I spent 26 years in jail for fighting mechanic – Ex-prisoner (Photo)

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 .p

“ 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 N 50, 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 .