23 face execution, four serve life sentences as CJMR raises alarm over delayed appeals, disputed convictions
By Mustapha Ogunsakin
The Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR) has appealed to the governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states to urgently review the cases of 27 inmates, including 23 on death row, whose convictions it says raise serious questions about the reliability of the evidence against them.
The organisation said four other inmates were serving life sentences, while some of those facing execution had spent years awaiting the determination of their appeals or responses to their petitions for mercy.
In an open appeal to the five governors, CJMR’s Founder and Executive Director, Pastor Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi, said the organisation had submitted detailed case reports and certified court records to the respective state Attorneys-General but had yet to receive substantive responses to several petitions pursued since 2023. Some of the inmates, he said, had spent nearly 25 years in custody, while others had remained on death row for years amid unresolved questions about their convictions and prolonged delays in the appellate process.
Olujobi urged the governors to personally intervene, ensure that the petitions received timely consideration and explore appropriate avenues for justice and mercy. The 27 inmates whose cases have been reviewed are distributed across Oyo State (three), Osun (six), Ogun (six), Ekiti (nine) and Lagos (three).
CJMR said the cases emerged from complaints forwarded to it by custodial welfare officers after inmates pleaded for independent reviews of their convictions.
The organisation said it had received complaints involving 32 individuals in 19 cases, but had completed reviews of cases involving 27 inmates. The remaining five individuals were awaiting attention or the acquisition of court records required for an independent assessment.
The four inmates serving life sentences were convicted of kidnapping and rape, while the 23 on death row were convicted of offences including murder, armed robbery and ritual killings. “We recognise the gravity of these offences. However, the seriousness of an allegation must never replace the need for credible evidence,” Olujobi said, stressing that the organisation’s concern was whether the convictions rested on reliable evidence sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
He said CJMR’s previous interventions demonstrated the importance of reviewing questionable convictions and considering deserving cases for clemency.
In 2024, the organisation helped secure the release of two people who had spent 24 years in custody after their cases were examined by the Ogun State Attorney-General. In 2026, the Ogun State governor granted clemency to two other individuals whose cases CJMR had presented after they spent nine and 16 years on death row, respectively.
Nearly 25 years in custody
Highlighting individual cases, CJMR drew particular attention to Victor Akpoyibo, a police officer sentenced to death in Osun State in July 2010 for allegedly robbing a fellow police officer of ₦4,500 with an AK-47 rifle at Apomu on November 25, 2001.
According to the organisation, Akpoyibo was arrested the same day at Ikire Police Station while reporting for duty.
CJMR said its review of the case raised questions about the identification evidence, the absence of independent eyewitness corroboration, whether a missing police rifle had been established and the failure to recover the alleged proceeds of the robbery from him.
His appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed in 2014, after which he approached the Supreme Court. CJMR said information obtained while tracing the appeal indicated that the state had not filed its response. As of October 2026, the organisation said, Akpoyibo had spent nearly 25 years in custody.
It urged Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to ensure that the case received urgent attention, adding that the detailed grounds for its concerns had already been submitted to the state Ministry of Justice.
In Ekiti State, CJMR raised concerns over the convictions of Rashidat Abdul, her son, her niece and her husband, who were sentenced to death for the alleged murder of their landlord.
The organisation said its review raised questions about the convictions, including information pointing to another suspected perpetrator who, according to the complaint received, remained at large.
Rashidat reportedly died while awaiting justice. CJMR appealed for a careful review of the cases of her surviving relatives who remain in custody.
75-year-old man reportedly critically ill
In Ogun State, the organisation called for urgent attention to the case of Korede Odubela, reportedly aged 75, who was sentenced to death alongside another individual over the killing of his daughter.
According to the account submitted to CJMR, Odubela’s wife was discharged and acquitted, while a security guard allegedly implicated in the killing became the prosecution’s sole witness.
The wife has maintained her husband’s innocence and accused the security guard of responsibility for the killing. CJMR said its examination of the court records identified evidence relevant to the allegation.
The organisation added that it had been informed that Odubela was critically ill on death row, urging the authorities to consider his health, age and the questions surrounding his conviction.
In Oyo State, CJMR highlighted the case of Alao Tunde, who was sentenced to death for armed robbery but whose appeal was struck out because the court record was incomplete.
The organisation said he remained on death row without a substantive determination of his grounds of appeal, describing the situation as a serious obstacle to justice.
Appeals stalled for years
Beyond the individual cases, CJMR said its review had uncovered prolonged delays in the appellate process, with some inmates having spent approximately 15 years on death row without an appeal being pursued.
Others, it said, had appeals reportedly pending before the Court of Appeal for between five and eight years, while some had exhausted their appeals up to the Supreme Court.
The organisation also expressed concern that some inmates had lost confidence in further legal proceedings because of the costs involved and repeated affirmations of convictions they believed deserved closer scrutiny.
CJMR urged the governors to review the case files and supporting court records already submitted, address outstanding state responses contributing to delays, consider clemency where appropriate and communicate the status of each petition.
It also appealed to Nigerians at home and abroad to urge their respective governors to examine the cases and respond to the inmates’ pleas.
Olujobi said the campaign was peaceful and evidence-based, adding that the organisation remained willing to provide additional documentation required by the authorities.
Quoting Proverbs 31:8–9 and Proverbs 24:11–12, he called on the governors to defend the rights of those whose voices were rarely heard and to act where credible evidence raised concerns about possible injustice. “Every further delay is another portion of a human life that can never be restored,” he said.
He concluded by invoking the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
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