By Uche Mbah
Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to release the report of investigations into the death of former Attorney General and Minister For Justice, Bola Ige, SAN.
Speaking at a Symposium titled “20th year of Bola Ige Memorial Symposium, 2 Decades Of Injustice: What Are The Implications On Nigerian Democracy” organised by the Bola Ige For Justice Centre, held at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Tuesday, Soyinka explained that although all lives matter, some “impose a special responsibility ” on those in governance.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, what has become of your robust pledge to open an enquiry into the spate of political murders that the nation has undergone in recent years? Does it all amount to yet another instance of political bravado?”, he queried.
“While we all accept that all lives should be valued equally, some impose a special responsibility on those in governance. Bola Ige, as the nation’s Minister of Justice, and United Nations’ civil servant designate, was unarguably one such. A nation’s honour is in question and remains so until the hour of closure.
“Thus, we must never relent in demanding an explanation for his brutal murder, expose the perpetrators, identify the conspirators and reinstate the broken lines of justice.
“At the very least, we need a formal declaration regarding those who displayed an abnormal interest in the fates of those accused, to a level of proven, documented interference both in the investigative process and within the judiciary. I am not alone in having written and lectured on these sordid aspects that fueled the subversion of justice. There are surviving witnesses.
“Unsolved crimes only lead to a culture of impunity. This puts the entire nation at risk, no matter the privilege of high-level protection. This is a lesson that Nigerian leadership has yet to learn.
“President Buhari, share the rewards of your investigations – if any!!!”, he concluded.
Ige was murdered in his Bodija, Ibadan home under controversial circumstances during the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo.
His death joined a chronicle of unsolved murders that included Funsho Williams and others.
