Death Row Inmate Allegedly Used TikTok, Received Money and Exposed Prison Corruption From Behind Bars

A death row inmate at the Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State, allegedly operated multiple TikTok accounts, hosted livestreams, received monetary gifts from followers and maintained regular communication with people outside prison, raising fresh concerns about security lapses and corruption within Nigeria’s correctional system.

The inmate, Elijah Oyebode, was sentenced to death by hanging in 2019 after an Osun State High Court convicted him of murdering Rofiat Adebisi, a final-year student of Osun State University. During the trial, the court found him guilty based on medical evidence and other materials presented before it after he gave conflicting accounts of the incident.

Despite being on death row, investigations allege that Oyebode remained active on TikTok, where one of his accounts reportedly attained Level 20 gifting status, enabling him to receive virtual gifts with monetary value during livestreams.

He was also linked to another account allegedly created to impersonate TikTok creator and activist Omolola Awoyele by using her name and photograph.

Awoyele said she initially believed Oyebode’s claims that he had been wrongly convicted and even helped him seek legal assistance after confirming through a video call that he was indeed inside the correctional facility.

However, she said her position changed after obtaining court documents relating to the case.

“Elijah created an account using my name and uploaded my picture, which meant he could potentially use it to scam people online,” she said.

She explained that the lawyer handling Oyebode’s appeal later withdrew from the case after he allegedly admitted his involvement in the crime.

During one of Awoyele’s TikTok livestreams in April 2026, Oyebode allegedly revealed how inmates gain access to mobile phones and the internet inside prison facilities.

“An individual may be in possession of two to three phones. Facebook and TikTok are full of prisoners. They will not disclose their location to anyone. If they do video calls and people see a nice background, they will not know where they are,” he allegedly said.

Speaking about his online activities, Oyebode claimed that many of the people sending him money were strangers he met online.

“I get a lot of people sending money to me from the internet; only a few are my family. The bet I won last month was ₦85,000,” he said.

The inmate also made several allegations against correctional officers, claiming some officers helped smuggle prohibited items into the facility.

According to him, inmates allegedly pay officials to bring in mobile phones, while confiscated devices can allegedly be recovered after additional payments.

He further alleged that some officers facilitated the smuggling of illegal drugs into the correctional centre for financial gain and even claimed certain inmates were occasionally taken outside prison to supervise private businesses or meet people before being returned to custody.

Reflecting on his experience, Oyebode claimed the correctional system had become more corrupt than corrective.

“I will not deceive you; it is no longer a correctional centre. It is corrupting people more,” he said.

Reacting to the allegations, the Nigerian Correctional Service acknowledged that misconduct by some personnel remains a challenge but maintained that corruption is not tolerated within the agency.

The Service’s spokesperson, Jane Osuji, said authorities would investigate any credible evidence implicating inmates or officials.

“I cannot sit down here and tell you that it is true or it’s not true because where there are so many individuals, there will be one or two bad eggs in them,” she said.

Osuji warned that unrestricted digital access by inmates poses serious security risks.

“If they can join a live social media platform for fun or monetary value, they can as well do anything from the comfort of their cells. When they are able to organise their criminal activities from behind the walls of the correctional service, then you and I are in for it,” she stated.

She added that the smuggling of contraband remains a challenge for correctional systems worldwide and disclosed that more than 1,400 officers have been disciplined for various forms of misconduct under the agency’s zero tolerance policy against corruption.

The investigation also raised questions about TikTok’s moderation system, alleging that Oyebode’s account remained active despite the platform’s enforcement efforts. TikTok reportedly requested details of the accounts for review and later removed millions of videos and thousands of livestreams in Nigeria, although investigators claimed the inmate’s primary account remained active after the reported enforcement exercise.