By Alade Adisa
“There was enough evidence that the government of President Obasanjo was reluctant to find the killers of Bola Ige.” – Chief Bisi Akande
When Chief James Ajibola Ige, SAN, was murdered on December 23, 2001, few days after resigning his position as Nigeria’s Minister of Justice, some thought it would be a matter of days before the assailants would be arrested and brought to justice.
Their optimism was because Ige, a chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, was not only close to then President Olusegun Obasanjo of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, but was also regarded as Obasanjo’s most trusted confidant.
However, 23 years later, the unidentified gunmen who took Ige’s life at his residence, Solemilia Court, No 8, Akinlabi Sanda Close, Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, remain unknown, let alone being brought to justice. His murder also led to the untimely death of his wife, Atinuke, and destabilized his family.
His political life
Although a Yoruba man, he was born in Kaduna when he had his humble beginning. He later moved to the western part of the country at the age of 13 in 1943 and attended the prestigious Ibadan Grammar School and the University of Ibadan where he studied Classics.
At 23, he became the organizing secretary of the defunct Action Group in 1953. He used his charisma and natural organizational ability to increase the membership of the party far beyond the West where it was founded in 1951 as an offshoot of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa.
He later studied law at the University of London and was called to the inner temple bar in 1961. Upon his return home, he founded Bola Ige & Co, a law firm that produced many legal luminaries across the country.
He was appointed the Commissioner for Agriculture in the Western Region under the military governorship of General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo between 1967 to 1970 and till today, many still commend his achievements in promoting mechanized farming across the region.
During his tenure as Commissioner for Agriculture, the Agbekoya Riots erupted in Ibadan and its environs. As a skilled diplomat, he tactfully managed the crisis.
In 1978, when Nigeria’s Second Republic was about to commence, Ige joined the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), founded by his political mentor, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, SAN. He was subsequently elected Governor of the old Oyo State. When the military took over and the Third Republic was established, Ige became a leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The current Fourth Republic saw him aspiring to be the presidential candidate of the AD, a position he lost to Dr Olu Falae who eventually lost the general election to Obasanjo. But despite being in an opposition party, Ige was still part of the Obasanjo cabinet and first served as the Minister of Power before being moved to the Justice Ministry.
He was about to take up a new position as Africa’s Representative on the United Nations International Law Commission when he was gunned down in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Controversy over his death
Some believe that he was killed because of political reasons. When he resigned as minister, he stated that he was going home to rebuild the AD, the major opposition party then.
Renowned Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, recently remarked on Ige’s assassination, saying:
“We have a phenomenon of unsolved murders, and we know that some of them result from corrupt forces. A notorious example is the assassination of Bola Ige in his bedroom. This was not a case of political rivalry or contestation. He was killed by the forces of corruption.”
Ige had been involved in internal party disputes within the Alliance for Democracy (AD), leading to speculation that political figures orchestrated his murder. Many pointed fingers at the then Deputy Governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, due to his longstanding conflict with Osun Governor, Chief Bisi Akande.
The feud between Akande and Omisore led to chaos in the Osun State House of Assembly. The Assembly attempted to impeach Chief Bisi Akande, citing 22 allegations, including his failure to assent to bills and implement laws.
It was evident that Bola Ige, as a key leader of AD, strongly supported Akande. The strained relationship between Akande and Omisore escalated tensions at the State Assembly, ultimately resulting in the tragic death of Odunayo Olagbaju, a prominent member of the House representing Ife Central Local Government Area.
A week after the attack on Ige at Ooni’s palace, he was killed in his home in Ibadan. Omisore alongside others were arrested and arraigned before an Oyo State High Court as part of the suspected killers of the former Attorney General of the Federation but were later released for lack of evidence.
Reacting to this in his autobiography, Akande said “there was enough evidence that the government of President Obasanjo was reluctant to find the killers of Bola Ige.” According to him, his summon to Abuja to meet with Obasanjo and the involvement of Omisore in the wake of the assassination was a fundamental poser that the government was bent on sweeping the murder of the attorney-general under the carpet.
“When I was about to board the aircraft on my return trip back to Ibadan, I saw Omisore. The jet had gone ahead to bring Omisore to Ibadan. What they told him I did not know. So why try to bring us together for a chat? All this created suspicion in my mind that cover-up was actively in the offing. That was why I concluded that the Federal Government was complicit in the assassination of Uncle Bola Ige.’’
Omisore was to later help the All Progressives Congress, APC, of which Akande was a former National Chairman, to win the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State. It was a close race in which Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led with 254,698 votes ahead of Gboyega Oyetola of APC, who polled 254,345 votes.
Omisore was to later help the All Progressives Congress, APC, of which Akande was a former National Chairman, to win the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State. It was a close race in which Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led with 254,698 votes ahead of Gboyega Oyetola of APC, who polled 254,345 votes.
Omisore, who contested on the platform of the SDP, came a distant third with 128,049 votes, he immediately became the beautiful bride to be courted by his two leading rivals after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive on the ground that the 353 votes margin between Messrs Adeleke and Oyetola was lower than the number of cancelled votes (3,498) in seven polling units.
