Gov. Adeleke pardons a man sentenced to death for stealing fowl.

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has pardoned Segun Olowookere, who was sentenced to death for armed robbery in the state.

Olowookere and his accomplice, Sunday Morakinyo, were both pardoned, according to a statement released on Thursday by the governor.

The claim that the couple received the death penalty for stealing a fowl went widespread on social media. However, the Osun State Judiciary emphasised that they were convicted of armed robbery, which included robbing a chicken in 2010.

The governor also announced that 51 other inmates have been pardoned in response to proposals from the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.

“In line with the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy and in exercise of the power conferred on me by paragraph (a), (c) and (d) of subsection (i) of section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), I am pleased to extend my grace and mercy unto 53 convicts serving various convictions within the Nigerian Correctional Service,” Adeleke reported.

“In the case of inmates convicted of simple offences, I have decided in accordance with the said recommendation to remit and forgive the remainder of the said sentences of the following 30 (thirty) inmates in whole.”In accordance with the aforementioned advice, I have also decided to grant unconditional pardon to the 12 (twelve) detainees convicted of simple infractions listed below.

“I have approved the commutation of death sentences for six convicts, including Ojekunle Timothy, who has spent at least ten years in custody. Additionally, four convicts, Sunday Morakinyo, Segun Olowookere, Tunde Olapade, and Demola Odeyemi, have their sentences commuted from death to outright pardon.
Olowookere and his accomplice were detained in 2010 after breaking into the residences of a police officer and another individual.

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In accordance with the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, I exercise the power granted by paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) of subsection (i) of section 212.
— Gov. Ademola Adeleke (@AAdeleke_01), December 26, 2024

In 2014, Justice Falola of the Osun State High Court sentenced the two to death by hanging after they were found guilty of breaking into the officer’s home and stealing his goods.