The family of Bamidele Adeyemi, who was murdered in Abeokuta, Ogun State, six years ago, has urged Governor Dapo Abiodun to reject an application for state pardon filed on behalf of one of his killers, Ajayi Olayinka. Olayinka is currently serving a life sentence. The family’s plea was contained in a formal petition dated September 25, 2026, signed by the deceased’s sister, Oluwayemisi Adesanya, and submitted to the Office of the Executive Governor in Abeokuta.
According to the family, Bamidele, a father of two, was brutally murdered in 2020 during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. He was acting as a member of the local community security committee when Olayinka and his accomplices violently attacked him, stabbing him repeatedly with broken bottles and knives until he bled to death. The family stated that Bamidele was murdered in cold blood while lawfully carrying out community service aimed at enforcing health and safety protocols during a national emergency.
Olayinka and his co-defendant, Abayomi Oguntayo, were arrested, remanded, and subsequently prosecuted before the Ogun State High Court. In 2023, both defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment at the Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta after entering a plea bargain agreement that downgraded the initial charge of murder to voluntary manslaughter. However, Olayinka’s counsel argued in a letter requesting a state pardon that the killing was not premeditated, appealing to the governor to exercise his constitutional power of prerogative of mercy.
The family expressed deep outrage over the clemency request, describing the arguments contained in Olayinka’s petition as a misleading rewriting of the facts and a grave insult to the memory of the victim. They rejected claims by the defense counsel that the victim provoked the attack. The family stated that granting clemency to the convict would reopen unhealed wounds and compound the immense trauma they have endured since the tragic incident.
The family detailed the devastating domino effect the tragedy had on their household, stating that both of Bamidele’s parents developed severe medical complications brought on by deep depression and grief following their son’s murder, leading to their eventual deaths. 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.
Addressing claims in the clemency petition that Olayinka had demonstrated reform by obtaining a university degree from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) while serving his sentence, the family argued that academic achievements in prison should not commute a life sentence for a violent crime. They urged the governor to stand on the side of justice and the victims of violent crime by turning down the application for executive pardon.
The family emphasized that keeping the convict in custody serves as a necessary deterrent against street violence, lawlessness, and vigilante impunity in Ogun State. As of the time of filing this report, the Ogun State Ministry of Justice and the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy have yet to issue an official response regarding the pending clemency application.
Key points
- The family of Bamidele Adeyemi urges Governor Dapo Abiodun to reject the state pardon application filed on behalf of Ajayi Olayinka, who murdered Bamidele in 2020 and is serving a life sentence.
- Bamidele was brutally murdered in 2020 during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown while acting as a member of the local community security committee.
- The family argues that granting clemency to Olayinka would reopen unhealed wounds and compound the immense trauma they have endured since the tragic incident.
