The Osun State High Court has dismissed widespread reports that a young man, Olowookere Segun, was sentenced to death for stealing a fowl, labelling the claims as false and maliciously distorted.
This clarification comes as the State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, announced the pardon of Olowookere and his co-convict, Sunday Morakinyo, along with 51 other inmates.
A statement titled “Setting the Record Straight” was issued on December 20, 2024, by Omisade F. I., the registrar of the State High Court. The statement clarified that the duo was not sentenced for stealing a fowl but for armed robbery convictions that included robbing a poultry.
The trial, which spanned from February 11, 2013, to December 17, 2014, found Olowookere and Morakinyo guilty of multiple armed robberies. Although the case resurfaced a decade later, sparking public outrage, the court emphasized that their sentencing followed due legal processes.
In response to pleas for clemency from the convicts’ families, Governor Adeleke granted them a pardon. His spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, confirmed this in a statement citing recommendations from the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy.
The governor’s statement read:
“In line with the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, I, Senator Ademola Jackson Adeleke, Governor of Osun State, hereby extend my grace and mercy to 53 convicts serving various sentences within the Nigerian Correctional Service.”
The High Court clarified that Olowookere and Morakinyo were sentenced to death by hanging for armed robbery by Hon. Justice S.O. Falola of the Ikirun Judicial Division. It rejected allegations that the conviction stemmed from the theft of a fowl.
According to the court:
“The duo went about robbing unsuspecting individuals at gunpoint in Oyan town and nearby areas. They were apprehended in April 2010 while robbing a poultry, and arms were recovered from them. The narrative that they were sentenced to death for stealing a fowl is false and maliciously misrepresented.”
The court stressed that armed robbery carries a mandatory death sentence under Nigerian law if the accused is armed, leaving no room for judicial discretion.
It also clarified that Olowookere was 17 years old at the time of his arrest, while Morakinyo was 18, contradicting claims that Olowookere was a minor. The trial judge, however, recommended clemency for the duo, demonstrating fairness within legal boundaries.
The statement concluded by urging the public to verify facts before forming opinions, warning against misinformation designed to undermine judicial integrity.
