•Says, “I broke news to him of her existence the first time we met”

Unjustly convicted deathrow inmate Sunday Jackson gave his counsel a gift for his 10 year old daughter whom he has never seen, international human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe has disclosed.

Jackson who has been on death row for 10 years and 10 months had only one child at the time he was violently attacked on his farm by an armed Fulani herdsman in Adamawa state in February 2015. His act of self-defense ultimately led him to a widely condemned death sentence.

However Ogebe said when he first visited Jackson in Yola prison shortly after his death sentence six years later in 2021, “I told him I had just seen his children. Jackson looked puzzled and corrected me that he had only one child. That was when I realized that he had not been informed that his wife had delivered another child after he was arrested.”

Ogebe said he immediately called Jackson’s Uncle from the prison and asked him what the child’s name was.

“I have never experienced anything like this in over 30 years as a human rights lawyer. I was the one who broke the news to Jackson that he had a second child – a girl – and she was already six years old at that point.

“The only thing similar I can think of was exactly two years ago when I repatriated back a Nigerian from death row in Indonesia after 20 years, he didn’t know that his baby brother had twins and he was now an uncle with nephews. That was Christmas week 2023.

“Another remarkable one was when Pastor Polycarp Zongo was released by Boko Haram after nine months captivity, I asked that his wife be brought to Abuja to meet him and learnt she was in hospital delivering.

By the time Zongo got to Jos, he met her in the hospital with a new baby boy that he didn’t even know he was expecting. That was Father’s Day weekend incidentally in 2021.

“While all the above incidents were a pleasant surprise, Jackson’s was quite different. He had a daughter who he didn’t know and who didn’t know him. Worse still he was going to be executed and never see and yet stigmatize her.

“Part of the issue was his wife had moved on and remarried (of which Jackson was also not aware) so I guess there was no hope and that’s why he was kept in the dark.

“Anyway when he gave me two school bags for his two daughters, the one he knew and the one he doesn’t know, I could see that Hope had now come into his life.

“Earlier this year when his death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court, we were looking for his photograph and learnt that his house was destroyed when his village was attacked by Fulanis. I said they should ask his ex-wife for his picture but learnt that she has since died. This is a monumentally tragic case.

“We then had to take his photo in prison otherwise there was nothing left on earth as a memory of him.

“You can imagine my joy when I visited his children in Adamawa in August and his daughters were pointing at me and talking in their language. I asked what they were saying and their aunt translated, “see daddy’s picture.” I was wearing a “Free Jackson” T-shirt.

“It was the same thing when I printed the photo and showed Jackson’s mother in Adamawa. She hadn’t even seen his picture until I showed her in March. First time in 10years seeing her son’s picture.

“These are the moments that touch you most as a human rights advocate. Touching people’s lives in intangible but monumental ways. Who can put a price on hope? Now she has a living parent, she knows his face and she doesn’t live in shame because she understands he didn’t do bad but bad was done to him.”

Ogebe said Jackson continued to marvel on how people are advocating for him around the world and can’t believe he’s the object of their attention.

Ogebe said he was able to show Jackson photos of his visit to his daughters after obtaining approval from the prison authorities.

The schoolbags were made by Jackson’s co-prisoners for sale in their vocational skills center. As Jackson had no money, his fellow inmates donated the bags to Jackson to send to his daughters for Christmas.

“In Australia, a Muslim immigrant Ahmed who acted heroically in selfdefense and overpowered a terrorist who had killed a dozen people and was himself injured, like Jackson, received over $1million in donations from the public just this month. But in Nigeria Jackson is awaiting execution after almost 11 years imprisoned. How is this ok?” queried the award-winning lawyer.

•PHOTO: International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe receives prisoner-made gift schoolbags from deathrow row inmate Sunday Jackson for his daughters’ Christmas

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