogbonnaya Igbojionu is now a free man.
Igbojionu was not freed alone. Two other citizens of Nigeria also on death row had their lives handed back to them by Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, through Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
The trio's matter was even complicated as they were remanded in Kirikiri Prison in Lagos, even though it was on Ogun State matter.
NATIONAL POST learnt that Igbojionu’s offence was buying a generator, not knowing that it was a stolen commodity.
However, what started as a joke, turned into a nightmare and before he could know what was happening, a judge had passed a death sentence on him.
The freed individuals were presented to Governor Otti on Saturday by Hon. Simon Oshi from Enugu State, who contacted the Governor for his intervention.
Oshi said that he got the information about the case through a social media influencer, Olumide Ogunsanwo, popularly known as "Sea King" and had to contact Governor Otti 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 Kiirikiri 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.
Receiving the condemned but rescued individuals, Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, Olawale Adediji, and the other one who could not join them on their journey to Abia State, Governor Alex Otti thanked Hon. Simon Oshi for his doggedness and consistency and encouraged him to continue to do what he is doing for the society.
He equally 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.
Governor Otti, who assured that his government would give them the necessary support to bounce back to life, 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 back into the society.
"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 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.
While thanking the Governor on behalf of his fellow condemned but freed and released inmates, Mr. Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, an indigene of Ikwuano LGA, narrated his ordeal, saying that as a dealer in generating sets, he bought a generator from one Segun Ajibade in 1999, and sold it only to see the person that sold the generator to him, coming back after two weeks to his shop with the police.
According to him, in what appears to be an arrangement, they beat him up and forced him to sign a statement they wrote by themselves while refusing to let him read through the statement.
He was taken to court and sentenced to death, where he stayed from 1999 when he was remanded in prison till 2003 when he was actually sentenced to death until 2025, making it 26 years of incarceration. He thanked the Almighty God for using Governor Otti to spare their lives.