Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM) says a Nigerian man, Emmanuel Ihejirika who had been sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia has been freed, after several years in prison . This was after his case was taken up pro bono by a Nigerian lawyer based in Washington DC , Mr Emmanuel Isha Ogebe.
At a meeting with Barrister Emmanuel Isha Ogebe in Washington DC, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa commended Mr Ogebe for his selflessness and kindness in taking up the case.
Several years back, a delegation from Nigeria, headed by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Ojo Madueke , which included Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa, then a member of the House of Representatives, former Chairman NDLEA, Mr Ipinmosho, among others, had visited Indonesian prison to plead for clemency for 21 Nigerians on death row convicted for drug trafficking. Four of them have been executed along with an Indonesian and British citizen.
A Nigerian lawyer Mr Emmanuel Isha Ogebe, based in the USA, had later approached Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa for her intervention and offered pro bono services for Ihejirika, whose case appeared to be one of mistaken identity, and offered to follow the case through.
He succeded , as he took the case up to the Supreme Court, and Ihejirika was finally let off the hook in December.
Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa re-emphasised that penalty for drug trafficking in Indonesia is death adding that Nigerians should stay away from crime.
She therefore, commended Barrister Emmanuel Isha Ogebe for his selflessness and kindness for the pro bono services.
The NIDCOM Boss also praised the efforts of the Nigerian Charge D'Affaires in Indonesia Ms Patricia Alechenu for her unwavering support.
Barrister Emmnauel Isha Ogebe, in his remarks, thanked Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa for her prompt intervention in cases relating to Nigerians in Diaspora right from her days as a member of the House of Representatives.
He described her as “ a morale booster “ for Nigerians in Diaspora.
He pledged to continue to work with Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa and the NiDCOM team.
Chronology Of His Journey To Prison ( Earlier Report Of His Sentence)
Life Death Sentence Commuted to 20 Years
A 31-year-old Sierra Leone man, Emmanuel O Ihejirika, convicted in Bali in 2004 of trying to smuggle 461 grams of heroin concealed in his alimentary tract, has seen his death sentence commuted to a 20-year prison sentence.
In 2004, Emmanuel swallowed 31 condom capsules weighing 461 grams containing heroin. Custom officials compelled the man to undergo x-rays at a Bali hospital resulting in a trial and a life sentence in 2005.
When that sentence was appealed to a higher court, Emmanuel’s life sentence was changed to the punishment of death before a firing squad.
In 2014, Emmanuel’s name was listed among a group of prisoners to be imminently executed. However, the execution was delayed when his Bali lawyers, Robert Khuwana and Frans Hendra Winata, filed another appeal to the High Courts.
Commenting on Monday, 13 September 2021, regarding Emmanuel’s commutation of sentence to 20 years in prison, Robert Khuwana told RadarBali.com: “With the appeal decision of 20 years in prison, Emmanuel, who has been in jail since 2004, can be freed in 2024.
Indonesia’s last executions before a firing squad saw four men shot in 2016, three of whom were foreign nationals. In 2015, 14 prisoners on death row were executed, including 12 foreigners and one Indonesian female.
Bali Nine
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, two of the notorious “Bali Nine,” were executed in 2015. A third, Tab Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018 while serving a life sentence. Renae Lawrence, the sole female among the “Bali Nine,” saw her life imprisonment commuted to 20 years in jail in 2006 and was released and returned to Australia in 2018. The remaining five “Bali Nine” are serving life terms for their crime.
Lindsay June Sandford
A 65-year old English woman, Lindsay June Sandford, has been on death row at Bali’s Kerobokan prison since 2012, after she was caught trying to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of cocaine into Bali and subsequently sentenced to death, on appeal, in early 2013