Freed after 25 years in jail, 6 ex-prisoners beg FG, Makinde for empowerment

Six former prison inmates have cried out to the federal and Oyo State governments for assistance to enable them earn legitimate means of livelihood. The ex-prisoners – Abass Owonikoko, 55; Babatunde Olatunji, 54; Adeyinka Adedeji, 60; Dele Akinyele, 50; S amuel Opabi, 52, and 56-year-old Adedeji Taiwo – were arrested separately for armed robbery in […]

Six former prison inmates have cried out to the federal and Oyo State governments for assistance to enable them earn legitimate means of livelihood.

The ex-prisoners – Abass Owonikoko, 55; Babatunde Olatunji, 54; Adeyinka Adedeji, 60; Dele Akinyele, 50; S amuel Opabi, 52, and 56-year-old Adedeji Taiwo – were arrested separately for armed robbery in Oyo State and sentenced to death by hanging.

The sentences were, however, commuted to life imprisonment after they had spent between 25 and 28 years in prison.

The Osile of Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adewale Tejuoso, addressing the men yesterday at his palace in Abeokuta, advised them to take the lessons they had learnt in prison serious and warned them against engaging in any act that could lead them to jail again.

The Director-General, Prison Rehabilitation Mission International (PRMI) Bishop Kayode Williams, explained at the palace that Oba Tejuoso facilitated the release of the ex-prisoners after they had written a letter to PRMI seeking assistance for release from prison.

“The Kabiyesi (Oba Tejuoso), after I gave him the letter, took it up himself and forwarded a                letter to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.              And, behold, Gov Makinde approved the release and the men were all freed.

“They were armed robbers. They are all from Oyo State and were kept in Agodi Prisons, Ibadan. But they had to be moved from there because there are no gallows in Agodi prison. But there are gallows in Ibara prisons, so they were brought there,” Williams said.

He added that the men were visiting the monarch to express their appreciation for his assistance and to appeal to him to use his influence in governments’ quarters to get them empowerment.

He said, “They want means of livelihood. Some of them had been to school while in prison, so they are now graduates one way or the other in different fields. They are looking forward for assistance from the federal and Oyo State governments. That’s our main request. All of them reside in Oyo, so the burden is on the governor of Oyo State.”

Owonikoko and Olatunji told journalists they were arrested in 1993 for armed robbery, which they had perpetrated due to bad peer pressure.