At the age of 17, Olowookere was arrested in 2010; the complainant in this case was a relative.. CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The traumatic circumstances of his arrest, confinement, and conviction have been revealed by Segun Olowookere, a young Nigerian man who was given a death sentence in Osun State for allegedly stealing a chicken. Olowookere was detained in 2010 when he was 17 years old, and the complainant in his case was a relative.
His life changed in November 2010 when he and another suspect, Sunday Morakinyo, were arrested in Oyan, Odo-Otin Local Government Area, Osun State.
The two were charged with stealing two chickens and eggs from Tope Balogun, a police officer assigned to the Divisional Police Headquarters in Okuku. They also allegedly tried to rob Alhaja Umani Oyewo, took two cell phones from Balogun Taye, and planned to steal Oguntade Faramade of N20,000 worth of eggs and poultry.
The charge document also described an alleged robbery in which Elizabeth Dare was allegedly robbed of a gallon of vegetable oil by someone brandishing a Dane pistol and cutlasses. When arraigned before Justice Jide Falola at the Osun State High Court in Ikirun on January 30, 2013, Olowookere and Morakinyo entered not guilty pleas to the allegations.
Nonetheless, it was reported that Olowookere confessed to the crime in a statement to the police. Olowookere described how the police arrested him after searching his father’s store for him, which led to his voyage to execution row.
After I got home from school, I was at my father’s store in Oyan. In an interview with PUNCH, Olowookere stated, “My dad and I were talking about getting into a university when all of a sudden we heard gunshots, and everyone fled except my dad and a few others.”
“My father was taken to a police van with some kids in it,” he added. I could see and hear what was happening since I was peeking out. When the cops asked my father where I was, he asked them what I had done wrong. My father yelled at the top of his lungs that I should flee since the police wanted to arrest me when they were unable to provide him with a sufficient response.
However, I wanted to know what I had done wrong. I went out to meet them as a result. The next day, I was transported to Okuku Divisional Police Headquarters after being arrested at the Oyan police post. When they came for me, I sat on the ground and ate rice with the kids in the police van.
Olowookere claimed at the station that he was charged with being the gang leader of a group of kids, ages 12 and 13, who were suspected of stealing the eggs and chickens. He denied that he had been tortured to make a confession.
“When I met Sunday Morakinyo at the station, he informed the police that he had nothing to do with me and didn’t know me. I’m not even sure where he was taken into custody. He stated, “Morakinyo and I were not released, but all the other children were.”
“Under the DPO’s supervision, we were subjected to severe torture from the moment I arrived at the Okuku Police Station. There was no beating of the supposed criminal children. He kept asking me to confess to a crime I hadn’t committed.
According to Olowookere, the police had first promised to release him on bail provided his father paid N30,000. However, the police rejected this offer because his father could only afford N20,000.
“To find the money, my dad fled the station. However, we were transferred to the SARS office in Osogbo before he returned the next day. When SARS saw the cutlasses that Morakinyo and I had been given to cut the grass as evidence, they declared us to be armed robbers, he clarified.
Olowookere and Morakinyo were detained by SARS for 17 days before being charged with robbery in a magistrate’s court. They were then taken to the High Court, where they were given the death penalty.
Olowookere defended his innocence and denounced the injustices that resulted in his conviction after considering his ordeal.
