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Japanese Court Acquits 88-Yr-Old Death Row Inmate, Iwao Hakamada, After Over 50 Years In Prison

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In a landmark ruling, a Japanese court has acquitted Iwao Hakamada, the world’s longest-serving death row inmate.

The 88-year-old was found guilty in 1968 of a quadruple murder but was recently granted a retrial after doubts arose about the evidence used to convict him.

Investigators are now suspected of planting evidence that led to Hakamada’s wrongful conviction, making his case one of Japan’s most notorious and enduring legal sagas.

The acquittal has sparked widespread public interest in Japan, with hundreds of people lining up for seats in the courtroom during the proceedings in Shizuoka on Thursday.

In 1966, the former professional boxer was working at a miso processing plant when the bodies of his employer, the man’s wife, and their two children were discovered in the aftermath of a fire at their home in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo.

All four victims had been fatally stabbed

Authorities accused Hakamada of murdering the family, starting the fire, and stealing 200,000 yen in cash.

  • ‘Coerced’ Confession

Initially, Hakamada denied any involvement in the robbery and killings. However, he later confessed — a statement he later described as coerced following lengthy interrogations and beatings that lasted up to 12 hours a day.

In 1968, Hakamada was convicted of murder and arson and sentenced to death.

Some bloodstained clothes found in a tank of miso shortly after the bodies were discovered were tendered in evidence during the decade-long trial. Those clothes were used to incriminate Hakamada.

For years, Hakamada’s lawyers argued that the DNA on the clothes found at the crime scene did not match his, suggesting that the clothes could belong to someone else.

They also raised concerns that the police may have tampered with evidence.

In 2014, Hiroaki Murayama, a judge, agreed, stating that “the clothes were not those of the defendant” and that continuing to detain Hakamada was unjust, given the strong possibility of his innocence.

Hakamada was released and granted a retrial.

  • Mental Health Affected

However, the retrial did not start until last year due to a lengthy legal process.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, the court finally declared Hakamada innocent, ruling that prosecutors had fabricated key evidence.

Hakamada was absent during the court proceedings as decades of imprisonment, most of it in solitary confinement under the constant threat of execution, have severely impacted his mental health.

He has lived with Hideko, his 91-year-old sister, since his release in 2014.

Retrials for death row inmates are rare in Japan. Hakamada’s case is only the fifth of its kind since World War II.

Japan, along with the United States, is the only G7 country that still enforces capital punishment, with death row inmates receiving only a few hours notice before their execution.

BIG STORY

An Aspirant Gave Each Delegate $30,000 During PDP Primary In 2022 — Dele Momodu

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Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine, says he regrets spending about N50 million to buy the presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022.

Momodu spoke in a recent interview on Eden Oasis, published on Sunday.

The journalist and politician said the primary was heavily monetised, with a particular aspirant doling out $30,000 to each of the 774 delegates who voted during the election.

The politician stated that he would not vie for any party’s presidential ticket unless he is adopted as a consensus candidate.

“Experience is the best teacher. I have come to realise that there are powers that you can describe as principalities that control Nigeria,” he said.

“Unless a major political party decides to adopt me — where you have a consensus of people who say Dele Momodu is best suited to change and to lead Nigeria. Then I will consider it.

“But if I have to pick my money to buy a presidential nomination form of about N100 million… I spent about N50 million to buy the form for the last one.

“N50 million would have bought me a property. It was a waste. I didn’t get even one vote because everything was monetised.

“One of the candidates paid as much as $30,000 per delegate, and we had 774 delegates.

“So, how do you want to compete with them? They have stolen the country blind and are doing all kinds of deals to make money, especially those in the oil-rich areas.

“It is not easy. You can’t compete with them. That’s why they insult Nigerians anyhow because of the amount of money available to them in raw cash. There’s no country where people buy raw cash like Nigeria.

“The bulk of their money is not in any bank. So, they are not traceable to any bank. So, they have the money. If today you say to some politicians that you need $500 million to become a president, they will find it.

“So, people like us, where will I start from?”

Momodu was one of the presidential hopefuls of the PDP at the time. He did not secure any votes during the exercise.

Atiku Abubakar clinched the presidential ticket with 371 votes to beat his closest challenger, Nyesom Wike, now minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who polled 237 votes.

Abubakar was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.

Bukola Saraki, former senate president, scored 70 votes; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, got 20 votes; Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Akwa Ibom, secured 38 votes; while Pius Anyim, former secretary to the government of the federation, polled 14 votes.

Sam Ohuabunwa, a businessman, alongside Momodu and Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, received zero votes.

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BIG STORY

Nigeria Has Saved $20bn From Subsidy Removal, Naira Float Policies — Finance Minister Edun

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Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says Nigeria has saved $20 billion from “petrol” subsidy removal and market-based pricing of the foreign exchange rate.

Edun spoke at a ceremony recently held to mark the first 100 days in office of Esther Walso-Jack, head of civil service of the federation, in Abuja.

“An amount of five per cent of GDP is what those two subsidies were costing when there was a subsidy on “PMS”; when there was petroleum product generally for a long time and when there was a subsidy of foreign exchange. Between them, they were costing five percent of GDP,” he said.

“If you say GDP was on average, let’s say $400 billion. We all know what five percent of that is – $20 billion of funds that could be going into infrastructure, health, social services, education.”

Edun said these flows now return into the government’s coffers for further deployment to the aforementioned sectors.

“The real change that has happened with the measures of Mr. President is that nobody can wake up and their target for the day or for the week or the month or the year is to get access to cheap funding, cheap funding exchange from central bank, which they can now flip,” Edun said.

“And overnight, they become wealthy from no value added for doing virtually nothing, except you know the right people. Similarly, they can no longer try and be part of a new peak market and very inefficient “petrol” subsidy regime as a way of making money overnight.”

On May 29, President Bola Tinubu said the “petrol” subsidy regime was over.

Three months later, TheCable reported that Tinubu was considering a “temporary subsidy” on “petrol” as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates soared.

After several denials of the return of “petrol” subsidy by the authorities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, on August 19, said the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for under-recovery.

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BIG STORY

Dangote Refinery Reduces Ex-Depot Price Of Petrol To N970 For Oil Marketers

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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in its ex-depot price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as “petrol”, to N970 per litre for oil marketers.

This is a cut from the refinery’s N990 ex-depot price announced earlier this month, according to a statement on Sunday.

The slash would help marketers save about N20 on each litre of “petrol” bought from the Lekki-based plant.

Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Group’s chief branding and communications officer, said the move is the refinery’s way of appreciating Nigerians “for their unwavering support in making the refinery a dream come true”.

“In addition, this is to thank the government for their support as this will complement the measures put in place to encourage domestic enterprise for our collective well-being,” the statement reads.

“While the refinery would not compromise on the quality of its petroleum products, we assure you of best quality products that are environmentally friendly and sustainable.”

“We are determined to keep ramping up production to meet and surpass our domestic fuel consumption; thus, dispelling any fear of a shortfall in supply.”

On November 11, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) reached an agreement with the refinery to lift “petrol” and “diesel” directly.

Abubakar Garima, national president of IPMAN, said the partnership would ensure a steady, affordable supply of “PMS” products nationwide.

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