Simon Adebisi

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Simon Adebisi
The Routine" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance"You Bet Your Life" (episode 4.08)
Portrayed byAdewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
In-universe information
GenderMale
TitleID 93A234
OccupationPrisoner, drug dealer, gang member

Simon Adebisi is a fictional character played by

killed off the show so Akinnuoye-Agbaje could film the movie The Mummy Returns.[1]

A ruthless Nigerian inmate with a penchant for rape, murder and physical intimidation, Adebisi controlled much of the drug trade at one point and is among the most feared and powerful inmates in the prison. Throughout his time in Oz, Adebisi is seen to have both sociopathic and maniacal tendencies, showing little to no remorse for the various atrocities he had committed both in and out of prison. He is also shown to have a severe addiction to heroin, suffering a nervous breakdown due to withdrawals in season 2, for which he is subsequently thrown into the psych ward where his insanity is further explored through various psychotic episodes. Adebisi's character dies in season four, when he is killed by Kareem Saïd in self-defense.

Character overview

"Prisoner #93A234: Simon Adebisi. Convicted May 2, 1993 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole."

Adebisi is serving

life without the possibility of parole for beheading an undercover police officer with a machete four years prior to the events of the first episode. A giant of a man, he often uses physical intimidation to impose his will around the prison, not afraid to assault, rape or even kill anyone who stands in his way. As one of the leaders of the Homeboys (the main black gang in Oz), Adebisi is considered one of the prison's most dangerous inmates, and becomes one of the most recognizable characters on the show. He is well known for his trademark tilted hat, which Akinnuoye-Agbaje suggested was inspired by the "Area Boys
" of Lagos, Nigeria.

Adebisi is Nigerian - specifically Yoruba - and speaks with a strong accent, but had lived in America for about 15 years prior to his incarceration. Little else is known of his life before Oz; it is implied on more than one occasion that he was married, though, his wife is never shown on screen or mentioned in any great detail. Adebisi is shown to be short-tempered, hedonistic, sociopathic and occasionally psychotic, though, he is also shown to be capable of engineering and executing long-term plans through intellect and manipulation. In one rare instance, he shows compassion; When a fellow inmate raises $3,000 to send his terminal grandson to Disneyland, Adebisi convinces his men not to rob him, remarking "sometimes it is good to be human."

History

Season 1

Adebisi began as a minor character; a member of the Homeboys and lieutenant of leader

death penalty
, which later resulted in Keane's execution.

Season 2

Adebisi continues to suffer severe heroin withdrawal in solitary during the post-riot lockdown. However, he is able to maintain control of the Homeboys when Emerald City reopens. Nino Schibetta's son Peter comes to Oz and learns that Adebisi is responsible for the death of his father, and is himself poisoned by Adebisi. Schibetta swears revenge and tries to kill Adebisi with help from Chucky Pancamo. In the prison kitchen Adebisi beats up Peter and Pancamo. After knocking out Pancamo, Adebisi brutally rapes a semi-conscious Schibetta. As a result, Schibetta is traumatized and humiliated, telling the authorities he doesn't remember what happened to him. In denial about being raped, Schibetta psychologically and emotionally deteriorates. Subsequently, he is transferred to the Oz prison psych ward.

However, two distractions hold Adebisi's attention: first, his crush on

nervous breakdown
in Adebisi and he is moved to the psych ward, placed in a cell right next to Peter Schibetta.

Season 3

Adebisi comes out of the psych ward pretending to be a changed man. To prove he is sane, he defends Peter Schibetta from an attacker in the psych ward. This convinces Antonio Nappa that a potential change in heart from Adebisi could prove useful for the Italian mobsters. This is all a ploy, however, as Adebisi takes a job in the

Robbie Gerth to prick Nappa undetected with an HIV
-infected needle. When Dr. Nathan confirms that Nappa is HIV-positive, he is sent to the AIDS ward, and Pancamo assumes leadership of the Italians. From here Adebisi gets ready to take control of the Homeboys once again.

Meanwhile,

Claire Howell
, putting McManus's credibility at further risk.

Adebisi begins to formulate a plan to take over Emerald City and make it "all black." The first step is to convince the impressionable Correctional Officer

Kareem Said
, the black inmates led by Adebisi begin shouting "Set Hill Free" and start physically confronting both the White inmates and correctional officers. Fearing a riot, Glynn locks Oz down into the new millennium and fires Hughes for being sympathetic to Adebisi's cause. Hughes however leaves Adebisi with a gun on his last day of work.

Season 4

After the lockdown, Adebisi manipulates Warden Glynn to let Poet, Pierce, and Wangler back into Em City claiming that the racial situation will rest easier getting them back. He then secretly gives bullied inmate

Johnny Basil
who is sent in to bust the drug trade in Emerald City. Adebisi is suspicious and opposes having Mobay join as a member their crew. But Mobay comes though and passes every initiation test successfully, eventually gaining their confidence.

Over the course of the season Adebisi, with the help of

Claire Howell
, who hates McManus. All of the new guards transferred into Emerald City are black, as are all of the new inmates. However, none of these inmates are Muslim. This angers Arif, who had helped Adebisi get a black man to run Emerald City in the first place. The new inmates are also all loyal to Adebisi, who becomes the most powerful and influential inmate in the prison, and is given free rein by Querns as long as he suppresses violent incidents. Adebisi now has the freedom to satisfy all his vices, installing a curtain in his cell and creating his own version of "paradise", although he could not escape the fact that he was still in prison. In time, the Christian and gay gangs, both predominantly white, are replaced by black inmates, and soon the Italian and Latino inmates are deprived of the drug trade. When these two groups are sent to Unit B, two of Adebisi's lieutenants, Poet and Supreme Allah, are named trustees to replace Pancamo and Morales.

At the same time, two of the few white inmates left in Emerald City,

Chris Keller and Ryan O'Reily
, decide to work together to bring Adebisi and Querns down. Keller murders inmates Nate Shemin and Mondo Browne, and they frame Supreme Allah. This causes Glynn to begin to mistrust Querns, who in turn begins to mistrust Adebisi, who tries to force a confession out of his lieutenant and various others. Adebisi is rattled by these events and begins to distrust his own men.

Said, the re-instated leader of the Muslims, is greatly concerned about the effects of Adebisi's leadership in Emerald City under Querns. Said believes that Emerald City is rapidly becoming an inferno in which black inmates are being mentally poisoned. Noting Adebisi's distrust of his men in light of the murders, Said pretends to join forces with Adebisi with the covert intention of bringing him down. Said learns of Adebisi's video recordings of drug parties in his cell, and resolves to find a way to supply Glynn with this damning evidence of Querns' misconduct.

Adebisi accepts Said's request to move into his cell and voluntarily gives him a video tape to "test his loyalty." However, Said gives the tape to the warden and Querns is immediately fired. When McManus is reinstated as unit manager of Emerald City, he announces Adebisi's transfer out of the prison unit. In retaliation Adebisi tries to kill Said, gaining the attention of McManus, the guards and the prisoners. A large bloodstain splatters on the white curtains of the cell the two share and Adebisi soon emerges, seemingly victorious and unscathed. However, he reveals his injuries by spitting out blood from his mouth and collapsing at the top of the stairs, dead. His death was later ruled as self-defense since Adebisi attempted to murder Said first.

References

  1. ^ Dunn, Adam (February 21, 2003). "The end of 'Oz'". CNN. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
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