“Bisi Akande Lied, I Never Told Him Ige Will Be Killed If He Resigns From Obasanjo’s Cabinet” – Brig-Gen Rotimi

By Gideon Njoku

“Investigation into Ige’s murder was not thorough” – Rotimi

90-year old retired Brigadier-General Oluwole Rotimi, has put a lie to the recent claim by Chief Bisi Akande as it concerns the murder of Chief Bola Ige.

Ige, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Government was gruesomely murdered in his Bodija, Ibadan home on December 23, 2001 under circumstances that, till date, have not been unraveled.

But, recently, Chief Akande, a former Governor of Osun State, President Bola Tinubu’s political ally, and a former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, stirred controversy when he said that Rotimi, a former Military Governor of old Western Region, had called him to tell Ige not to resign from Obasanjo’s Cabinet as he planned to because if he did, he could be killed.

But addressing a press conference to mark his 90th Birthday, Rotimi said Akande’s submission was far from the truth, and a misrepresentation  of what transpired.

According to him, Obasanjo, when he wanted to change his Cabinet called him to speak to Ige not to think of leaving because there was a lot of pressure on Ige to resign from Obasanjo’s Government, including from Professor Wole Soyinka.

His words: There was a lot of pressure on Ige to leave the Obasanjo Government from people, including Professor Wole Soyinka.

“I now advised Chief Bola Ige, ‘Please don’t do it’. Obasanjo did not make a mistake in appointing you a Minister in his Government and he appreciates your usefulness to his Government.

“I did not say if he left, something would happen to him.

“That I advised Chief Ige not to walk out of Obasanjo’s Government is a fact. But I did not tell him there would be consequences should he do it.

“What Akande said is a misrepresentation. He should, as much as possible, get his facts right.

Rotimi, however, expressed disappointment with the investigation of Ige’s murder. He said it was untidy and not thorough.

He said: “They should have gone beyond those who  were his security personnel.

“If you limit your investigation right from the beginning, how do you deal with other facts hanging around which nobody thought about?

“That is the way I feel they should go, but I have learnt, over the years, to close my mouth because I don’t want to say something which I cannot publicly defend in order not to be seen as a fool.”