Labour Party’s presidential candidate at the 2023 polls, Mr Peter Obi, on Friday, faulted what he termed the harshness and “inequalities” in the Nigerian legal system that tends to prescribe heavier punishment on minor crimes compared to the light sentence pronounced for treasury looters.
Obi was reacting to the intervention of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke in the case of a teenager who was sentenced to death for stealing a fowl.
The teenager, Segun Olowookere, and one Morakinyo Sunday were arrested and charged with the offence in 2010.
Four years later in 2014, Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court sentenced them to death by hanging, having found them guilty of attacking a policeman’s house to commit the act.
However, Governor Adeleke, following the controversy the case continued to generate, waded into it by ordering an investigation that would ultimately lead to the convicts being pardoned.
A government statement quoted Adeleke as saying, “Osun is a land of justice and equity, and we must ensure fairness and protection of the sanctity of lives. I assure members of the public that this matter is receiving my direct attention, with every sense of urgency attached to our response.”
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Obi took to his X handle on Friday to praise the governor’s action and particularly criticise the country’s legal system for pronouncing harsh punishment for minor crimes.
Obi, himself a former governor of Anambra State, stated, “I commend Governor Ademola Adeleke for stepping in to prevent the inhumane punishment of death by hanging for the theft of a fowl and eggs—an offence for which the individual had already spent 14 years in prison.
“That sentence alone far exceeded the demands of justice, if the crime warranted such consideration in the first place.
“This case underscores the harsh inequalities of the Nigerian legal system. If you dare to speak freely, you are treated as a criminal and silenced. If you embezzle billions of public funds, you are celebrated, even when caught and taken to court.
“Yet, those pursuing honest, legitimate businesses are burdened by oppressive regulations and treated with suspicion, as though success through integrity is a crime.”
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