A former inmate of the Kirikiri Maximum Prison , Jide Odusanya , has asked people to control their tempers , saying anger landed him in prison .
The Sagamu , Ogun State indigene , who spent 26 years in three different prisons in the country before he was pardoned by the Lagos State Government , said a fight over water spillage destroyed his dream of becoming a bank manager .
He spoke on Tuesday at a conference organised by the Prison and Hospital Ministry of the Redeemed Christian Church of God at the Ogun Province 4 Headquarters, Redemption Camp , Ogun State .
Odusanya had testified along with two others at the event , tagged, ‘From Hopelessness to Glory,’ saying he was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit .
The 57 -year -old , who is unmarried , said his ordeal started in June 1991 when he fought a mechanic in the Ebute -Meta area of Lagos State where he lived with his parents .
He said , “The mechanic usually came to fetch water in my father ’s house and I told him to always lock the tap when he was done . This was because my room ’s window was close to the tap and when water spilled on the floor , it bred mosquitoes which entered my room.
“But that day , he asked why I would talk to him in such a manner . He pushed me . I was angry and slapped him , which started a fight . The younger brother of one of my friends came to visit me that period.
“Instead of separating the fight , the boy took a flaming wood and smashed it on the mechanic ’s head . The mechanic hit his head on the ground and sustained some injuries . The boy and I were arrested and detained at the Iponri Police Station for causing grievous bodily harm .
“The injured mechanic ’ s uncle, who was an army officer , said he was interested in the case . It was during the military regime. We were transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba .”
Odusanya said at the SCIID , the police changed the case to armed robbery after the Investigating Police Officer visited his house and found a knife which he used to cut loaves of bread .
He noted that he and the co - accused were arraigned for armed robbery in a magistrate court and were remanded in the Ikoyi Prison , where they spent seven years without trial .
“After seven years , legal advice said I had a case to answer, while the boy was discharged and acquitted . I was moved from the Ikoyi Prison to the Kirikiri Maximum Prison .
“I was taken to a court at Igbosere where I was sentenced to death based on the knife evidence . I was on death row for three years before former Lagos Governor , Bola Tinubu , converted it to life imprisonment on December 31 , 2001 .
“I spent 16 years in life imprisonment . At some points , I was taken to the Ibara Prison in Ogun State and would have been released by the then Governor of the state , Gbenga Daniel , who asked to see my file . But the prison authorities did not send the file to him .
“After eight years at Ibara Prison , I was returned to the Kirikiri Prison . I was considered for pardon by the Lagos State Government and was released in June 2017, ” he added .
Odusanya said upon his release , he met his nurse girlfriend , whom he was engaged to before the incident , adding that she was already married with five children.
He noted that his father and mother died while he was in prison .
He said during counselling , some church workers assisted him to connect with a relative who worked with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, adding that the relative thought he ( Odusanya ) was dead .
The ex-convict lamented the condition of Nigerian prisons , saying many inmates became hardened after going through the system .
“The prisons are not reforming anybody . Those who make the difference in our prisons are the non -governmental organisations and churches . Anybody that comes out of prison and changes , God must have been involved . Most often , criminals become hardened after passing through the prison .
“I became a born -again Christian in prison due to the visitations of some churches like the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries , led by Dr D .K. Olukoya ; Pastor Tunde Bakare ’s Latter Rain Assembly and the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Pastor E .A. Adeboye ’s visits to prisons every two years and his ministrations give people like us hope.
“I made my O ’level credits in prison and gained admission into the National Open University of Nigeria where I started studying Cooperative Management . I am now in 200 level. The challenge I have is that after I was released from prison , the school withdrew a scholarship it gave me . I have been running around to raise the school fees of N50 ,500 to no avail ,” he added .
Odusanya urged Nigerians to refrain from arguments that could make them misbehave , adding that he also believed that some malevolent forces might have had a hand in his ordeal .
Asked his plans about marriage, he said he was not bothered because he believed God had plans for everyone .
The Chairman of the RCCG Prison and Hospital Ministry , Pastor Ariyo Popoola, appealed to the government to provide conducive environment for the youths to thrive and increase employment opportunities to reduce crime in the country .
He also urged young people to take advantage of various empowerment programmes to become responsible members of society.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police , Edgal Imohimi , who was represented at the event by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti , in a presentation , asked Nigerians to always be security conscious and avoid giving out too much personal information on the social media .
Copyright PUNCH .

This story wowow ohhhhh and not good at all

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awa:
This story wowow ohhhhh and not good at all

Nonsense! This man not supposed spend more than 2yrs in prison.

What a story! Did the mechanic die?

Ever since I fractured my bone during a brawl with some drunk guys and I end up in Igbobi with cast on my body for about 2 months, I've learned to be careful and never engage anyone no matter what.

I always wish i could get the power to be invisible and won't have to deal with anyone physically, cos people yapa for that orthopedic hospital mehn.

That's why don't fight. but I won't hesitate to defend myself

Lesson learnt! Anger is non productive.