Delegations from both the APC and PDP met with Omisore after the first ballot of the 2018 poll but he eventually threw his support behind APC, saying the ruling party had accepted the conditions he gave them. Omisore, who was facing several charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, took the offer from the APC as he was allegedly promised a soft landing in his case with the anti-graft agency. The supposed offer was that; his seized travel passport would be released, his case with the anti-graft agency dismissed and his frozen bank account unfrozen. Omisore later joined the APC and even served as the National Secretary of the party.
Akande, Ladoja squabbles over Ige’s death
As it has become a public matter for discussion since 2001, the controversy over Ige’s death few days ago reared its head. It was Akande who started it all over against by insinuating that former Oyo State Governor, Chief Rashidi Ladoja, was instrumental to the withdrawal of the Ige case from the court.
Reacting to the issue, Ladoja said Akande must withdraw his claims and apologise or be ready to face legal actions.
“All options will be taken, including legal action against Akande except he withdraws his statement and tenders a public apology,” Ladoja said.
Reflecting on the issue in an interview, Akande, who was Osun governor at the time of the murder, lamented that key figures who might have shed more light on the case, including a former Oyo State Governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina, had died. He alleged that Ladoja discontinued a case filed by Adesina, seeking to unravel Ige’s murderer.
“There are many things that die with people. I know Lam Adesina went to court over the matter, and I also know his successor, (Rashidi) Ladoja withdrew the case. Ask Ladoja, he would know more about Bola Ige’s death,” Akande said.
“Lam Adesina was the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State and he went to court and the governor that took over from him, Ladoja, withdrew the case from court. He might be able to tell you more. I believe he has more information on Bola Ige’s death,” Akande insisted.
However, Ladoja accused Akande of muddling up facts and lying against him, insinuating that Akande might be suffering from old-age memory loss.
“Chief Bola Ige was assassinated on December 23, 2001 — 18 months before I got to the office. I got the government on May 29, 2003, and Chief Ige was assassinated on December 23, 2001, which was 18 months before I got to office.
“I didn’t withdraw the case. My government didn’t withdraw any case. The case was even prosecuted up to the apex court. Chief Akande lied against me and he is old. This is not his first time. People say he lies; someone like Baba (Ayo) Adebanjo even said he lied in his book.
Ladoja said he had nothing to gain from suppressing the investigation in Ige’s murder, noting they were close during his lifetime.
He said, “We are not all happy about Ige’s death. We are all concerned about his death. I was very close to Chief Bola Ige while he was alive.
“I did nothing to harm the delivery of justice on the assassination case of Bola Ige. I didn’t withdraw the case. My government didn’t withdraw any case.
“I don’t know what information Baba Akande believes I could have that he didn’t have. All the information I also have was not different from what I heard from social media.
“If you look at the period the book itself was launched, the people close to Baba Akande, like Adebanjo, said Baba Akande lied in most of what he said in the book. I got that from the social media. Maybe this is one of the lies also, but unfortunately, he did not put it in the book. Maybe, he crumbled under the barrage of questions from Edmund Obilo, who interviewed him. Maybe Baba is getting too old to recollect what happened that time. I am saying emphatically that Baba Akande lied against me in his interview.”
Ladoja said instead of attempting to rope him into Ige’s murder narrative, Akande should be bold enough to tell the secret that he knows.
“The case was already in court before I came in. It was investigated. I was very close to Chief Bola Ige. In fact, when I was to contest in 1999, Chief Bola Ige had called me to come and contest before Lam Adesina was given the slot.
How then would I know about his death and will not be the one shouting from the rooftop or why will I be happy that investigation into the murder should be suppressed?
“Instead of maligning me, Baba Akande, who said that there are many things he knows that he cannot tell the public, should be asked to disclose them. He said the murder was a state murder and that government was behind it. If he was governor of Osun State then but claimed he did not know who removed the cap from Bola Ige’s head, yet he could know what happened in Oyo State, then, he must be lying. He said Lam Adesina told him many things, which he would not want to disclose to the public because both Lam Adesina and Chief Bola Ige are dead. Then how does he justify his allegation if he cannot say it?”
Why Ige’s death must be unravelled – Lawyer
A rights activist and lawyer, Tolu Ayodele, stated that, no matter how long it takes, Bola Ige’s murder must be unraveled. Explaining the significance of resolving the case, he argued that it would provide valuable lessons for Nigerians about the dynamics of political affairs in the country.
“There is no doubt that the murder of the former Justice Minister had elements of state involvement. It might not have been sponsored by the state, but it could be that some people did it and hung it on the state. You know a lot of things do happen within the political sphere. Some people can do some things, thinking they are helping those in power or doing such to protect their interests. That is how I see the issue.
“The people need to know what really happened and who did it. Sincerely, such murder cases, even in advanced nations, will be difficult to unravel, but the truth is that one day, everything will be brought to light. Look at the JF Kennedy case in the United States, new facts keep emerging now and then. But one day, everything will come to the open. Whether this generation will witness that or not, is another issue entirely,” he said.
