By BONIFACE AKARAH

The man who championed the rescue of Adamawa farmer Sunday Jackson from the hangman’s noose has hailed his release from death row but lamented his heavy losses, insisting that his freedom is not enough.

In a statement made available to News Express via e-mail on Tuesday night, December 23, 2025, Washington-based international human rights lawyer, Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe, said the pardon granted to Jackson by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, marked the end of “one of the worst miscarriages of justice in Nigerian history.”

“I received with elation the delightful news that Governor Fintiri of Adamawa exercised his prerogative of mercy in favour of my death row client Sunday Jackson,” who has been at the forefront of the campaign for Jackson’s release, said.

He added that the decision brought to an end “one of the worst miscarriages of justice in Nigerian history.”

Ogebe described Jackson as “the most famous Nigerian on death row today,” saying he had become “a symbol of everything wrong with Nigeria.”

“A country that cannot protect its citizens from mass murder, condemned to death a citizen who protected himself from murder,” he said.

According to the lawyer, Jackson’s ordeal highlighted broader systemic failures in the country, noting that Nigerians now “provide water and electricity for themselves” and “pay failed governments borehole and generator taxes.”

While welcoming the pardon, Ogebe stressed that Jackson’s freedom should only be seen as a first step.

“However, the freedom of Jackson is only the beginning and not the end,” he said.

He called for a reversal of what he described as a dangerous legal precedent, arguing that it “goes against natural law, moral and substantial justice.”

“The odious and repugnant precedent… defies science, logic and human nature,” Ogebe said, adding that it amounted to “an advance mass death sentence on the Nigerian citizen in favour of foreign killers.”

Ogebe maintained that Jackson should never have spent time in prison, saying: “Jackson should never have spent a day in prison, much less 11 years.”

He detailed the personal losses suffered by the former death row inmate, including the loss of his home, family, and years of fatherhood.

“He’s lost everything — his wife who remarried and then died, his home destroyed in a devastating Fulani attack, and 11 years of fatherhood of a daughter he didn’t know existed till she was six,” he said.

The lawyer called on the Supreme Court to review the judgment that sent Jackson to death row and urged the National Assembly to amend Nigeria’s laws to clearly define self-defence.

“The Supreme Court should review that terrible judgment,” he said, adding that “the National Assembly should revise our laws to be clear on self defense.”

Ogebe also demanded compensation for Jackson, saying he should be paid for the years lost to what he described as an unjust incarceration.

“Jackson should be compensated for his losses,” he said.

He further called for recognition of Ardo Bawuro, father of the deceased herdsman, praising him for his role in forgiving Jackson.

“Ardo Bawuro should be honored for disproving the negative stereotype that Fulanis are murderous, vindictive and unforgiving souls,” Ogebe said.

The lawyer thanked several individuals and institutions for their roles in securing Jackson’s release, including the Adamawa State Government, the Federal Government, and the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom.

He also expressed gratitude to the Hama Bachama for what he described as “fatherly intervention,” and to the Justice for Jackson Joint Freedom Taskforce (JJJFT), which he said was made up of volunteers from different walks of life who advocated for Jackson in Nigeria, the U.S., and the UK.

Ogebe reserved special praise for Supreme Court Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, whose dissenting judgment he said exposed the injustice of Jackson’s conviction.

“I thank Hon. Justice Helen Ogunwumiju whose brilliant dissent exposed the grave injustice that robbed Jackson of his life and provided a substantial plank for his pardon,” he said.

Ogebe concluded by blessing Adamawa State and Nigeria, saying, “The state saved him from death at the hands of the state. God bless Adamawa State and God have mercy on Nigeria.”

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