The Osun State Government has debunked reports circulating online that Governor Ademola Adeleke granted state pardon to a convicted murderer, describing the claim as fake, misleading, and mischievous.
In a statement released on Saturday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, and made available on the official government portal osunstate.gov.ng, the government clarified that the governor’s recent exercise of clemency covered 36 inmates convicted of minor offences, not murder.
According to the statement, the false report titled “Osun: Adeleke pardons suspected murderer who confessed to slitting friend’s throat for money ritual” and published by an online platform, Insight Links, was “a hatchet job calculated to misinform the public and malign the image of Governor Adeleke.”
Alimi explained that Governor Adeleke’s decision was based on a formal recommendation from the Osun State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, which contained a list of inmates eligible for pardon as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.
He said, “How on earth could Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is in tune with the yearnings and expectations of the people, have gone the whole hog in granting a pardon to a condemned criminal of Kehinde Ganiyu’s standing if it had been poignantly stated in the said letter that the released person was a condemned criminal?”
Alimi further stated that the controversial inmate, Kehinde Ganiyu, was convicted for stealing and not murder, as alleged by the online report.
He added, “Kehinde Ganiyu, who was among the prisoners granted pardon, was convicted of stealing and not murder as contained in the list compiled by the correctional centres.”
He maintained that the governor acted in good faith and in line with the tradition of granting clemency on national occasions.
“Governor Ademola, with all sense of responsibility, acted in his official capacity as Chief Executive of Osun State in good faith, in line with the occasional show of clemency expected of his position, more so at such an occasion that coincided with Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary,” Alimi said.
The statement urged members of the public to disregard the false report and appealed for calm and understanding.
“We are, therefore, using this medium to appeal for calm, restraint, and understanding, particularly from members of the public, by dismissing such online news as fake and mischievous,” the commissioner added.
The Osun government also advised the platform behind the misleading publication to verify information properly before dissemination.
“We implore Insight Links, the purveyor of the said misleading and fake news, to always go the extra mile in verifying the authenticity of any story to avoid misrepresentation of facts, which could become a subject of litigation,” Alimi warned.
The government concluded by challenging any doubters to verify the amnesty list at the Ilesa and Ile-Ife Correctional Centres.
