The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ogun State, Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN, has strongly refuted recent viral reports claiming that Ogbonna Ogbojionu, a recently released prison inmate, was wrongfully convicted over two decades ago for purchasing a stolen generator.
In a detailed press statement issued on Wednesday, Ogungbade described the viral narrative as “entirely false,” clarifying that Ogbonna was convicted for a violent armed robbery that led to the death of a security guard, not for the innocuous act of buying a stolen item.
According to the Attorney-General, Ogbonna was found guilty and sentenced to death by the Ogun State High Court on January 14, 2003, for his role in a brutal robbery that occurred on October 3, 2000, at the ELF petrol station along the Abeokuta-Lagos expressway. The robbery resulted in the theft of a 10 KVA Lister generator and the death of one of the station’s security guards, Moses Bankole.
Ogungbade revealed that Ogbonna, a generator technician, was part of a gang that attacked the filling station late at night, used iron rods to assault two guards—killing one and seriously injuring the other—and made away with the generator. He further disclosed that Ogbonna was arrested days later in a vehicle attempting to conceal the stolen generator under bags of pure water and firewood, alongside two accomplices.
After initially escaping from Police detention, Ogbonna was rearrested and led investigators to the individual who bought the stolen generator from him. The buyer, Ali Rihan, returned the generator to the Police and testified against Ogbonna during the trial. The Attorney-General emphasized that Ogbonna made two confessional statements, which were admitted in court without objection.
“The prosecution called eleven witnesses. Ogbonna and his co-defendants called none. Instead, they chose to rest their case on the prosecution’s evidence, effectively conceding the facts while hoping for an acquittal. The court rightly convicted them,” Ogungbade said.
The Attorney-General also addressed the 2021 commutation of Ogbonna’s death sentence to life imprisonment by Governor Dapo Abiodun, as well as his release in 2025 under the Governor’s prerogative of mercy to mark Democracy Day. Ogungbade clarified that such mercy is not a right, but a discretionary act guided by clear criteria, including remorse, conduct in prison, and likelihood of reintegration.
He contrasted Ogbonna’s post-release behavior—described as dishonest and misleading—with that of a co-defendant, Segun Ajibade, who was pardoned in 2016 and has allegedly lived a quiet life since then.
“Ongoing efforts to portray Ogbonna as a victim only re-traumatize the real victims of his crime, especially the family of Moses Bankole, who died in the attack,” Ogungbade warned.
He concluded by urging Ogbonna to embrace his freedom with humility and refrain from spreading falsehoods that distort the record of his conviction.
“Ogbonna was not a victim. He was an active participant in an armed robbery that led to the death of an innocent man. The public is hereby reminded of the truth,” the statement read.