Metro
Why I Was Sentenced To Death – Osun ‘boy’ convicted of fowl theft
Segun Olowookere, sentenced to death in Osun State for allegedly stealing fowls as a teenager, has shared his account of the events that led to his conviction.
Arrested in November 2010 at the age of 17 alongside Sunday Morakinyo, Olowookere was accused of robbing a policeman, Tope Balogun, of two fowls and eggs in Oyan, Odo-Otin Local Government Area.
The pair was arraigned on January 30, 2013, before Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court in Ikirun.
The charges included robbery, conspiracy, and theft. Prosecutors alleged that they had also conspired to rob Oguntade Faramade of items worth N20,000, stolen two mobile phones from Balogun Taye, and attempted to rob Alhaja Umani Oyewo in her home. They were further accused of using weapons, including a cutlass and a Dane gun, to rob Elizabeth Dare of vegetable oil.
Despite his pleas of innocence, his ordeal worsened due to his family’s inability to raise the N30,000 bail demanded by the police.
While both men pleaded not guilty, the prosecution presented six witnesses, including alleged victims and police officers, who testified against them.
A confessional statement purportedly made by Olowookere to the police was pivotal to the case, though he denied ever writing it.
His lawyer, Ayo Omolesho, argued that the case lacked sufficient evidence, emphasizing that Olowookere was not apprehended at the crime scene.
Despite this, the court convicted them, sentencing them on December 17, 2014, to death for conspiracy, life imprisonment for robbery, and three years for theft. Olowookere was 21 at the time.
In a recent interview, Olowookere described his journey to incarceration, alleging police misconduct and coercion.
He recounted that in April 2010, while discussing his university admission plans with his father at their shop, police officers stormed the area and arrested him after an initial attempt to detain his father.
He said, “I was at my father’s shop in Oyan after returning from school. My dad and I were discussing my university admission and suddenly, we heard gunshots, and everybody ran away except my dad and a few others.
“My father was taken to a police van where there were some children. I was peeping out and could hear and see what was going on. The police asked my dad where I was and he asked them what my offence was. When they couldn’t give him a satisfactory response, my father shouted at the top of his voice that I should run away because the police wanted to arrest me.
“But I was wondering what my offence was. So, I came out and went to meet them. I was detained at the police post in Oyan, and was taken to Okuku Divisional Police Headquarters the following day. I met the children who were in the police van when they came for me sitting on the ground and eating rice.”
Olowookere claimed he was tortured into submission and falsely accused by minors who were also arrested but later released.
He said, “The DPO told me that one of the children confessed to stealing two broilers and some crates of eggs. I met the broilers and the eggs at the station. The children were eight in number. He told me the children said I was their gang leader, which I denied.
“The children he was talking about were around 12 and 13 years old, while I was 17 then. I told him I knew the children but I didn’t have anything to do with them other than greeting them in the community.”
He denied knowing Morakinyo or participating in any criminal activities.
“I met Sunday Morakinyo at the station and he told the police that he didn’t know me, nor had anything to do with me. I don’t even know where he was arrested. All the children were released but Morakinyo and I were not.
“We were seriously tortured from the first day I got to the Okuku Police Station under the supervision of the DPO. The children who allegedly committed the crime were not beaten. He repeatedly asked me to admit and confess to a crime I didn’t commit.
“After some days, we were given cutlasses to cut the grass at the police station premises despite having injuries on every part of our body as a result of the torture.”
He also refuted reports suggesting he had written a confessional statement or lived in a luxury apartment, asserting that he lived with his parents at the time of his arrest.
“I never wrote any statement to the police. My parents never had a flat, not to mention a six-bedroom flat. I lived with my parents until I was arrested,” he stated.
Asked why his lawyer didn’t object to the statement during the trial, Olowookere said, “I didn’t know anything, but I am sure I didn’t write any statement.”
Reacting to Olowookere’s case, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has directed the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, to investigate the matter and explore options for a pardon. In a statement on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Adeleke assured the public of his commitment to justice and equity.
“I have instructed a thorough review and expedited action on granting prerogative mercy to the young man. Osun is a land of fairness and justice, and we will ensure that every citizen’s rights are protected,” Adeleke said.
The case has sparked widespread concern, with many calling for a review of the judicial process that led to Olowookere’s conviction and sentencing.
It was a sour but unforgettable experience for a 35-year-old Nigerian man identified as Emeka Nwogu last Valentine day as his 25-year-old girlfriend connived with her younger brother and some cultists to attack and rob him of N15.5m.
The attackers also went away with his valuables including three mobile phones.
The story which looks like a script from Nollywood took place at Ago Palace Way in Lagos after the man and his lover girl spent Valentine day in one of the hotels at Ago Palace and decided to eat out the following day little knowing that the girl had another agenda against him with her younger brother and his gang of cultists.
Police sources said while they were in one of the new restaurants enjoying themselves, his girlfriend insisted that they must go back to the hotel for her to ease herself. The unsuspecting boyfriend obliged her but expressed concerns after they passed the bus stop leading to their hotel but the girl asked him not to worry. However, according to sources, as soon as they got down in another bus stop, some armed boys attacked and dragged them to a secluded place in one of the estates where they beat and tortured the man with guns and axes. They then disappeared with his phones after forcing him to disclose the password of his Bitcoin, Binance and Trust accounts and removed about $9,700.
