Independence Day: Adeleke grants amnesty to 36 convicts
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has granted amnesty to 36 convicts serving various sentences in the state’s correctional facilities.
According to a statement signed by the Governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, on Wednesday, the gesture, made to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, was in line with the powers conferred on the Governor under Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended), following the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.
In a proclamation signed under his hand and the Public Seal of Osun State on September 24, 2025, Adeleke granted amnesty to the convicted persons who are subject to the jurisdiction of Osun State and ordered that all penalties and punishments standing against them be remitted.
The statement reads: “NOW KNOW YE THAT I, Senator (Dr.) Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, the Governor of Osun State of Nigeria, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Paragraph (a) Subsection (1) of Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), and acting in accordance with the Advisory Council of State designated under Subsection (2) of the said Section, am graciously pleased to extend my mercy to the said thirty-six (36) convicts. By this act, I remit and release unto them all pains, penalties, and punishments whatsoever that may have accrued from their convictions, and I hereby require all to whom it may concern to take due notice thereof. AND FOR SO DOING, this shall be a sufficient warrant. Given under my hand and the Public Seal of Osun State, Nigeria, this 24th day of September, 2025.”
The beneficiaries, drawn from the Nigerian Correctional Service centres in Ilesa and Ile-Ife, were men and women convicted mostly of minor offences such as stealing and conspiracy, many of whom had already served substantial parts of their prison terms.
From the Ilesa facility, those pardoned include Kehinde Ganiyu, Isiaka Mohammed, Oluwatosin Femi, Adebisi Adeniyi, Rotimi Paul, Oyewole Sunday, Ojo Adewale, Tajudeen Ridwan, Jokotola Quadri, Akinola Taofeek, Onibukun Adebisi, Azeez Afeez, Abdulgafar Quadri, Udoh Monday O., Babawale Saheed, Olasunkanmi Wasiu, Adetoro Toheeb, Mudashiru Lawal, Ismaila Wahab, Yinka Oyeniyi, Olaniyan Taofeek, Sheu Mumini, Ololade Bashit, Musibau Abdulkareem, Jamiu Sulaeeb, Jeremiah Ayuba, Abimbola Samad, Oladeji Tosin, and Mathew Samuel.
From the Ile-Ife centre, the amnesty covers Yusuf Ola, Oyedeji Sunday, Ojo Olaoluwa, Ogunola Rafiu, Ayomide Amos, Usman Adefisan, and Adedigba Abiodun.
The Governor added that the decision reflects the spirit of compassion, justice, and renewal which Nigeria’s Independence Day represents.
