By Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has secured the release of Mr. Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, an Abia indigene, and two others who were sentenced to death in 2003 for allegedly buying a stolen generator set and had been on death row for 26 years.
The revelation was made when the released men, Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, Olawale Adediji, and another who could not join them, were presented to the Governor in Umuahia on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
Presenting the released individuals to Governor Otti, Hon. Simon Oshi from Enugu State, who contacted the Governor for his intervention, said he learned about the case through a social media influencer, Olumide Ogunsanwo, popularly known as “Sea King.”
“They were sentenced to death in 2003 over a case of a stolen generator that he bought. So, I told His Excellency. Immediately, the next day, he sent the Attorney General of Abia State to Kirikiri to verify if all I told him was actually true,” Oshi stated.
“The Attorney General went there, got back to him, and he said, ‘No, this can’t be. It can’t happen to a son of the soil in Abia State when I am the Governor.’ So, His Excellency, being a good leader and an amazing father to us all, hurriedly wrote a letter to the Governor of the State where they were held. From there, he kept pushing, and after spending 26 years in prison, His Excellency brought them back, and now they have seen freedom,” Oshi added.
Hon. Oshi thanked Governor Otti for being a compassionate leader and expressed confidence that Abians would support him for a second term in office.
Receiving the men, Governor Otti thanked Hon. Oshi for his doggedness and consistency, encouraging him to continue advocating for societal good. He also appreciated Olumide Ogunsanwo, suggesting that his two-week remand in the correctional facility might have been divinely orchestrated to facilitate the men’s release.
“A typical Nigerian would say it doesn’t concern me, but because you’re a very good person, you took it upon yourself. If you didn’t bring it to my attention, I wouldn’t have known,” Otti said.
He promised to do everything possible to reintegrate the men into society and directed the Commissioner for Local Government and the Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities to work with relevant government departments to ensure their successful reintegration.
Speaking on behalf of the freed men, Igbojionu, an indigene of Ikwuano LGA, narrated his ordeal. As a generator dealer, he bought a generator from one Segun Ajibade in 1999 and resold it. Two weeks later, Ajibade returned with the police, claiming the generator was stolen. Igbojionu alleged he was beaten, forced to sign a prepared statement without reading it, and subsequently sentenced to death in 2003 after being remanded since 1999 at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison. He expressed deep gratitude to Governor Otti for securing his freedom.