15/07/2026
AN OPEN MERCY PETITION FOR FIVE FORGOTTEN DEATH-ROW INMATES IN OSUN STATE
To the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Osun State
Ministry of Justice, Osogbo, Osun State
Dear Honourable Attorney General,
A RENEWED APPEAL FOR THE URGENT REVIEW OF FOUR DEATH-ROW CASES INVOLVING FIVE LONG-TERM INMATES
The Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR) respectfully renews its appeal concerning four death-row cases involving five inmates whose continued incarceration raises serious questions of justice, fairness, institutional delay, and mercy.
As you are aware, CJMR is a nonprofit justice-advocacy organisation committed to reviewing possible cases of wrongful conviction, facilitating legal intervention for indigent prisoners, supporting deserving mercy petitions, and helping former inmates through rehabilitation and reintegration.
Honourable Attorney General, we attach great respect to you personally and to the important office you occupy as the Chief Law Officer of Osun State.
You have always been pleasant and gracious toward us. We know how busy your office is, and we understand how demanding the justice system can be. We also believe that you hate injustice. We therefore appeal to you to demonstrate that conviction in the public interest by giving these cases the urgent attention they deserve.
CJMR has appealed to your office concerning these inmates since 2023. In April 2026, we personally visited your office and again requested a review. We have already supplied the relevant records and our analyses. Yet, we have not received a substantive response, while five men remain under sentence of death.
1. Mr. Victor Akpoyibo — Approximately 25 Years in Custody
Mr. Victor Akpoyibo was arrested in November 2001 and sentenced to death in 2010. His appeal failed at the Court of Appeal in 2014, after which he approached the Supreme Court.
More than a decade later, the appeal has reportedly remained inactive because the necessary response or legal process from the state has not been completed. He remains on death row, not because the Supreme Court has finally determined his case, but because the process has not moved forward.
Honourable Attorney General, should a man continue to face death because the state has failed to respond to his appeal for more than ten years? The prisoner should not bear the consequences of institutional silence.
2. Mr. Richard Adesanmi — More Than 19 Years in Custody
Mr. Richard Adesanmi was arrested in June 2007 and convicted in 2013. His appeal was dismissed in 2017, yet serious concerns remain regarding the evidence relied upon, the circumstances of his arrest and prosecution, and the overall safety of his conviction.
After more than 19 years in custody, justice and humanity demand that his case be examined afresh. The dismissal of an appeal does not prevent the executive arm from reviewing an exceptional case under the constitutional power of mercy.
3. Mr. Ayuba Ibrahim — Appeal Pending Since 2020
Mr. Ayuba Ibrahim’s appeal has reportedly remained pending before the Court of Appeal since 2020 without the necessary response from the state. While the appeal remains unresolved, he continues to languish under sentence of death.
A pending appeal should provide a pathway toward justice. It should not become another form of indefinite punishment.
4. Monday and Imole Sode — Two Brothers Sentenced to Death
Monday and Imole Sode, two brothers from the same parents, were convicted and sentenced to death on allegations of armed robbery and murder.
Our review of the evidence and circumstances surrounding their conviction raises serious questions that deserve an independent and compassionate examination.
Their prolonged incarceration has brought immeasurable suffering upon an entire family.
Why We Are Communicating This Petition Openly
It has become necessary to communicate this mercy petition openly, not to embarrass your office, undermine your authority, or disrespect the Government of Osun State. We are doing so because our private appeals have not produced the urgently needed review, while the lives of these men remain suspended.
We hope that members of the public who are lovers of Justice who encounter this petition will respectfully remind your office to create time to review the mercy petitions of those who may genuinely deserve reconsideration.
An open petition is not an attack; it is a cry for attention on behalf of people who can no longer speak effectively for themselves.
You already have the relevant facts, case materials, and CJMR analyses before you for further review.
Our Respectful Requests
We respectfully appeal to your office to:
1. Independently review the complete records of the four cases involving five inmates;
2. Determine the present status of the appeals filed by Mr. Victor Akpoyibo and Mr. Ayuba Ibrahim;
3. Ensure that every outstanding response or legal process required from Osun State is filed without further delay;
4. Consider the evidential contradictions, prolonged incarceration, age, health, conduct, rehabilitation, and individual circumstances of each inmate;
5. Visit Mr. Victor Akpoyibo and Mr. Richard Adesanmi personally, or direct senior representatives of the Ministry of Justice to visit them in custody and assess their present health conditions;
6. Present every deserving case before the Osun State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy; and
7. Establish a regular and transparent process for reviewing mercy petitions and the cases of long-term and death-row inmates connected with Osun State.
CJMR has already provided everything your office needs for a meaningful preliminary assessment of each case.
Osun State Should Emulate Ogun State
We respectfully recommend that Osun State emulate the consistent approach of Ogun State toward mercy petitions, prison decongestion, and the review of long-term inmates. During the 2026 Democracy Day celebration, the Governor of Ogun State granted clemency to 81 inmates. Ogun State has consistently carried out mercy reviews around Democracy Day, while its Chief Judge also visits correctional centres regularly and conducts jail-delivery exercises.
This is not merely an act of political generosity. The Governor’s power to grant pardon, respite, substitution of punishment, or remission of sentence is expressly recognised under Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, after consultation with the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy.
A case file may reveal the history of a conviction, but a prison visit reveals the present condition of the human being whose life is contained in that file. We therefore particularly appeal for a visit to Mr. Victor Akpoyibo and Mr. Richard Adesanmi.
A Moral and Spiritual Responsibility
“Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, ‘Look, we didn’t know.’ For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.”
— Proverbs 24:11–12, NLT
We believe that God answers prayer when we pay attention to the cries of those who may have been unjustly sentenced to death. We cannot ask God for mercy while remaining indifferent to people whose petitions for mercy have remained unheard.
“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7, NLT
Honourable Attorney General, history will remember not only the cases prosecuted by a Ministry of Justice, but also the lives restored when that same ministry discovered that further review, compassion, or mercy was required.
These inmates are not merely names in old files. They are human beings whose lives remain under the shadow of death. A single careful review may prevent an irreversible injustice.
We respectfully look forward to your positive intervention and an opportunity to present any further clarification your office may require.
Please accept, Honourable Attorney General, the assurances of our highest esteem.
Pastor Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi
Executive Director
Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation — CJMR
Ibadan, Nigeria
