Following the fraudulent regional election in 1965 that restored him to power as Premier of the Western Region, Chief Akintola was scheduled to deliver a victory speech.
The tapes containing the Premier’s pre-recorded speech were allegedly taken from the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) at Ibadan on October 15, 1965, just before the speech was to be broadcast on the radio. The tapes were allegedly taken by an armed man who allegedly broke into the NBC’s Ibadan offices.
The armed man, who was later said to be Wole Soyinka, forced the continuity announcer to play another tape that he had brought with him. Western Nigerians instead heard the Premier’s triumphant speech, which included, among other things, the following defiant message:
“Akintola, get out. Akintola, get out and take your band of outlaws who have lost all humanity with you and are now nothing more than murderous beasts with you.
The UPGA government, chosen by Western Nigeria’s residents, is the region’s legitimate government. All egotistical impostors should leave right away before the crowd grows impatient and starts to wash the streets with their tainted blood.
Get out before the ten million people’s rage, their justice, and an all-consuming fire come over your head, in the name of Oduduwa and our generation. “.
Due to the Premier’s embarrassment and irate reaction to this incident, Wole Soyinka was quickly arrested, wanted for questioning, and charged with conspiracy and tape theft.
Many well-known authors and public intellectuals protested his detention and petitioned the Nigerian government for mercy as a result of Soyinka’s detention.
Despite Soyinka’s unsuccessful attempt to establish an alibi, the prosecution was unable to obtain a conviction at trial due to the conflicting testimony of several witnesses regarding the identity of the armed man.
The trial’s judge, Justice Kayode Eso (as he was known at the time), opined that an acquittal and discharge of the defendant were the right decisions under the circumstances.
All the eyewitnesses [at the radio station] were positive that the [armed] man who held them up wasn’t wearing a mask, in spite of pressure from powerful Western region politicians who wanted Soyinka convicted at all costs, Justice Eso ruled.
They claimed that the area was well-lit and that they were confident in what they saw when they looked at the gunman’s face. They had all stated that the shooter was bearded.
[One of the prosecution’s witnesses testified that Soyinka was clean-shaven when he saw him at the radio station two hours prior to the incident.
While I can understand a man growing a beard at five in the evening and shaving it off at seven, m. I’m at a loss as to why a clean-shaven man would be out at five o’clock. M. 7 o’clock: growing a beard. M. Except he’s disguised in some way [when the incident happened].
And the prosecution itself presented overwhelming evidence to the court showing that the shooter who held up the cubicle that night was not wearing a mask. That “un-masking” continued to occur repeatedly, much like a “recurring decimal.”.
Therefore, it is obvious to me that no tribunal should be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the clean-shaven “Wole Soyinka” at 5 p.M. M. Without a mask who changed into the bearded shooter at 7 p.M. M.
Given this glaring discrepancy in the prosecution’s evidence, I must grant the accused person the benefit of the doubt. Because of this, I find him to be innocent, and as a result, he is free to go. ”.
In 2019, when reflecting on this incident several decades later, Soyinka recalls being strongly motivated to get involved in the old Western Region Crisis on behalf of the disenfranchised people whose democratic rights had been violated by blatant electoral fraud.
I was one of them, and my voice was being taken. I was unable to accept that someone should steal my voice while I was sitting down. I felt like I was one of the group. “.
