After 26 years of waiting to be taken to the gallows, an Abia State citizen, Mr. Ogbonnaya Igbojionu is now a free man following the intervention of the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti.
Igbojionu was not freed alone, as two other citizens of Nigeria also on death row had their lives handed back to them by Gov. Otti and his Ogun State counterpart, Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The trio’s matter was even complicated as they were remanded in Kirikiri Prison in Lagos, even though it was an Ogun State matter.
It was 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 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.
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.
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.
Mr. Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, an indigene of Ikwuano LGA, thanked the Governor on behalf of his fellow condemned but freed and released inmates.