By Joseph Akahome
An aspiring US based Nigerian rapper, Olutosin Oduwole, has been sentenced to five years in prison over a note threatening a killing spree unless ransom was paid.
The 26-year-old former Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville student however claimed the note was only his rap lyrics.
Madison County Circuit Judge, Richard Tognarelli who handed out the judgement, however agreed with the Jury that convicted Oduwole in October and also sentenced him to 364 days and a thousand Dollar fine for having a loaded gun on campus.
Oduwole was arrested after police found a note in his abandoned car, just months after the infamous Virginia Tech shooting that left 32 dead including the gunman.
The note demanded payment into a PayPal account, stating ‘if this account doesn’t reach $50,000 in the next 7 days, then a murderous rampage similar to the VT shooting will occur at another highly populated University. THIS IS NOT A JOKE!‘
After his sentencing, Oduwole who got ten years less than what prosecution initially requested, also pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft and computer fraud for an online sale of a gun he didn’t have. He is to serve a two-and-a-half-year probation on that charge to be served with his prison term.
3 comments
Well done boy. That will make you a good rapper when you are back in the hood.
That is ridicolous of him.
If you are blogging on land mark issues , you should at least update your blog. This case turn out to be a real win for all Nigerians wrongfully accused and sometimes convicted for crimes they didn’t commit
It is really absurd and shameful that you post comments that are factually wrong for the unsuspecting readers.
The fact is that what happened to this Nigerian while a student at his university was wrongful, unjust, and racist seem to elude all the posters on this blog. It is a blatant abuse of power on behalf of the prosecutors who thought he did not have anyone for fight for him.
The prosecutors wrongfully arrested this student sole because of his foreign name, and artifacts in his dormitory and came up with a trumped up charge of terrorist case. They must have thought no Nigerian in his right mind will fight the unjust conviction case.
The case was fought through appeals up through the Illinois Supreme court and the verdict reversed. Research the case. The appeals ruling reversing the convict and supreme court affirming the reversal are all online. It might educated and help your readers in knowing what rights they have, how and when they can defend it in America.