On Wednesday morning, Taofeek Adeshina, a photographer known as Foto Nugget, shared a post on X stating, “The ex-convict pardoned by Governor Adeleke has been rearrested for stealing [a] TV.”
Adeshina’s post began with the assertion that some people do not deserve “kind-hearted parents”.
His choice of words, ‘The’ (an article indicating a specific ex-convict known to the public) and ‘kind-hearted parents’ (a reference to parenting) got social media users believing Adeshina was referring to Segun Olowookere, a young man convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to death by the Osun State High Court in 2014.
Social media users reacted to the post saying they read the news and saw it referred to Olowookere.
CLAIM: Fowl thief Segun Olowookere rearrested for stealing a TV set.
Adeshina’s original post
Reaction to X post
VERIFICATION: FIJ checked media reports on Wednesday and found that the convict they referred to was Sunday Omisakin, one of 12 inmates Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke pardoned on December 24, 2024.
Omisakin is accused of breaking into the house of resident Shittu Damilare in Osogbo, the capital city of Osun, on January 3, and stealing a television set worth N600,000.
READ MORE: UPDATED: Adeleke Finally Pardons ‘Fowl Thief’ Segun Olowookere
FIJ obtained a list of pardonees and found that Omisakin’s name was number 8 for outright pardon amongst those who committed simple offences.
RECOMMENDED FOR OUTRIGHT PARDON
S/NNAMENATURE OF OFFENCE1Olabomiji NurudeenSimple offence2Mustapha IsahSimple offence3Olalekan AbdullahiSimple offence4Ayomide OlojedeSimple offence5Akeem RaphaelSimple offence6Adeyemi AbiodunSimple offence7Oladipupo SegunSimple offence8Omisakin SundaySimple offence9Ademola AdioSimple offence10Tunde OlapadeSimple offence11Late Chief Wole Ola Rufus OjoSimple offence12Omoloye Olajide OlayemiSimple offence
Meanwhile, Olowookere was listed as number 2 among those who committed capital offences.
RECOMMENDED FOR OUTRIGHT PARDON FOR GOOD CONDUCT
S/NNAMENATURE OF OFFENCE1Sunday MorakinyoCapital offence2Segun OlowookereCapital offence3Tunde OlapadeCapital offence4Demola OdeyemiCapital offence
After Olowookere’s November 2010 arrest and eventual imprisonment, he stayed on death row until late 2024 when videos of his parents appealing to the government began circulating.
Adeleke then demanded an investigation into the process that led to Olowookere’s incarceration and then granted him a pardon.
CONCLUSION: The wording of the post and the eventual reaction suggest the narrative deviated from the news story.
VERDICT: Misleading.
The post FACT-CHECK: Did Osun Ex-Convict, Whose Parents Begged for Gov’s Pardon, Get Rearrested for Stealing TV? appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.