The family of Bamidele Adeyemi, who was killed in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, has appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun not to grant executive clemency to Ajayi Olayinka, one of the men serving a life sentence over his death. Bamidele was a member of the local community security committee when he was attacked and killed. His family has petitioned the governor, urging him to allow the judgment of the court to stand.
According to the family, Bamidele was performing his duties as a community security committee member when he was attacked by Olayinka and his accomplice, Oguntayo Ayobami, with broken bottles and knives. The two men were prosecuted before the Ogun State High Court in Sagamu Judicial Division. The case initially involved a murder charge but was later resolved through a plea-bargain arrangement, resulting in the defendants being sentenced to life imprisonment.
The judgment delivered by Justice P.F. Oduniyi on June 19, 2023, shows that the prosecution and the two defendants entered into a plea-bargain agreement on April 20, 2023. Under the agreement, the defendants agreed to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. The court subsequently granted the application to amend the information, and the defendants pleaded guilty to the manslaughter counts.
However, Olayinka, through his counsel, applied for a state pardon in a letter dated February 21, 2025, arguing that the killing was not premeditated. His lawyer appealed to Governor Abiodun to exercise his constitutional power of prerogative of mercy to secure Olayinka's release. This development has distressed Bamidele's family, who rejected the argument that the circumstances surrounding the killing justified clemency.
The family disputed the suggestion in the clemency application that Bamidele had provoked the attack. They stated that the consequences of Bamidele's death have extended far beyond the loss of a son, brother, and father. Bamidele's parents suffered serious health complications amid the grief and subsequently died. His mother died in 2025, and his father in 2026.
Bamidele left behind a helpless widow, a daughter who was 10 at the time and is now 16, and a son who was barely eight months old when his father was slain. The family also reacted to the argument that Olayinka had demonstrated rehabilitation while in prison by obtaining a university degree from the National Open University of Nigeria. They said educational achievement in custody could not erase the consequences of the death or restore the life that was lost.
The bereaved family therefore appealed to Governor Abiodun to reject the request for clemency, saying that granting a pardon would not only deepen their pain but also undermine the significance of the court's judgment. The family urged the governor to allow the judgment of the court to stand, as any pardon would reopen wounds that have remained painful for six years.
Key points
- The family of Bamidele Adeyemi urges Governor Dapo Abiodun not to grant clemency to Ajayi Olayinka, one of the men serving a life sentence for his death.
- Bamidele was killed in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown while performing his duties as a community security committee member.
- Olayinka's lawyer argued that the killing was not premeditated and appealed for clemency, which the family strongly opposed.
