Ogun family urges governor to reject pardon for convicted killer

The family of Bamidele Adeyemi has appealed to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun to reject an application for state pardon filed on behalf of Ajayi Olayinka, who is serving a life sentence over Adeyemi’s death. The appeal was contained in a petition dated 25 September 2026 and signed by Adeyemi’s sister, Oluwayemisi Adesanya. The family urged the governor to uphold the court’s judgment and allow the sentence to continue.

According to the petition, Adeyemi was killed in Abeokuta in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown. The family said he was serving on a community security committee and had refused to reopen a restricted gate in the Onikolobo area. It alleged that Olayinka and others attacked Adeyemi with broken bottles and knives.

Olayinka and co-defendant Abayomi Oguntayo were later prosecuted before the Ogun State High Court. The defendants entered a plea bargain that reduced the original murder charge to voluntary manslaughter. In 2023, both were sentenced to life imprisonment at Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta.

Olayinka’s lawyer wrote to the governor on 21 February 2025, arguing that the killing was not premeditated and asking for the exercise of executive clemency. The lawyer also cited Olayinka’s university degree, obtained through the National Open University of Nigeria while in custody. The family rejected those arguments, saying rehabilitation could not restore Adeyemi’s life.

It said Adeyemi’s parents later died after suffering severe depression and illness, and that he left a widow and two children. The Ogun State Ministry of Justice and the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy had not issued a response when the report was filed.