Soyinka asks President to expose Ige’s killers, identify conspirators

Elder statesman, Prof Wole Soyinka, has urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to ensure the exposure of killers of a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, to reinstate what he termed “the broken lines of justice.”

The playwright wondered what happened to the President’s pledge to open an enquiry into the country’s spate of political murders.

Ige, also an ex-governor of old Oyo State, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen at his Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, home on December, 23, 2001.

Soyinka’s position was contained in a statement to Ige’s family addressed to the daughter, Mrs. Funso Adegbola, on the occasion of an event titled, “20th Bola Ige Memorial Symposium: Two decades of injustice: What are the implications on Nigerian democracy?” organised by the Bola Ige For Justice Centre in Lagos on Tuesday.

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Soyinka wrote, “President Muhammadu Buhari, what has become of your robust pledge to open an enquiry into the spate of political murders that the nation has undergone in recent years? Does it all amount to yet another instance of political bravado? While we all accept that all lives should be valued equally, some impose a special responsibility on those in governance.

“Bola Ige, as the nation’s Minister of Justice, and United Nation’s civil servant designate, was unarguably one of such. A nation’s honour is in question and remains so until the hour of closure.  Thus, she must never relent in demanding an explanation for his brutal murder. Expose the perpetrators, identify the conspirators and reinstate the broken lines of justice.

“At the very least, we need a formal declaration regarding those who displayed an abnormal interest in the fates of those accused, to a level of proven, documented interference both in the investigative process and within the judiciary.

“I am not alone in having written and lectured on these sordid aspects that fuelled the subversion of justice. There are surviving witnesses.”

Stating that unsolved crimes only lead to a culture of impunity, the essayist said such situation puts the entire nation at risk, no matter the privilege of high-level protection.

He added, “This is a lesson that Nigerian leadership has yet to learn. President Buhari, share the rewards of your investigations– If any!!!”

Punch