News
How Ige signed his death warrant – Bisi Akande *I’ve secrets I won’t reveal
Bisi Akande, former Governor of Osun State, has revealed how he warned Bola Ige, former Governor of old Oyo State, that he would be signing his death warrant if he made good his decision to quit the government of Olusegun Obasanjo, prior to his fatal death.
The death of Ige, who was fatally shot in his Ibadan residence on December 23, 2001, after his security details, who claimed they went to eat, left their posts, has remained a mystery since then.
Revisiting the incident, Akande, who was the governor in the neighbouring Osun, told Edmund Obilo, host of popular podcast, that though he had some secrets on the matter narrated to him by Lam Adesina, his Oyo State counterpart at that time, he was not ready to divulge them again due to passing times.
But he was emphatic that Rasheed Ladoja, Adeshina’s successor who took over the matter, would have some clue about what actually happened to the late former governor, who was first appointed as Minister of Power, before he was moved to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ), the office he occupied prior to his assassination.
Hear him: “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.
“I was the Chief Security Officer of Osun State at the time, not Oyo State. Lam Adesina was the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State, and he went to court, and the governor who 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.”
Recalling how Adesina had confided in him about certain details he could no longer disclose, he added: “Because there are many things you don’t want to tell the public. I don’t want to tell anybody. Now Bola Ige is dead, and Lam Adesina too is dead, so who will be my witness? Nobody.
“I know Lam Adesina went to court on the matter, and Ladoja withdrew the case from court. Ask Ladoja; he would know more about Bola Ige’s death.”
Contrary to the belief in certain quarters that the late former AGF betrayed his Alliance for Democracy (AD), and Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation under which the now defunct party operated, by joining Obasanjo’s government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Akande, said Ige’s move was endorsed by both platforms, because the former government proposed a a Government of National Unity.
His words: “I wouldn’t say it’s a mistake. We supported him in joining the government, I mean the Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy. We met under the leadership of (Ayo) Fasanmi in AD. We met under the leadership of Abraham Adesanya in Afenifere, and we asked Bola Ige to join the government. Abraham Adesanya asked that we discuss the matter in the AD, and we met under Fasanmi, the chairman of AD in the South-West, and by acclamation, we asked Bola Ige to join the government.
“We supported him in joining the government. We met under the leadership of Ayo Fasanmi in AD and Abraham Adesanya in Afenifere, and we asked Bola Ige to join. It was a unanimous decision.
“Obasanjo met Bola Ige and asked him to join his government. Ige asked Obasanjo to tell his party. Before Obasanjo would inform the party, Ige himself had told the party and we debated it and asked him to go and join.
“If anything so happens, we are all responsible. It was a joint decision. We held a meeting at Ijebu-Igbo, and we were unanimous, asking him to go. We held another meeting at AD and by acclamation, we asked him to go and join. So if asking Bola Ige to join Obasanjo was a mistake, it’s a mistake of the Yoruba AD and Afenifere.”
Recalling how he counselled the late AGF not to quit Obasanjo’s government, he said: “One evening, he just called me and said, ‘I’m going to resign from this government.’ I said, ‘Please, sir, I will come back to you.’ I called his friend, Oluwole Rotimi. He asked me to advise him (Ige) not to resign because if he does, he’s likely going to die.
“I called Uncle (Ige) back and begged him not to resign. He said he had talked to Wole Soyinka and Bola Tinubu, and both of them had asked him to resign. I asked him not to resign. I then said, ‘You can go to Obasanjo, tell him what you are angry about, and tell him that if he doesn’t want you again, this is your letter.’
“He actually did so. Obasanjo asked what he wanted him to do, and they both agreed. When he was leaving, Obasanjo said, ‘Don’t give that letter to the press; give it to me,’ and he dropped the letter. Ige told me himself. It was later after that he was moved to the Ministry of Justice.
“He was killed in anticipation of what he might become in the future. It was a state murder. The government killed him. The government can kill anybody. Obasanjo wasn’t keen on investigating who killed Bola Ige but was interested in the stability of himself in power and possible continuance.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
Columns4 weeks agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING: Terrorists strike Ibadan again! Abduct ex-Minister’s sister, twin children
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Wait over! Arsenal are CHAMPIONS! Win EPL after 22 years hiatus
-
Columns3 weeks agoSee Tinubu’s terrible damage on Option A4 and its precious memories
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Jonathan emerges presidential candidate *Gets automatic PDP ticket!
-
News4 weeks agoPresidency: Obi met all requirements – NDC *Cleared to contest primaries
-
News2 days agoBREAKING: Troops rescue wife of kidnapped General! *Terrorists flee scene