Following the assassination of Chief Bola Ige on December 23, 2001, the press and the judiciary both raised their voices in support of the speedy arrest and prosecution of the assassins. Femi Falana (SAN), a lawyer, said, “Why should Ige, whose precious life was spared by Abacha’s hit squad, have to be killed under a supposed democratic regime of which he was the chief legal officer!” when he heard the news. What a cruel joke life is! Who, in this democratic day, could have slain Uncle Bola Ige, as he is affectionately known, in his bedroom two days before Christmas? Recall that on October 6, 1995, under the Abacha administration, Chief Alfred Rewane was assassinated.
The distinction is that we currently have a civilian, purportedly democratic system in place, whereas Rewane was slain during a military dictatorship. Rewane held a private position, whilst Ige held the position of top unelected law enforcement official in the civilian government. Rewane was Abacha’s fiercest adversary, but Ige was former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s closest—that is, very close—friend.
Just like I’m sure former President Obasanjo took the passing of his close buddy very personally and started crying, people took the death of Ige very personally. Ige was the only cabinet member, aside from Adamu Ciroma, who dared to chastise Obasanjo without raising an eyebrow.
As a suitable “farewell” to himself, Chief Bola Ige submitted his letter of resignation from Obasanjo’s cabinet on Wednesday, December 19, 2002, effective from March 31, 2002. This was due to his desire to remain in the country for the Bakassi ruling in February and to take on his new role as UN Law Commission member. Regarding his demise, the federal government had committed to taking action. Obasanjo had vowed that justice would be done and the killers would not escape punishment. Who killed him was the subject of several speculations. According to others, the murder was carried out in retaliation for the December 20, 2001, death of Odunayo Olagbaju, a state representative.
The name of Otunba Iyiola Omisore, the former deputy governor of Osun State and later senator, is mentioned, suggesting that the remote cause may have been political succession ambitions. Omisore had claimed that in 1998/1999, he had only consented to be deputy governor if Adebisi Akande, his then-rival for the position, would serve as governor of Osun State for a single term (until 2003). He had brought up the fact that Chief Bola Ige had promised to run for a second term on behalf of his friend, Governor Akande. Political and financial divisions between Akande and Omisore start almost immediately, with Ige, Akande’s buddy, naturally at their center.
Despite years of devoted Awo political clan devotion, Ige’s inclusion in Obasanjo’s cabinet was always perceived as his retaliation against those core Afenifere members who refused to support him as a presidential candidate. More concerningly, he was perceived as Obasanjo’s means of gaining political clout in Yorubaland and, supposedly, a second term as president in 2003. Some even contend that Ige practically lost his life serving Obasanjo. Examining the circumstances surrounding Obasanjo’s and Akande’s self-succession plans in 2003—or, more precisely, Omisore’s desperation for his own ascent. Four days prior to Ige’s murder, on December 27, 2001, Omisore said, “Bola Ige is a traitor in Afenifere,” in an interview with Tempo Magazine. Since he mistreated and embarrassed Afenifere’s leaders, nemesis is bringing him to justice.
The ‘Akintola’ of our day is him.
The Yoruba people and Adesanya are being treated by Bola Ige in the same way that Akintola treated Awolowo. Everyone knew what eventually happened to Akintola, who Omisore mentioned here, thus when Ige was killed, at least one probable set of theories existed regarding the reason and the murderer. A struggle for political will was taking place in Osun State between Deputy Governor Otunba Michael Iyiola Omisore and Governor Bisi Akande. Olagbaju supported Omisore, while Ige supported Akande. Although the supporters are deceased, the supported remain living. A strange turn of events led to the arrest of Adebayo Adedamola, also known as Fryo, who claimed that he was paid by a politician to kill Ige. Fryo and other listed suspects were detained once Omisore’s immunity as Deputy Governor was revoked. Omisore had denied ever having met Fryo, therefore everything was in place for a formal investigation. People were relieved that, for once, a murder case would be settled, in contrast to those involving Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane, and others. However, it was shocking to learn that the case was protracted and nearly ignored in a ruling made by Justice Akin Sanda.
On July 20, a ruling by Justice Ojo also freed some other suspects in the case. On October 14, Adebayo Adedamola, also known as Fryo, Daramola Ezekiel, Sgt. Oye Oniyanda, Nelson Kumoye, Kareem Lawal, Adebayo Adekunle, and Oluwole Ogunjimi were freed in a ruling by Justice Atilade Ojo at Ibadan Court. “One thing is for certain: Uncle Bola Ige did not end his own life. Without his bodyguards, who had all “gone to eat,” some persons made their way into his Ibadan home that fatal night. They then tied up some of his family members before his body was discovered to be bullet-ridden. He was taken to the hospital, where he eventually passed away. Thus, it was a homicide—pure murder—that was carried out by some real, flesh-and-blood humans rather than by spirits stated by his nephew. Even though I believe in the concept of innocence until proven guilty, there was a sense that justice needed to be served quickly when several people, including Fryo and Omisore, were detained on suspicion of plotting to kill Ige or actually touching him to carry out the heinous act. As a result, all of the suspects in Ige’s murder have been released, as per the judge’s ruling, because the prosecution was unable to produce any solid evidence linking them to either murder or conspiracy.
And now we find ourselves back at the beginning, remembering that his assassins are still at loose in Nigeria, eating, drinking, and having fun someplace; they will marry and be married, have kids, and wish to become as successful as Ige, you, and me. We have chosen to ignore the matter and view the case as “one of the numerous murders” (remember that Funsho Williams, Ayo Daramola, Harry Marshal, and other individuals have since joined the never-ending list of Nigerian murder victims). However, Obasanjo reopened the wound during a farewell interview with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), tagged,
According to “The President Speak,” Bola Ige was murdered by a drug lord, and it was wrong to believe that the police had closed the case. The president claimed that the drug dealer planned Bola Ige’s murder in order to delay the prosecution of a drug trafficking case that Ige was handling and that the police were currently investigating. What a fresh development in the case! It was anticipated that Nigerians would start searching among the country’s numerous drug lords for Bola Ige’s killer, initiating “the Ultimate Search XI.” Who knows when it would come to an end?
When will we see the drug lord who killed Bola Ige, without a face?According to President Olusegun Obasanjo,
