This week, one Elochukwu Ohagi Official wrote on Facebook: “Ogbonna Ogbojionu was only 22 years old when he bought stolen goods and was sentenced to death by a Yoruba judge. He was on death row for the past 22 years in agony waiting to be executed, until a human rights lawyer came for his rescue. Ogbonna’s sentence again explains the hatred in Nigeria, especially the Yoruba hatred for Ndigbo. If this is not hate, then tell me which judge will sentence a young boy of 22 to death for buying a stolen generator.”

You see, in this country, many people act before they think. In 2000, a former Head of State stormed Government House, Ibadan, breathing fire and brimstone and asking the Oyo State Governor: “Why are your people killing my people?” But by the time the calm and unruffled governor had spoken, the big man and his entourage could not even wait for refreshments. I realize that this is an example that will ruffle feathers, but I do not look at faces when I write. In the present case, Elochukwu Ohagi Official, just like his co-travellers on the social media space, got his five minutes of fame. They had their fill of Yoruba bashing. They claimed that the real criminal, a Yoruba man, was pardoned while Ogbonna languished in jail!

By the way, if you are familiar with this page, you know that I am not a Yoruba supremacist, yet I cannot fail to mention the needless tribal hatred that certain people purvey daily on the internet, particularly on platforms such as Nairaland. On this page, I once had occasion to call out a northern governor who, on losing a governorship appeal, said it was because the verdict had been delivered by “a Christian judge.” You see, in this country, some people just never see beyond their religious or ethnic nose. I have also, on many occasions, called out Yoruba miscreants and criminals on this page, including the miscreants who launched attacks on non-Yoruba voters during the 2023 elections in Lagos, so think again before you fault my mission today.

Pray, just how can anyone who claims sanity justify and deodorize a convicted armed robber and murderer just because he happens to be Igbo? Is Igboland represented by callous criminals? If a Yoruba person, whoever they may be, chooses to kill and rob, just how does (s)he represent me? If a relation of mine commits a grievous crime, how does that diminish my existence when (s)he did not act on my behalf? Why do certain people always cry ethnic bias even when the available evidence points to no such thing? Just how can anyone say that Ogbojionu, a convicted for robbery and murder, went to prison because of Yoruba hatred? You that love your ethnic group more than the Word of God, do you think that when you die, it is your ethnicity that will stand you in good stead before God?

As lucidly articulated by the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Ogun State, Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN, Ogbonna Ogbojionu was convicted of armed robbery and murder in 2003 and sentenced to death, but  had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment in 2021 by Governor Dapo Abiodun who, in exercise of the prerogative of mercy, also granted him clemency on Democracy Day this year. I have to say that on a personal level, I feel very bad for the Ogun helmsman. Like Fuji King Wasiu Ayinde once sang, Abiodun’s case is that of the person with a good heart whose good deed lands him in trouble, and who escapes only through divine intervention: “Aseyinwa aseyinbo, oninu ire, Olorun lo ko yo.” How would you feel as a governor if you pardon a convicted killer on the basis of reported remorse, only to have such a person spinning falsehoods about his case even when members of the family of his victim are still alive, and they know that they will never see their loved one again? Pray, why can’t certain criminals simply shut that gutter they call a mouth?

Ogbonna and his gang robbed an ELF petrol station, stole a generator, and killed one of the guards. He was identified as the person who loosened the generator from its location. He was arrested, escaped from detention, and was later rearrested after leading the police to the buyer of the generator. Ogbonna made two confessional statements to the police. The prosecution called 11 witnesses, while Ogbonna and his co-defendants chose not to call any. He agreed with the facts presented but did not believe they were sufficient to convict him.

This fellow and his gang killed someone and sowed everlasting sorrow into his family. I defy ANYBODY who will ignore this evil under a so-called rhapsody of innocence. It is evil people like Ogbonna and his spin doctors who, as our people say, make people weary doing good. He is just like the vegetable ebolo, which no matter how you clean it up cannot lose its nasty smell.

By making false claims of innocence, Ogbonna has put his utter dishonesty, revulsion for accountability, manipulative tendencies and disregard for the law in bold relief. As the Ogun AG said most lucidly, “Ogbonna’s crime hobbled a business, terrorised Akanni Yusuf, and killed Moses Bankole. These victims or their relations remain today and attempts to sanitise Ogbonna’s conduct with falsehoods do fresh injustice to the victims. Those who, in a misguided quest for justice, are recreating Ogbonna as a victim will do well to remember Moses Bankole – the true and irredeemable victim of Ogbonna’s crime. If Ogbonna is truly reformed, he should silently and gratefully enjoy his freedom and pursue honest pursuits. ” I concur.

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Ogbonna’s behavior raises concerns about his reliability, credibility, and potential for future misconduct. By his lies, he is enabling ethnic polarization and the spread of misinformation. Consider the following: (https://x.com/TrueSourceNaija/status/1942675718296744203):  “Ogbonna Igbojionu, wrongly convicted at 22 for unknowingly buying a stolen generator, has been released after spending 26 years on death row in Kirikiri Prison, Lagos. The true culprit disappeared after the sale, but Ogbonna was charged with armed robbery under strict laws at the time..Now 48, Ogbonna has reunited emotionally with his mother and vows to fight for justice for others like him. “I lost 26 years,” he said, “but I didn’t lose hope.” Yeah, Oyenusi and Anini were innocent too.

What a pile of garbage!

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Pun intended. I am now a co-sharer of space under your Windows column every Saturday Tribune edition I humbly cherish the honor. Continue to engage in your incisive and educative writings. You can be rest assured that there are gazillion members of the public who constantly read your column to enrich their knowledge on current affairs about our dear country, Nigeria. I belong to such a “tribe of readers.” The column is my cup of tea every Saturday( a must read). Please, stay the course as a fearless writer, not a brown envelope journalist or mealy-mouthed (doublespeak). In the words of OBJ: “Tepid writing does not evoke a desire for reform, and without reform, progress is not made.” ( My Watch Vol.1, page XII.). Yacoob Abiodun: 0810 350 1024.