BNW

B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News

Home |   About Us |   Contact Us |   Members |   Search |   Subscribe |   Disclaimer |   THE GUARDIAN CONSCIENCE, NURTURED BY TRUTH LAGOS, NIGERIA.     Friday, July 02 2004   news   editorial/opinion   politics & people   focus/record   business   sports   metro   capital market   weekend   golf weekly   Guardian Chat Click to join the chatroom Omisore and Ige By Reuben Abati THERE are obviously many sides to the recent conclusion of the Bola Ige murder trial, with the discharge and acquittal of the principal character in the case, namely Senator Iyiola Omisore. The first issue to be considered is how the case remains important at the personal level. For Omisore, it is a significant moment in his life. It is a moment that he is bound to remember for the rest of his life. It is a moment that is bound, for good or ill to determine his political future. Within a period of 18 months, he has had to fight a battle for survival. From being a man of influence, he found himself in the dock as an accused. He faced a major image crisis, and now, he has returned to Ile-Ife, his home-town, and the Senate Chambers as a hero. About 100 vehicles reportedly travelled with him from Ibadan to Ile-Ife. The people of Ife trooped out en masse to celebrate his return. Even the Ooni of Ife received him with great enthusiasm. When he showed up at the burial of Chief S.M. Afolabi during the weekend (please note that the Yoruba political establishment not only stayed away from that burial, but has also refused to comment on it!), Omisore brought the occasion to a temporary halt. He is a very lucky man indeed. Justice Akin Sanda's ruling has absolved him of whatever stigma either public opinion or anyone else may have been trying to put on him. He can proclaim that he has gone through due process, faced trial, and the judiciary has pronounced that there is no shred of evidence linking him with the murder of Chief Bola Ige. According to the Ooni, the ruling is "a landmark in the political history of Nigeria". Not quite. But Omisore's supporters in Osogbo added their concurrence by straying into nearby beer parlours to celebrate his triumph. But what is the Ige family saying They are not saying anything. They have refused to be drawn into any discussions of the Court's ruling. I am afraid that this is one of those rare occasions when silence speaks louder than words. When the Iges withdrew from the case last year, they had decided to leave everything in the hands of God. They were, at the time, and even now, declaring their lack of confidence in the Nigerian system. They could not see how justice could be done in the Ige case. They saw their continued involvement in the trial, as a waste of time. With the conclusion of the trial, they could well have said: "Did we not tell you didn't we say so Or is this not what we foresaw ". But the reality is that they are saying nothing. They have left the public to ponder over the Ige case, and for all men of conscience to continue to worry about the meaning of Ige's death within the larger Nigerian context. Both Omisore and the Iges in their private moments are also bound to reflect on what has transpired. Omisore deserves every bit of his glorious moment, and the loads of congratulatory messages he would receive. The Iges are also entitled to the sympathy that would be expressed by those who think that justice has not been done. What I find curious, however is the moral/political angle to the case. This is one particular trial in which the public chose to transform itself into a courtroom. The people of Ife may be jubilating that their son has been discharged and acquitted, but there are other Nigerians as well, who spontaneously, have expressed disagreement with the court ruling. Their disagreement is not based on any evidence, other than their own emotional feelings. They want someone to be punished for the Ige murder. And for some reason, Omisore looks like the man whose head they want. I do not know why Omisore attracts such radical opposition to himself but it should give him cause for second thoughts. If he intends to travel further in his political career, he cannot afford to draw such emotions to himself. If he hopes to emerge as a leader of real substance, not in his local Ile-Ife, but in the larger community, he would need more than the notoriety of the past three years. There are lessons that Iyiola Omisore can learn from his own travails. He should permit himself the benefit of those lessons. He should see his present triumph as an opportunity for introspection and penance; and a for a renewal of faith in the country of his birth. But for now, let those who are disagreeing with the outcome of the case be told in straightforward terms, that they expend their energies in vain. Justice is not conditioned by mob opinion. If judges were to be guided by mob opinion, then the rule of law would be derailed. Law is not morality. It has nothing to do with the loudness of the opposition. Judges do not convict persons on the basis of the preference of the majority. The Ige trial was one particular case in which the public had a variety of opinions. But the court has spoken. And we must respect that. Respect for the court's ruling is critical, because to insist otherwise is