Former Oyo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mutalubi Adebayo, has cautioned against unconstitutional investigations following Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s intervention in the controversial death sentence of a young man, Segun Olowookere, in the state.
Justice Oyejide Falola of an Osun State High Court in Okuku had convicted Olowookere and Sunday Morakinyo of armed robbery and sentenced them to death by hanging, after finding them guilty of charges involving theft and armed robbery in December 2014.
The two convicts, armed with firearms, were reported to have forcefully entered the residence of a police officer, Balogun Tope, attached to the Divisional Police Headquarters in Okuku, in April 2010, stealing his belongings.
After a podcast by Nollywood actor Biola Adebayo, which featured the parents of one of the convicts, Olowookere, went viral on Tuesday, Governor Adeleke, in a statement by his spokesperson Olawale Rasheed, directed an investigation and the initiation of a pardon process for the convict.
Reacting to the governor’s directive in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday, Adebayo acknowledged the governor’s constitutional power to pardon convicts but criticised what he described as an “unconstitutional investigation.”
Adebayo also warned against actions that could endanger judges and expose them to threats from criminals, potentially leading to loss of life.
The senior lawyer urged governments and the public to avoid being misled by bloggers and social media commentators spreading half-truths and falsehoods to vilify and harass the judiciary.
His statement read, “The claim that the prisoner was convicted and sentenced to death for stealing a fowl is an outright falsehood and cheap blackmail, aimed at securing his release through underhanded means.
“The convict was a member of a notorious gang of armed robbers that terrorised residents of Odo-Otin Local Government Area in Osun State before his arrest. He was fairly tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging by the Osun State High Court. There has been no appeal against the judgment in over 14 years.”
Adebayo clarified that while governors and the president have the constitutional right to grant pardons, it is unconstitutional for the executive to investigate judicial decisions, including the reasoning or propriety of such judgments.
“The executive arm lacks such powers. Investigating judges for their decisions constitutes a usurpation of the judiciary’s constitutional role. Judges being harassed online for performing their lawful duties is deeply traumatic, especially when such attacks are rooted in falsehoods and rumours,” he added.
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