Olowookere, arrested in November 2010 at the age of 17, was convicted and sentenced to death by an Osun State High Court on December 17, 2014, for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, robbery, and stealing.
The case gained widespread attention after Olowookere’s mother shared her plea for justice during a podcast appearance. Her emotional appeal went viral on social media, sparking public outrage and calls for clemency. Governor Adeleke responded by instructing the state’s attorney general to initiate a pardon process.
In a statement released Thursday, Olawale Rasheed, the governor’s spokesperson, confirmed the pardon of Olowookere, Morakinyo, and 51 other inmates as part of a broader clemency initiative.
The statement read:
“In line with the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Governor Ademola Adeleke has exercised the prerogative of mercy towards 53 convicts serving various convictions within the Nigerian Correctional Service.
“Now know ye therefore that, I, Senator Ademola Jackson Adeleke, the Governor of Osun State of Nigeria, in exercise of the power conferred on me by paragraph (a), (c), and (d) of subsection (i) of Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended), I am pleased to extend my grace and mercy unto the said inmates.
“Convict recommended for outright pardon for good conduct (capital offences) are: Sunday Morakinyo, Segun Olowookere, Tunde Olapade, and Demola Odeyemi.”
The clemency decision has drawn mixed reactions, with many hailing it as a compassionate act of justice and others calling for systemic reforms to prevent such severe sentences for minor offenses in the future.
