A former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Oyo state, Mr Seun Abimbola has revealed why former governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, granted amnesty to Yewande Oyediran, a lawyer sentenced to seven years in prison for stabbing her husband to death.
Yewande was convicted in November 2017 for stabbing her husband to death on February 2, 2016 over a disagreement they had at their Akobo residence in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. She was granted clemency after serving 2 out of the 7 year sentence.
According to the former Attorney General of the State, the amnesty granted to Yewande was within the constitution.
“The committee is chaired by the attorney-general and also has DSS officers, the police, the chaplain and the chief imam of the Government House, Legal Aid Council; Director, Legal Affairs; the Solicitor-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions as members. So, it was not an arbitrary decision.
“The lady in question is just one out of 50 who were pardoned. And the 50 who were pardoned were drawn out of 400 who were considered. So, she was not singled out as some are insinuating. Even the prisons authorities brought recommendations on the good behaviour of those pardoned”.
He added that Yewandee had already served nine months in prison in addition to the 2 years she served on getting sentenced.
“She was arrested in 2016 and her sentence started reading from the day she was arrested. A year in prison is nine months. She was not convicted of murder but of manslaughter. It was a fight between a husband and a wife, which resulted in death.
“People should stop saying she killed her husband as if it was premeditated. The amnesty was not a secret one. We did it every May 29 and even the new governor pardoned convicts on June 12″ he added.
