Soyinka, Omisore’s War of Words over Unresolved Ige’s Murder

CICERO/Report

Following the failure of the successive administrations to resolve the over 20-year-old murder of a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Iyiola Omisore, and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka have commenced a fresh war of words over the embarrassing incident, Ejiofor Alike reports

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, last week reopened the over 20-year-old case of murder of a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige when he faulted the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to elect Senator Iyiola Omisore, as its National Secretary following his alleged role in the circumstances leading to the murder.

 Omisore, a principal suspect in the murder, was later discharged and acquitted by the court.

But in a statement titled: “Perhaps closed files should remain just that-closed?”, Soyinka insisted that Omisore was “one of the prime suspects” in the murder of Ige, adding that his election as the National Secretary of the ruling APC has “hamstrung and disrobed of credibility” the investigation into his death.

Soyinka wondered why President Muhammadu Buhari anointed Omisore as the party’s scribe after he (the president) responded to his demand to re-open Ige’s unresolved murder at the 20th anniversary of the tragic incident. He raised diverse questions on Buhari’s commitment to resolving the murder case after he had ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba to re-open the case files and resume the investigation.  

Ige, also a former governor of old Oyo State, was gruesomely murdered on December 23, 2001, by yet-to-be-identified assailants in his Solemilia Court residence located at No 8, Akinlabi Sanda Close, Bodija in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Omisore, the then Deputy Governor of Osun State, was fingered in the murder of the late AGF as the prime suspect, having been entangled in the protracted internal crisis that plagued the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD).

Ige, Omisore and his former principal, Chief Bisi Akande, were deeply involved in the party’s crisis.

Ige’s assassination was linked to an altercation that happened at the palace of Ooni of Ife, the late Oba Sijuwade Okunade during the conferment of chieftaincy title on some personalities.

In December 2002, Omisore was removed from office, arrested and detained over Ige’s murder but he repeatedly denied any involvement.

He was however, discharged and acquitted in June 2004 by an Ibadan High Court, which cited “contradictions and inconsistencies” as well as insufficient evidence in the prosecution’s case.

Lamenting what he described as an unusual turn of events, Soyinka said the election of Omisore was the national secretary of the APC has foreclosed any hope of investigating those responsible for the gruesome murder.

He said: “Not for a moment does one suggest that mere accusation, even trial, presumes guilt. More than a mere verdict is involved in any trial, however. The process of arriving at that ultimate destination – justice – is integral to the very concept of democracy and equality under the law. That process is one of the structures of civic education.”

 “That the prime suspect was privileged in some improper ways went beyond mere allegation. Political interventions, including pressure on the judiciary during bail hearings, cannot be denied. A judge under such pressure kept a diary with accusations, pages of which he consigned to friends for safekeeping,” Soyinka explained.

On what Omisore’s emergence means to re-opening Ige’s murder case, Soyinka said the resumption of an investigation into the murder case was already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility with the emergence of a prime suspect in the case as the National Secretary of the ruling APC.With Omisore’s emergence as the APC National Secretary, Soyinka rhetorically asked: “Is the Inspector-General of Police equipped to confront political obstacles in a resumption of investigation? 

“Is there any guarantee that the result will see the light of day? How suspect, ab initio, will be the conclusions, given the present political ordering? To this layman, that investigative revisit is already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility,” he added.

But in a swift response, Omisore pointedly challenged Soyinka, telling him to ask his cousin and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who killed Chief Ige.

In a statement by his media office, the new APC scribe rebutted claims against him on the unresolved murder, saying that if a court of competent jurisdiction could vindicate him, it was naive for anyone to still link him to the crime. Ige was murdered under the administration of Obasanjo in which he served as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Shortly before he was murdered, Ige was said to have contemplated resigning to mobilise the South-west against the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2003 general election.

Although Obasanjo had as a fresh candidate won the presidential poll in 1999 without South-west, it was feared that his losing the same zone as a sitting president in 2003 would have been a greater embarrassment than the previous loss.

Reacting further to Soyinka’s outburst, the former Osun senator argued that as brilliant as Soyinka is, he has no monopoly of wisdom. He recalled that in 2004, Soyinka, who was 70, had accused the Obasanjo’s government of complicity in the death of Ige by referring to his givernment as a “nest of killers.”

He further regretted that Soyinka had once attacked Mr. Gbenga Daniel, a former two-term governor of his native Ogun State.

Omisore maintained that the record shows that he and others were tried for two and a half years for the murder and later discharged and acquitted by the court.

“If the courts of the land have vindicated a man, it’s naive of him, after nearly a decade to link Senator Iyiola Omisore, to further search. Civil and criminal law knowledge should tell prof to ask his cousin, Obasanjo for the murderer. The world is aware of the framing of Senator Iyiola Omisore and his travails and trials facing murder charges and his subsequent acquittal and discharge almost a decade ago by a competent Court of the land. So, how come any man can still refer to him as a possible suspect?”

Recalling Soyinka’s adventures in his earlier days, Omisore said: “It is part of history and we are  not too young, when we read of him (Prof) too carried a gun into a radio station- a criminal offence against the state, yet we continue to honour him. History has it that the Prof as an undergraduate along with colleagues laid the foundation for today’s cultism in our institutions of higher learning which today has become a cankerworm that is destroying our youths. Yet, we still continue to honour him.

Omisore also recalled that Soyinka headed a failed education policy in Osun State under the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola.  “Prof should be careful not to be seen to be trying to defend the interest of his benefactor, who appointed him as Chairman of the failed education summit,” Omisore said.

Omisore added: “The recent volte face of Soyinka on the Bola Ige matter gives one a cause for concern. First, I was not a member of cabinet in Obasanjo’s government and second, a court of competent jurisdiction had set me and others free after a grueling two and half years trial with N2 billion damages awarded still unpaid by the state government.”

Taking exception to Soyinka’s statement, Omisore said “it is an unnecessary propaganda some drowning politicians are trying to spread.” He also threatened to sue a political group in Osun APC for fabrication and defamation.

Omisore has also instructed his lawyer to write the elder statesman demanding a retraction of the comments.

But responding to the threat of legal action against him by the APC National Secretary, the eminent scholar on Thursday expressed willingness to be involved in legal proceedings to unravel the killers of Ige.

The playwright spoke at a media interaction in Lagos titled, “Forget the past, forfeit the future: A nation seceding from humanity.” He said a man decaped a respected minister and threw the cap to thugs, noting that such an action led to other actions.

“That doesn’t mean you were responsible for the person’s death. But certain actions led to other actions,” he clarified.

The essayist however insisted that such a person should be made an envoy if the party desired to give him a post but not make him secretary of a ruling party.

He noted, “We are talking of the party of those in charge of the governance and justice of this country. The leadership of APC and I am not talking of Buhari alone, do you have to unleash scorpions on our memory? It is not Soyinka who provided this. It’s those who were so insensitive, who rubbed that murder in our faces. I will be delighted to go to court so that we can go into details. I ask the APC leadership to have a rethink because the issue will not go away,” Soyinka added

A human rights lawyer, Chief Femi Falana (SAN), has also added his voice to the controversy, demanding that the killers of Ige must be found. Falana, who also spoke at the Lagos event noted that Soyinka had reminded Buhari of his pledge to open an enquiry into the country’s spate of political murders.

 “If you (Soyinka) are sued, we will represent you free of charge because you are taking on a public issue,” he added.

The exchange of words between the two personalities and their revelations have shown that the last certainly not been heard on the issue. It is also an opportunity for the federal government to fulfill its promise and reopen investigation into the incident before Nigerians are distracted by fresh legal proceedings that will not unravel the murder.