Nigerian man promised pardon after 10 years on death row for stealing hens

The governor of the southwest state of Osun has pledged to pardon a Nigerian man who has been on death row for ten years for stealing several hens and eggs.

In 2010, at the age of 17, Segun Olowookere and his accomplice, Morakinyo Sunday, were taken into custody.

They allegedly used a sword and an antiquated wooden rifle to attack the house of a police officer and another individual, but they only managed to escape with the poultry.

In 2014, Osun State High Court Justice Jide Falola found the two guilty of entering into the police officer’s home with force and taking his possessions, and he condemned them to death by hanging.

At the time, there was a national uproar in Nigeria because many people thought the penalty was excessively severe.

The two were then transferred to the death row ward of the infamous Kirikiri high security prison in Lagos state.

Governor Ademola Adeleke ordered Olowookere’s pardon in a statement on Tuesday, saying it was crucial to preserve life.

“I have instructed the Commissioner for Justice to start the procedures necessary to give the young man the prerogative of mercy.

“Justice and equity abound in Osun. Fairness and the preservation of human life must be guaranteed,” the governor wrote on X.

Since his name was omitted from the statement, it is unknown what became of Morakinyo Sunday, who was convicted along Olowookere.

Human rights organizations, Olowookere’s parents, and other Nigerians have been fighting for his release for years.

In a recent podcast, his parents sobbed and pleaded for the pardon of their only child.

Early in 2025, he is anticipated to be released.

Although Nigeria hasn’t executed anyone since 2012, almost 3,400 people are presently on death row.