Ogun Government Denies Claims Ogbonna Was Wrongfully Jailed Over Stolen Generator

The Ogun State Government has debunked recent media reports suggesting that Ogbojionu Ogbonna, a recently released inmate, was wrongly imprisoned for over 20 years simply for purchasing a stolen generator.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN, the government clarified that Ogbonna was actually convicted for armed robbery—not for buying a stolen item as widely reported.

Describing the circulating narrative as “entirely fabricated and a tissue of lies,” Ogungbade stated that Ogbonna was sentenced to death on January 14, 2003, by the Ogun State High Court. However, in June 2021, Governor Dapo Abiodun commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment through the exercise of the prerogative of mercy.

Ogbonna’s eventual release came in 2025 when he was among several inmates granted clemency by Governor Abiodun as part of activities to mark Democracy Day.

The state government emphasized that contrary to reports involving a man named Segun Ajibade—allegedly the real thief who was pardoned in 2016—there was no evidence linking the two cases or supporting claims that Ogbonna was wrongly imprisoned.