By Our Reporter
Emmanuel Ihejirika, a Nigerian sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia has been set free by authorities, after spending several years in prison .
Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, made the disclosure in a statement by the spokesperson of the organization, Gabriel Odu, on Friday.
She revealed that Ihejirika’s freedom was facilitated just as his case was taken up pro bono by a Nigerian lawyer based in Washington DC , Mr Emmanuel Isha Ogebe.
Dabiri-Erewa thanked Mr. Ogebe for his efforts through acts of selflessness and kindness in taking up the case.
It would be recalled that years back, a delegation from Nigeria, headed by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Ojo Madueke (late), which included Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa, then a member of the House of Representatives, former
Chairman NDLEA, Mr Ipinmosho, among others, had visited Indonesian prison to plead for clemency for 21 Nigerians when we’re on death row after being convicted for drug trafficking.
Four of the offenders were later executed along with an Indonesian and British national.
Mr Ogebe, based in the USA, had later approached Hon Dabiri-Erewa for her intervention and offered a pro bono services for Ihejirika, whose case appeared to be one of mistaken identity, and offered to follow the case through.
In the process, he succeeded, as he took the case up to the Supreme Court, and Ihejirika was finally released.
Hon Dabiri-Erewa seized the opportunity to state categorically that penalty for drug trafficking in Indonesia is death, warning that Nigerian citizens to should shun criminal activities.
The chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission appreciated Ogebe for his selflessness and the pro bono services he offered, while commending the steps taken by the Nigerian Charge D’Affaires in Indonesia, Ms Patricia Alechenu for her support.
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