to knock at the very foundation of society. Courts deal with evidence, not hearsay, not speculation. In a murder case, a man cannot be convicted just because certain persons do not like his politics. It is better to discharge and acquit a man whose involvement as alleged has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt than to rush every accused person to the gallows. In the Ige trial, the judiciary found itself on trial. The case was handled by four different judges, with one of the judges withdrawing from it due to "pressures from unexpected quarters". And this is one of those unresolved issues in the Ige murder. Who are the faces behind the "pressures from unexpected quarters" What was their interest in the case We may never really, know. In the end, the judiciary has done its duty. Unless there is an appeal, the Omisore angle in the matter has been closed. But I think closer attention needs to be paid to the trial judge's ruling. He complained about the shoddy handling of the case. The Inspector-General of Police has since declared that this is not true. He raised questions about the capacity of the state to provide the necessary tools for facilitating the administration of justice. He drew attention to the limitations in the criminal justice system. The court is part of a long chain in the justice dispensation process. Where the other links are broken, the work of the court is circumscribed. Would the court have ruled differently if the problems identified by the judge did not exist We cannot know, and it would be wrong to speculate about the intentions of the court. But let this be said, and this, I think, is where the challenge lies - the trial judge did not say that Ige was not killed. Nor did he say that Ige killed himself. So the question still remains: who killed Bola Ige This clearly is the question that those who have been getting emotional over the trial want answered. They want the killers fished out from whatever nest where they may be hiding. They want to be re-assured that this can be a safe country for every citizen. It is only when the problem of national insecurity is resolved that each one of us can begin to develop confidence in the system. The questions raised by Justice Sanda are indeed pointed comments on the failings of the Nigerian system. It was a courageous ruling, one which strikes a blow at the heart of our collective hypocrisy. What I mean is that the judgement has not allayed the people's fears. It has merely worsened fears that something has gone terribly wrong with the Nigerian system. Sanda spoke of "contradictions and inconsistencies in the case of the prosecution and on the totality of the evidence, which is insufficient and cannot be sustained". He also lamented the fact that the investigators and prosecutors have failed to explore other possibilities. Is his Lordship drawing attention to something that he has discovered but which was not before him Was he sending a coded message When judges sound like newspaper columnists and wring their hands in seeming helplessness, they are sending a message that is beyond law and emotions. Since the murder of Ige in December 2002, at least six other prominent Nigerians have been assassinated. And their killers have not been found. Reports of investigations in those other cases are equally marred by "contradictions and inconsistencies", and because of this, there is so much confusion reigning in the minds of the people. And may I add this Chief Bola Ige was a distinguished officer in the temple of justice. If he were alive, and he had been invited to comment on his lordship's ruling, he would have accepted the wisdom of the court. He would even have congratulated Iyiola Omisore. Bola Ige was a fair-minded man. Because he was an intellectual, he could see far ahead, beyond the capacity of many of the persons with whom he had to relate. He brought to politics and public affairs an uncommon passion and discipline. It is sad that some lawyers who should know better have been using the Omisore trial, to impugn the integrity of the courts. Bola Ige would not have done that. But like many of us, he would have insisted that the question: who killed Bola Ige should be answered Luckily, there is no scope of limitation where murder is concerned. It is for the state to resolve that Ige's killers will be found, wherever they may be. If this does not happen, the assassins would jubilate. They would be too glad that they are operating in the right environment for their kind of choice. They will see what has happened so far as their own victory. And what would now happen to all those other persons who were arrested in connection with the Ige murder, that is Fryo, Omisore's cousin and co. Are they also going to benefit from the observed "contradictions and inconsistencies " How sad. � 2003 - 2004 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited (All Rights Reserved).  Powered by dnetsystems.net dnet�

	BNW News
Voice of Biafra | Biafra World | Biafra Online | Biafra Web | MASSOB | Biafra Forum | BLM | Biafra Consortium
	© 2001 BNW BiafraNigeriaWorld  Privacy Policy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Powered by ACENetwork ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Axiom PSI Yam Festival Series, Iri Ji Nd'Igbo the Kola-Nut Series,Nigeria Masterweb