A power generator dealer, Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, and two other Nigerian citizens have regained freedom after spending 26 years on death row at a correctional facility, following the intervention of Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti.

Igbojionu, who hails from Ikwuano Local Council of Abia State, was arrested in 1999 and sentenced to death in 2003 over allegations that he bought a stolen generator.

Presenting the released individuals to Governor Otti on Saturday, Simon Oshi, an indigene of Enugu State who facilitated the intervention, said he learnt of the case through a social media influencer, Olumide Ogunsanwo, popularly known as “Sea King”.

Oshi explained that he visited Kirikiri Prison alongside the influencer and a group of lawyers, where they discovered that Igbojionu was from Abia State. He said that after informing Governor Otti, the Governor verified the matter with the Attorney General of the state and took swift action to secure their release.

Receiving the freed individuals—Ogbonnaya Igbojionu, Olawale Adediji, and another inmate who could not join them on the journey to Abia—Governor Otti thanked Oshi and Ogunsanwo for their vigilance and persistence in the matter.

He also expressed gratitude to his Ogun State counterpart, Governor Dapo Abiodun, for his support in facilitating the release of the inmates. Otti assured the freed men of the state’s commitment to supporting their reintegration into society. He directed the Commissioner for Local Government and his counterpart in the Ministry of Power and Public Utilities to liaise with relevant departments to ensure the former inmates receive the help they need to bounce back to life.

Narrating his ordeal, Igbojionu explained that as a generator dealer, he bought a unit from one Segun Ajibade in 1999 and later sold it. Two weeks after the transaction, the seller returned with police officers who, according to Igbojionu, beat him and forced him to sign a written statement without reading it.

He was later arraigned and sentenced to death in 2003, spending 26 years in detention until his release in 2025. He thanked God for sparing his life and appreciated Governor Otti for his timely intervention.