September 14, (THEWILL) – A Nigerian man sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia has been released after 20 years in prison.
Identified as Emmanuel Ihejirika, he was arrested in 2004 after swallowing 31 condom capsules containing 461 grams of heroin. Indonesian customs officials forced him to undergo x-rays at a Bali hospital, leading to his trial and initial life sentence in 2005. When Emmanuel’s case was appealed to a higher court, his life sentence was replaced with a death sentence by firing squad.
In 2014, his name appeared on a list of prisoners set for imminent execution. However, the execution was delayed after his Indonesian Bali lawyers, Robert Khuwana and Frans Hendra Winata, filed another appeal to the High Courts. His death sentence was however commuted to a 20-year prison term.
“With the appeal decision of 20 years in prison, Emmanuel, who has been in jail since 2004, can be freed in 2024”, Khuwana told RadarBali.com on 13th September 2021.
However, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Friday, said Ihejirika was released in December 2023 after his case was taken pro bono by a US-based Nigerian lawyer, Emmanuel Isha Ogebe.
NiDCOM in a statement issued on Friday, by its Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Gabriel Odu, said, “Several years back, a delegation from Nigeria, headed by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Ojo Madueke, which included Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, then a member of the House of Representatives, and former Chairman NDLEA, Mr Ipinmosho, among others, had visited Indonesian prisons to plead for clemency for 21 Nigerians on death row convicted for drug trafficking. Four of them have been executed along with an Indonesian and British citizen.
“Ogebe had approached Dabiri-Erewa for her intervention in Ihejirika’s case, which he believed to be a case of mistaken identity. He offered his services pro bono and pursued the matter up to the Supreme Court, resulting in Ihejirika being released in December.”
At a recent meeting with Ogebe in Washington, D.C., Dabiri-Erewa commended him for his selflessness and dedication.
Dabiri-Erewa reiterated that the penalty for drug trafficking in Indonesia is death and urged Nigerians to stay away from crime. She praised Ogebe for his pro bono efforts and commended the Nigerian Charge D’Affaires in Indonesia, Ms Patricia Alechenu, for her unwavering support.
In his remarks, Ogebe thanked Dabiri-Erewa for her continued support “right from her days as a member of the House of Representatives”. He described her as “a morale booster” for Nigerians in the Diaspora and pledged to continue collaborating with her and the NiDCOM team.
