* 100 vehicles lead him to Ife It’s celebration galore
After spending 18 months in prisons custody, former Osun State Deputy Governor, Senator Iyiola Omisore yesterday regained his freedom as an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan discharged and acquitted him of conspiracy and murder of former Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige (SAN).
In a 3- hour and 10-minute judgment, Justice Akinola Sanda sitting in Court 11 of the Oyo State High Court Ring Road Ibadan stated emphatically that the prosecution failed to prove their case against the former Osun State deputy governor.The trial judge also condemned the police for the shoddy manner in which investigation in the murder case was handled. His words: “Having regard to the myriad of contradictions and inconsistencies in the case of the prosecution and on the totality of the evidence which is insufficient to the charge of conspiracy to murder and murder cannot be sustained, the accused is hereby discharged and acquitted of conspiracy to murder and murder.”
This is a very important case of murder which deserves extreme care and diligence in its investigation such that ought to have been thoroughly and extensively investigated.”The investigation of this case was rather slip-shod and the prosecution uncoordinated cases are decided by the court based on the facts presented by the parties and not sentiments and speculation”.”
Apart from the limited areas which the police mapped out as the central focus of their investigation, there are other important and useful areas to which they ought to have beamed their searchlight.” In the type of this case, the entire areas of activities, involvements and connective of the deceased must be thoroughly scrutinized and investigated to unravel the mystery behind the killing.”
On finding an accused person guilty on circumstantial evidence, the Supreme Court in the case of Valentine Adie versus the State 1980 1- 2 Supreme Court page 135 wherein our lordship, Justice of Supreme Court comprised of Sowemimo JSC, Idigbe JSC (of blessed memory) stated thus “As was stated in a passage in Emperor versus Browning 39 JC 322 cited in wills of circumstantial evidence 7th edition 1936 page 324, approved by this court in Ukorah Supra, “In a case where there is no direct evidence against the prisoner but only the kind of evidence that is called circumstantial, you have a two fold talk.
You must first make up your minds as to portions of the circumstantial evidence having been established and then when you have got that clear, you must ask yourself, is this sufficient proof? It is not sufficient to say if the accused is not the murderer, I know of no one else who is.” There is some evidence against him and none against anyone else.
Therefore, I will find him guilty. Such line of reasoning as this is on the law applicable to uncircumstantial evidence manifestly unfounded.” From the above, pieces of evidence, the investigation of the police leading to the prosecution of some people is slip-shod and left less to write home about from the above.
There are suspects like Bosun, the five suspects mentioned by Governor Akande, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) connection, the police failed to turn their searchlight to this angle but instead concentrated on that reasonable doubt.”There are reasonable doubts and suggestions of probabilities leading to the circumstances under which Ige was murdered, who and who the culprits are”.
In his 123 hand written pages, Justice Sanda said that in the course of the trial, the prosecution called 15 witnesses and presented 52 evidences while the defence called 9 witnesses including the accused persons.
Adding that Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, the Police Commissioner who handled the case said that the accused was not recommended for prosecution in the first instance. According to him, there is no confession or admission of any offence by the accused from the witnesses for the circumstantial evidence to support conviction. For conviction on circumstantial evidence, it must not only be cogent but must be compelling and must not leave room for reasonable doubt.”
There is a lot of doubt, presumption assumption and suspicion in the explanation given by the investigation police officer, was that they did not investigate the accused person because he was enjoying immunity at that time. If they did not investigate him, then their report will be irrelevant”.
Justice Sanda who faulted the circumstantial evidence pieced together by the prosecution said, “the intention of the accused person as to the publication in the Tempo are in doubt, failure of the prosecution to produce the tape of the interview granted by the accused is a failure on the part of the prosecution to establish the motive of the caption “Ige would have been killed”.
On the assumption that the assailants used Adesiyan’s house as a base for the attack, the Judge quoted the police reports as saying, “I say that assumption took us to know where.
On the second assumption that the assailants returned to the house of Adesiyan after the attack, nothing support that and that the assailants went there to take refuge, nothing supported that”. Justice Sanda said that on the assumption that Mrs. Adesiyan called the accused person to inform him of the attack on the late Ige, the failure of the prosecution to cross examine her “is a passive acceptance of the evidence of the witness”.
On the security of the deceased, he said, “There is no evidence that the security lapse could be traced to the accused person”. On the evidence of Fryo, Justice Sanda said that the evidence was full of contradictions and inconsistencies adding that the evidence of Defence witness 7, a police orderly to the accused was unchallenged that the accused did not meet Fryo at Ooni’s palace and Hilton Hotel on the 15th of December, 2001.
Justice Sanda said: “There is need for the trial court to tread consciously on circumstantial evidence because it is better for a guilty person to go free than an innocent person to be condemned”. Justice Sanda commended all the lawyers that participated in the case for erudity, the law enforcement agents for maintaining peace and the media for the day to day dissemination of the proceedings, “We are very proud of you all”.
The moment the judge rose, there was wild jubilation in the courtroom as supporters, friends and family members of Senator Omisore burst into different songs praising God for sparing the life of the politician throughout the duration of the trial. Senator Omisore spotting a brown guinea brocade buba and sokoto was later driven away from the court premises at exactly 1.10pm in a light green Jeep car with registration number 0S 169 A01 to Agodi prisons, Ibadan to pack his belongings.
It was celebration galore at Agodi prisons as inmates, prison staff and spareparts dealers erupted in joy when the convoy carrying Omisore stormed the prisons where he had spent the last 13 months. Senator Omisore accompanied by his supporters and family members later left Ibadan for Ile-Ife in a convoy of about 100 vehicles amidst various songs. The former Osun State deputy governor was arraigned before an Oyo State High court on February 18, 2003 on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder of Chief Bola Ige on December 23rd, 2001 at his Bodija, Ibadan residence.
The first judge, Justice John Olagoke Ige who handled the case granted Senator Omisore bail on May 30, 2003 on health ground. But the bail was later revoked by another judge, Justice Moshood Abass on July, 30, 2003 and he ordered that Senator Omisore should be remanded at Agodi prison custody. Few days later, Justice Abass, handed off from the case citing pressure from unexpected quarters and returned the case to the Chief Judge of the state for re-assignment.
The Chief Judge, Justice Isaiah Olakanmi transferred the case to Justice Akin Sanda sitting in court 11 where the case actually took place lasting for more than 11 months. At the High Court premises situated along M.K.O. Abiola way yesterday, security was heavy as all the entrances leading to the court were manned by police and plain clothed security personnel to avert possible breakdown of law and order.
At the close of their case, the prosecution team led by Chief Debo Akande (SAN) submitted that there were enough facts from the pieces of evidence provided by the prosecution to link Omisore with the death of Chief Bola Ige. But counsel to Senator Omisore, Mr. Anthony Idigbe (SAN) in his submission informed the court that the prosecution had failed woefully to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt and as such his client should be discharged and acquitted.
It would be recalled that Otunba Omisore was arrested by the police in connection with the death of Chief Bola Ige on December 27, 2002, few days after he was impeached as the deputy governor of Osun state by the State lawmakers. Senator Omisore was detained at the force-headquarters for several weeks before he was eventually arraigned in the State High Court on two count charge of conspiracy and murder of Chief Bola Ige (SAN).
