The Osun State High Court has addressed widespread reports suggesting that two individuals, Olowookere Segun and Sunday Morakinyo, were sentenced to death solely for stealing a fowl. In an official statement titled “Setting the Record Straight,” the court clarified that the duo was convicted of multiple armed robberies, including an incident at a poultry farm, and not merely for the theft of a fowl.
The court emphasized that the convicts were apprehended in April 2010 while committing armed robbery at a poultry, during which weapons were recovered from them. They also confessed to several other armed robbery offenses. Under Nigerian law, armed robbery carries a mandatory death sentence if the accused is armed during the commission of the crime. The court’s statement highlighted that the facts of the case had been distorted and misrepresented in public discourse, leading to the erroneous belief that the individuals were sentenced to death for stealing a single fowl.
In response to public concern and appeals from the convicts’ families, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke announced on December 26, 2024, that both individuals had been granted pardons. This decision was made following recommendations from the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy. The governor’s action underscores the state’s commitment to justice tempered with mercy, especially in cases that have elicited significant public interest.
This clarification aims to correct the narrative and provide an accurate account of the judicial proceedings, ensuring that the public is properly informed about the legal basis for the court’s original sentencing and the subsequent executive intervention.
