The family of the late Bamidele Adeyemi, who was killed in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, has appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun not to grant executive clemency to one of the men serving a life sentence over his death.

The family’s appeal followed an application by one of the convicts, Ajayi Olayinka, seeking a state pardon and release from custody.

The family, in a petition dated September 25, 2026 and signed by Bamidele’s sister, Oluwayemisi Adesanya, urged the governor to allow the judgment of the court to stand, saying any pardon would reopen wounds that have remained painful for six years.

Bamidele, a father of two, was reportedly killed during the COVID-19 lockdown after he refused to unlawfully reopen a restricted community security gate in the Onikolobo area of Abeokuta.

According to the family, he was performing his duties as a member of the local community security committee when he was attacked.

The family said Olayinka and his accomplice, Oguntayo Ayobami, attacked Bamidele with broken bottles and knives, resulting in his death from the injuries sustained.

The two men were subsequently prosecuted before the Ogun State High Court in Sagamu Judicial Division in a case marked Suit No. AB/1C/2021.

According to the judgement, the case initially involved a murder charge but was later resolved through a plea-bargain arrangement.

According to the judgment delivered by Justice P.F. Oduniyi on June 19, 2023, the prosecution and the two defendants entered into a plea-bargain agreement on April 20, 2023.

Under the agreement, the defendants agreed to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, while the prosecution agreed to substitute the murder charge with manslaughter and accepted the proposed term of life imprisonment.

The court subsequently granted the application to amend the information.

The defendants, who elected to have their pleas taken in Yoruba, both pleaded guilty to the manslaughter counts.

Their counsel asked the court to temper justice with mercy and consider their ages in imposing punishment.

Justice Oduniyi, relying on the defendants’ guilty pleas and the applicable legal principle that a voluntary admission of guilt satisfies the required burden of proof, convicted both men on the two counts.

The court thereafter sentenced Ajayi Olayinka and Oguntayo Ayobami to life imprisonment on both counts.

However, the matter resurfaced after Olayinka, through his counsel, applied for a state pardon in a letter dated February 21, 2025.

His lawyer argued that the killing was not premeditated and appealed to Governor Abiodun to exercise his constitutional power of prerogative of mercy to secure Olayinka’s release.

The development has deeply distressed Bamidele’s family, who rejected the argument that the circumstances surrounding the killing justified clemency.

They also disputed the suggestion in the clemency application that Bamidele had provoked the attack.

For the family, the consequences of Bamidele’s death have extended far beyond the loss of a son, brother and father.

Adesanya said the tragedy devastated the entire household, revealing that Bamidele’s parents suffered serious health complications amid the grief and subsequently.

The deceased mother, it was said, died in 2025 and his father in 2026.

“Bamidele left behind a helpless widow, a daughter who was 10 at the time and is now 16, and a son who was barely eight months old when his father was slain,” the family said.

The family also reacted to the argument that Olayinka had demonstrated rehabilitation while in prison by obtaining a university degree from the National Open University of Nigeria.

They said educational achievement in custody could not erase the consequences of the death or restore the life that was lost.

The bereaved family therefore appealed to Governor Abiodun to reject the request for clemency, saying that granting a pardon would not only deepen their pain but also undermine the significance of the court's judgment.