Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to expose those behind the assassination of the former attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Chief Bola Ige on December 23, 2001
Soyinka made the charge in a letter he addressed to late Ige’s daughter, Mrs. Funso Adegbola on the occasion of 20th year of the Bola Ige Memorial Symposium held under the theme ‘Two decades of injustice: What are the implications on Nigerian democracy’ and organised by the Bola Ige for Justice Centre.
He asked the president what had become of his (Buhari’s) robust pledge to open an enquiry into the spate of political murders that the nation has undergone in recent years
“I particularly regret my absence, as it provides a mandatory, inescapable occasion for directing a question at the nation’s current leader, President Buhari, a demand that the entire nation, no matter the political inclination of her citizens, is morally obliged to make. My message proceeds –
“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? 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, she 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 fuelled 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!!!” Soyinka stated.
