A 60-year-old former Assistant Inspector of Prisons, Kayode Dada, is pleading for help in recovering 10 years of unpaid salary after his release from prison.
Dada, convicted of murder in 2006, was granted clemency in 2018 by former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.
Now, he seeks intervention from the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, after multiple failed attempts to claim his salary.
Dada, in an interview with The Punch, explained that he was employed in November 1990 by the Nigeria Prisons Service (now Nigeria Correctional Service) and was stationed at Ilesa Prison, which is now the Ilesha Custodial Centre.
His ordeal began in 1996, when he was arrested for a murder following a fight.
“It was sometime in 1996 that the police arrested me and charged me for the murder of someone who I fought with four months after,” Dada recounted.
He faced trial for 10 years and was sentenced to death in 2006 by an Osogbo High Court.
His death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment in 2008 under the administration of Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
In 2018, after spending 22 years in prison, Dada was granted a state pardon, becoming a free man once again.
Despite his freedom, he said he has struggled to secure the salary owed to him during the trial period.
“For the 10 years that I was under trial, the prison service notified me that I would be paid half salary, but I did not get a dime until I bagged the death sentence. After regaining my freedom, I have equally been trying hard to get whatever is due to me from the Federal Government but I have not made any headway,” he explained.
Dada said his biodata and bank details were collected during a trip to Abuja last year, but he has received no further updates.
“It was after my release from prison that I married and have two children. I have been surviving doing jobs as a guard. I need this money to facilitate my full reintegration back into society,” he added.
He is now appealing to President Bola Tinubu, Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Controller-General of Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, to ensure that he receives the funds to support himself and his family.
