Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, has pardoned Segun Olowookere, who was sentenced to death by hanging for stealing a chicken and eggs in 2010.
In a statement released on Thursday, Adeleke gave the prerogative of mercy to 53 convicts, including Olowookere.
Olowookere’s co-defendant, Sunday Morakinyo, was also granted a pardon by the governor.
Olowookere’s story went viral recently, and it sparked public outcry after an interview granted by his parents.
In an interview with Biola Adebayo, a Nigerian actress, the parents claimed that police officers from the Osun command arrested Olowookere for an offence he did not commit.
Olanrewaju, his father, said a divisional police officer (DPO) asked him to pay N30,000 for his son’s rerelease, noting that he could only raise N20,000 at the time.
Olowookere’s parents had appealed to Nigerians to help intervene in their son’s ordeal.
Following the viral video, Adeleke directed the attorney-general and commissioner for justice in Osun to commence a full probe into the matter.
(the cable)
