89-year-old Man, Son Face Death For Another Son’s Offence In Imo

At a time when parents take pride in their children’s accomplishments, 89-year-old Pa Everestus Okereke of Imo State faces a painful twist of fate. In this report, ANGELA NKWO-AKPOLU  tells the poignant story of an elderly father languishing in prison and facing the grim prospect of death by hanging alongside his eldest son, Ugochukwu.

At 89, when life should be about rest, family and the comfort of old age, Pa Everestus Okereke is instead confronted with the agonising prospect of losing his life and that of his eldest son, Ugochukwu Iwueke, to the hangman’s noose at the Owerri Correctional Centre.

Their ordeal stems from an offence allegedly committed by another son who reportedly fled, leaving the elderly father and his eldest son caught in a legal battle that could end in their execution. For Pa Okereke, the fear of dying alongside another of his innocent son  is a tragedy that only a miracle may avert.

He hails from Umuoparañuruba, Umuoparaebo – Umukaku, in the Ihitte Uboma local government area of Imo State.

In 2006, his younger son got into a fight with another person and inflicted wounds on him. By the time people could separate them and stop the fisticuffs, one person was battling to stay alive but died en route to the hospital.

Ugochukwu Iwueke, his elder son, knowing the implications of the fight and the subsequent death of the deceased, rushed to the police station to alert security operatives.

However, the police operatives on duty told Ugochukwu to remain at the station for his own safety and warned that irate neighbours might decide to attack the house and its occupants, saying he would be safer with them.

Soon, the police returned to arrest the young Iwueke over the presumed death of the deceased but found that he was absent. He had fled, and to this day, nobody knows his whereabouts.

The grieving family, however, had to be assuaged, so the police picked up his father, then 79-year-old Pa Okereke, and took him to the police station. He joined his eldest son, Ugochukwu, who had sought refuge at the station from irate youths, and that marked the beginning of their detention.

The trial magistrate in the Ihitte-Uboma division ordered their remand at the Okigwe Correctional Centre because the court lacked jurisdiction to handle the case, whether for manslaughter or murder, while the file was sent to the director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.

Soon afterwards, the matter was brought before a competent High Court, where Justice V.C. Ishiguzo of the Etiti/Mbano High Court ordered their conviction by hanging. The court found both men guilty and sentenced them to death by hanging.

Efforts by their family to overturn the verdict at the Court of Appeal proved abortive, as the judges upheld the decision of the lower court.

Now frail due to age and his living conditions at the Owerri Correctional Centre, Pa Okereke is seeking to return to the comfort of his home and the company of his kinsmen, popularly known as Umunna.

Under Nigerian law, the Controller-general of the Nigerian Correctional Service cannot release the octogenarian but can only recommend that the state governor or the President grant him a prerogative of mercy.

As convicted inmates awaiting execution, Pa Okereke and his son have restricted access to visitors, including public-spirited Nigerians who wish to intervene in the matter.

He does not even know whether his wife, who suffers from age-related ailments, is still alive or has died from the trauma of losing her husband and son to the Owerri correctional centre.

He no longer remembers the faces of his grandchildren, who cannot visit him because they are minors and the law forbids their entry into correctional centres.

His Umunna have since stopped visiting him, possibly due to shame or the high cost of transportation from his hometown in Ihitte-Uboma local government area.

Most of his age-mates who understand the case have died, while the others are grappling with age-related complications.

Only recently, Evangelist Christian Chuka held an outreach programme inside the Owerri Correctional Centre and highlighted Okereke’s plight.

The cleric had warned of severe consequences for Imo State if the octogenarian was left to die in custody.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed that, following the visuals aired on the national television station Arise Television, the State director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had visited the Owerri Correctional Centre to interview Pa Everestus and his son, Ugochukwu. The DPP had also briefed the State Attorney-General.

An Owerri-based lawyer, Chinedu Agu, said that although they had been convicted by a State High Court, the case could be revisited by filing an appeal at the Supreme Court, saying, “No other remedy apart from going to the Supreme Court.”

“But the Governor can rely on his constitutional powers to grant a pardon, and then grant the man a pardon, especially given his age and how long he has spent in detention,” Agu posited.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the story of Pa Everestus was deeply troubling and demanded urgent attention from the state government.

He said there were troubling allegations about their arrests and convictions if these were based on a crime committed by another person, though linked to the family.

Nwanguma said, “The reported case of 89-year-old Pa Everestus Okereke and his son, Ugochukwu, is deeply troubling and deserves urgent attention from the Imo State Government and the relevant justice institutions.

Nwangumma further said , “We understand that the two men have spent about a decade in custody and were eventually sentenced to death. There are also disturbing allegations that their arrest are from an incident involving another son who reportedly fled after a fatal altercation.

“RULAAC would want the full facts and court records examined before making a definitive pronouncement on the merits of their conviction. Criminal responsibility is personal, and nobody should be arrested, prosecuted or punished merely because the actual suspect is unavailable or because of his relationship with an alleged offender.

“At the same time, an 89-year-old man who has already spent approximately ten years in custody and is now under sentence of death presents an exceptionally compelling humanitarian case.”

Furthermore, he called on the Imo State Governor and the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy to urgently review the case and exercise the prerogative of mercy in favour of the octogenarian and his incarcerated son.

Nwanguma said, “We therefore appeal to Governor Hope Uzodimma and the Imo State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy to urgently review the case. If there are no outstanding legal impediments, we would urge the Governor to exercise the constitutional prerogative of mercy by granting Pa Okereke a pardon or commuting his sentence and facilitating his release.

“We equally call for a review of his son’s case, particularly the evidence upon which he was convicted and the status of any appeals.

“This is not about trivialising the death that gave rise to the criminal proceedings or disregarding the rights of the deceased’s family. It is about ensuring that justice is individualised, proportionate and tempered with humanity.

“At 89, after about a decade behind bars, keeping Pa Okereke on death row serves little discernible corrective or rehabilitative purpose. The Imo State Government should act urgently and humanely,” Nwanguma said.

For Pa Everestus and his son, Ugochukwu, their fate lies in the hands of the Imo State Government, which must decide whether to revisit the case, consider the octogenarian’s age and let him walk free, or allow the execution to take place. Fortunately, no Imo State Governor has appended his signature to approve the execution of any convicted person, no matter how weighty the crime was. Only the days ahead hold the answers to their fate.