It was learned that after the attack, the man and his girlfriend rushed to Ago Palace police station where they lodged a report. However, the story took a different dimension after the police got to the scene of the incident as one of the security guards who witnessed the attack whispered to them that one of the perpetrators was always seen with the man’s girlfriend who was busy shedding tears in their presence. Based on this startling revelation, the girl was arrested and taken to their station where she confessed that it was her younger brother and his friends that attacked them.
She reportedly told detectives that she was angry after seeing her boyfriend’s Whatsapp chats with other girls and that was why she contracted her younger brother to organize the attack with his friends. Crime Guard learned that at this stage, the case was transferred to the Commissioner of Police Special Squad 1, while the police succeeded in tracing her residence but her younger brother had fled.
Sources said her father, on hearing the development, promised to search for his son and return the stolen items. He however returned only N3m which his son claimed was part of the N5m kept as his sister’s share of the loot. It was gathered that when detectives intensified investigations, they arrested four other members of the gang who confessed that they were members of Aiye confraternity at Ago Palace Way. Those arrested include Ogbuka Tochukwu, 22; John Wisdom, 25; Odora Michael, 24, and Babatunde Ibrhaim, 20. Items recovered from them are; one locally made gun, four local cartridges, one battle axe belonging to Aiye confraternity and N7.5milliom cash.
The victim told reporters that he was greatly traumatized after realizing that his girlfriend of four years masterminded the attack. “I spent Valentine’s night with her in a hotel and we enjoyed ourselves. The following day while we were in a lounge enjoying ourselves, she went out severally after her phone rang. I did not know she was planning to attack me with her brother and cultists and steal my hard-earned money and property. I commend the CP squad for doing a good job.”
Recall that it was the same squad that eliminated a notorious gang of kidnappers that were terrorizing Lagos and environs last year at the popular Ladipo market in Lagos.
(Saturday Vanguard)
The Anambra State Government yesterday arraigned three native doctors before a State High Court for alleged involvement in criminal activities.
The suspects were Chidozie Nwangwu popularly known as “Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki”, Onyebuchi Okocha known as “Onye Eze” and Ekene Igboezekwe popularly known as “Eke Hit”.
They were charged in suit numbers A/41C2025, A/40C2025 and A/42C2025 respectively with alleged claims of possessing supernatural powers to make money or stagnate destiny, as well as conspiracy to commit felony to wit kidnapping and obtaining by fraud.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspects were all arrested by the Anambra Security outfit known as “Agunechemba” in February and have been in detention till date.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. F.C. Okeke, told the court that the charges against the suspect had been served them and that they were ready to proceed with the case.
But the defence counsel, Mr S.O. Iwuoba and others took turns to inform the court that the processes were not served in good time to enable them to respond.
The charges were not read in detail as a result of the development.
The presiding Judge, Justice Jude Obiora, ordered that the suspects be returned to Agunechemba detention facility to make for proper processing.
Obiora adjourned the cases to April 11 for proper arraignment and pleadings.
The search and rescue operation that followed this week’s apparently co-ordinated attacks on some communities in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State has yielded additional 40 bodies, officials confirmed yesterday.
The recovery has now taken the death toll in the attacks on Mangor Tamiso, Daffo, Manguna (Tagai), Hurti and Tadai to 52.
The state government said some arrests have been made in connection with the Wednesday night mayhem.
Chairman of Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, Farmasum Fuddang said 31 persons were given a mass burial on Thursday.
According to him five under age victims were burnt to ashes at Hurti village, 11 were killed at Ruwi village, four persons killed at Manguna with one killed at Dafo.
The condemned the attacks.
It said some suspects have been arrested but did not put a figure to the arrests.
Information and Communication Commissioner Joyce Ramnap in a statement in Jos, extended government’s condolences to bereaved families and said every effort was being made by the security agencies to stem the wave of killings.
The Mutfwang Administration, the commissioner added, had deployed strategic measures to enhance intelligence gathering, surveillance, and rapid response mechanisms in collaboration with security operatives.
She asked religious, traditional, and community leaders to reinforce the message of peace, unity, and lawful engagement while residents were advised to remain law-abiding, support security efforts, and utilize official channels for security concerns.”
Residents of the affected communities said the invaders shot sporadically, catching the people unawares.
-
Politics11 hours agoTinubu Gives Fani Kayode, Others New Appointments (See Full List)
-
News11 hours agoDANGER! Ex-Soldier Abubakar Affan Vows to Kill VeryDarkMan ‘Like Deborah Samuel’
-
News14 hours agoWhy NYSC maybe extended by FG- Minister
-
News14 hours agoIbas moves to rehabilitate damaged Rivers LG secretariats
-
News11 hours agoJust in: Ex-Oyo governor, Olunloyo is dead
-
News14 hours agoWike commissions another solar-powered market in Abuja
-
Economy13 hours agoCrude prices slump to $65 first time since 2021
-
Economy14 hours agoCBN allocates $197.71m into FX market to support naira