The Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has announced the release of Emmanuel Ihejirika, a Nigerian previously sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia. After several years in prison, his freedom was secured thanks to the pro bono legal efforts of Washington D.C.-based Nigerian lawyer, Emmanuel Isha Ogebe.

During a meeting in Washington D.C., Dabiri-Erewa praised Ogebe for his selfless dedication in taking up Ihejirika’s case, which he pursued up to the Indonesian Supreme Court. Years earlier, Dabiri-Erewa, as part of a delegation led by former Foreign Minister Ojo Madueke, had also pleaded for clemency for 21 Nigerians on death row in Indonesia. Despite four executions, including those of an Indonesian and British citizen, Ogebe’s persistent legal intervention led to Ihejirika’s release in December, as his case was believed to involve mistaken identity.