Ige: Afenifere Seeks Judicial Inquiry
By Joseph Ushigiale
Following the recent discharge and acquittal of key suspects linked with the murder of the late Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, the pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere has urged the Federal Government to urgently institute a "high power judicial panel, headed by either Justice Chukwudifu Oputa or Kayode Eso, to probe Ige's death."
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday and signed by its national publicity secretary, Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere said the call is "in order to restore confidence to the leadership in Nigeria and for the integrity of criminal justice administration."
It noted that "we have watched with trepidation, the trivialization of the half-hearted investigation and lame prosecution of suspects in the murder case, which have seen nearly all the suspects let off the hook."
Afenifere regretted that "the Oyo State Attorney-General, Mr. Lekan Latinwo, began to offend the sensibilities of all decent people by making mockery of the bastardization of justice, which has become the hallmark of the Ige murder trial."
"It is equally repulsive that the police have also joined the buck-passing in the theatre of the absurd. We cannot agree less with the Ige family that it does appear these state institutions are taking the rest of us to be fools."
On why it is taking this position, the organisation stated, "Afenifere insists that the only way the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)led Federal Government can convince Nigerians that the rumour making the rounds that Ige's life was snuffed as a prelude to 'capturing' the South-west is not true."
Afenifere noted that certain suspicions such as "the disappearance of all security details to Ige, at the time of his murder, point to the possibility that some powerful forces must have made this happen. Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka forced the presidency to publicly release a letter Ige wrote to President Olusegun Obasanjo few days before his murder that he was going to resign to be able to prepare his party for the 2003 elections."
It also pointed out that "the way and manner a prime suspect (Senator Iyiola Omisore) in the murder trial was made to contest elections from prison was a serious indictment of the political authority at the highest level. Immediately after the capturing of Oyo State, the new administration started behaving more as a defender of the accused rather than a prosecuting authority."
According to the organisation, the setting up of a high power judicial panel headed by a retired Supreme Court Justice is "the only worthy honour Obasanjo can give to the memory of his slain friend and not a worthless national honour to Ige's brother."
Following Ige's assassination December 23, 2001 Omisore, former deputy governor of Osun State, was arrested and prosecuted. Omisore who won a senatorial seat from prison custody could not be convicted.
Eleven others charged with Ige's murder have also been released. Only last week, the state Attorney General and Nigerian Police Force traded blames on why the prosecution could not get the suspects convicted.
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