My son is innocent, father of convicted fowl thieve cry out,accuse judge of given unjust judgement

Last week, the nation was flooded with a news of how an Osun state High Court judge sentenced two persons to death for stealing fowls. According to the news report, ‘’Justice Jide Falola of an Osun State High Court sitting in Okuku sentenced the two robbers to death for stealing fowls.’’ However, Investigation by Mr.Rights indicate that, the convicts are innocent as testified to by Mr. Balogun Taiwo, the police officer attached to Divisional Police headquarters, Okuku who made the arrest. According to reports, the convicts, Olowookere Segun and Morakinyo Sunday, were said to have been found guilty of forcefully breaking into a house in April 2010 and carting away some belongings. But according to Mr.rights investigations, the two (2) convicts are not part of the fowl robbers. Infact, One of the suspect (Segun Olowookere) is said to be out of town when the crime took place. ‘’Those arrested for stealing fowl had been released, my son and the other convict were roped and have been in detention since 2010 because I refused to pay 30,000 bribe as demanded by then Okuku DPO said Mr. olowookere, father of one of the convicts.’’ Corrobating the above statement, Mr. Balogun Taiwo, the police officers who arrested the fowl thieves and testified before the court told Mr.Rights via phone that: ‘’I told the court that those I arrested for stealing fowls are not these boys. We only arrested this one’s because their names were mentioned by those other one’s and even those ones are no where to be found now.It seems they had been released. I told the court this but I don’t understand the judgement.’’ Mr. Balogun Taiwo said. Also, the owner of the poultry exonerated the convicts before the court, saying they were not the one’s who came to steal fowl in the poultry. According to Mr. Olowookere, one of the convicts father, the owner of the said poultry is his cousin brother and he specifically told the court that the convicts were not the one’s who stole from his poultry. Also, Alhaja Umani Oyewo, the woman in whose house they were said to have stolen before also told the court that they never stole anything in her house. Mr. Olowookere said. Every one including the lawyers,police and others who testified before the court said they don’t understand the judgement. One of the convicts father, Mr. Olowookere spoke to Mr.rights about his son’s ordeal. According to him, ‘’my son (segun) was not in town on the day the theft took place, he went to Ila- Orangun, a nearby town. Contrary to the false claim, my son was never arrested along with those at the crime scene. He was arrested a day after the crime in my house at about 8:30 a.m. Police wrote a false statement and forced them to accept guilt after torture. A day before his arrest, the police came to where they were playing table tennis and all the boys there ran away including my son, but the police grabbed one of them and took him to their van. I was sitting in my shop not far away from there. it seems there was a boy in the police van who said the boy grabbed wasn’t the one they were looking for, so he was released. The boy came back to inform me that it was my son (Segun) they were looking for and when my son came back, I asked what he has done this time that the police were looking for him, but he assured me he did nothing. Knowing that my son is a very strong headed and stubborn boy who usually engage in fights, I gave him some money to go back to Ila-Orangun where he just returned yesterday until things get settled, but he refused. He insisted he never did anything wrong to anyone and I let him be. He doesn’t lie. Mr. Olowookere said When the police came back the next morning, he followed them willingly, hoping that his innocence in whatever accusation would be proven, but since that day he was taken away by the police, he never returned home. Its 2010. he said. The police who came to arrest him informed us that, some boys stole fowl in a poultry and they were caught and after interrogation, they mentioned my son’s name as their friend and that they had once went to steal in one Alhaja Umani Oyewo’s house. So, they came to arrest him on that basis,not because he was part of those who went to steal the fowl. ‘’But my son don’t steal, he has never been to a police station. He was just 16years old as at then, now he his 20. Mr. Olowookere explained that, Segun was taken to the Okuku police station and he later went there to bail him since he his sure his won doesn’t steals, but upon getting there, he meet the police beating him brutally. According to him, ‘’They were hitting him with their gun boot in his chest brutally and I couldn’t watch my son treated in such a manner for doing nothing. I quickly came between them and him, questioning why a 16 year old innocent boy would be subjected to such a cruel treatment on mere allegation. The police didn’t stop, we engaged in serious verbal exchange and I was sent out of the station.’’ I went back the next day and meet the DPO to release my son, but the DPO said I have to pay N30,000.00, else, my son would rot in jail. He his innocent I responded, but the DPO is bent on taking the money. Mr. Olowookere said. Knowing how brutal they were treating him before I was sent away, I had no choice than look for the money. I raise N15,000.00 for bail, but the DPO insisted I must get 30,000 or my son would rot in jail. I couldn’t raise 30,000 and in about a week, I went to a friend doing politics who knew one of former Governor Olagunsoye oyinlola’s brother. He took me there and the former Governors brother asked someone to follow us to the station to get him released. Upon getting to the station, the DPO felt embarrassed and he told the person that the boys had been transferred to the head quarter in osogbo,but they were still in the station. The DPO quickly arranged a vehicle that took them to Osogbo that day, but before they did, they wrote false statement against him and the other convict and forced them to sign. It would interest you to know that, 7 people were arrested as a result of this incident, but the original thieves arrested at the crime scene had been released, but my son and the other convict who were merely alleged and couldn’t pay the N30,000 had been kept in prison since 2010. Mr. Olowookere noted that, Since 2010, my 16 year old son and the other boy had been kept in prison not because they committed any crime, and worse still, they are now sentenced to death for doing nothing. Adding that,nobody accused them of stealing anything,all the witnesses in court said my son didn’’t do anything. The court only rely on the false statement provided by the police in which they wrote and forced the children to sign, accepting guilt. Segun is my only son, I have been spending money since 2010 to get my son released since everyone said he his innocent, but the police had made things difficult. I need true justice, my son need true justice Olowokere said. Investigation by Mr.Rights also proved that, the two convicts are not part of those arrested at the crime scene,neither were they ever reported to have stolen anything. The convict father insisted that, the confession they were said to have made was in the statement written by the police on their behave which they were forced to sign. He wondered why the judge would rely on a police statement which all witness testify to the contrary. Mr. Balogun Taiwo, the police officer who made the arrest also informed Mr.Rights that the judgement was shocking. According to him, I testified before the court that these boys were not the boys I arrested. The boys I arrested had long been released. We only arrested these boys because their names were mentioned by the other one’s as their friend and that they had went to steal in one Alhaja Umani Oyewo house before. but even the Alhaja testify before the court that nobody stole from her house Mr. Balogun Taiwo said. The news report indicate that,prosecution team, led by the state Solicitor-General, Mrs Abiola Adewemimo, called six witnesses and tendered several exhibits during the prosecution. But investigation shows that, none of the six witnesses indicted the convict. The exhibit tendered were also never recovered from the convicts our investigation showed.