In a development that can be described as miraculous, the Indonesian government has released Emmanuel Ihejirika, a Nigerian who had been on death row in the country.
Ihejirika had been sentenced to death for drug trafficking and had spent several years in prison. His release comes years after Indonesia executed four Nigerians, an Indonesian, and a British citizen.
Gabriel Odu from the Public Relations Unit of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) issued a statement revealing that Ihejirika’s freedom was secured thanks to the efforts of Nigerian lawyer Emmanuel Isha Ogebe, based in Washington, DC.
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Ihejirika’s case drew significant attention after a Nigerian delegation, including former Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Madueke and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, then a member of the House of Representatives, intervened by visiting Indonesian prisons to seek clemency for Nigerians on death row.
The statement highlighted that Ogebe, who believed Ihejirika’s case was a case of mistaken identity, took up the cause and pursued it through the Indonesian Supreme Court.
As a result of Ogebe’s relentless efforts, Ihejirika was eventually released.
“Ogebe succeeded as he took the case up to the Supreme Court, and Ihejirika was finally let off the hook,” the statement concluded.
