22/11/2025
This was Chief Obafemi Awolowo on August 3, 1966, still in prison uniform. It was the day he was released from Calabar Prison after a pardon by the Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon-led Federal Government following his conviction for treasonable felony, conspiracy, and ill*gal importation of fir*arms.
Note that Chief Awolowo was convicted by Justice George Sodeinde Sowemimo in Lagos on September 11, 1963, and was taken from the court to Broad Street Prison in Lagos before being transferred to Calabar two days later.
It is rare for a person convicted of treason to be imprisoned in the same location where they were convicted or committed the cr1me.
For example, General Obasanjo was tried for treason in Jos and then transferred to Yola prison (although he was also pardoned, and evidence adduced at the Oputa Panel by Colonel Bello Fadile indicated that he was innocent).
This is a standard practice in Nigeria and abroad.
Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. . Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year, 2022. 21st Most Talked About Person in Africa, 2024.
