Reopen Ige murder case, Aregbesola, groups tell FG

Bola Ige

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and civil rights groups on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to revisit the assassination of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Bola Ige, 12 years ago.

They also said the suspects in the case should be re-arrested.

At an event organised by the Bola Ige Centre for Justice and which held at the University of Ibadan, Aregbesola said  the nation must guide against future occurrences by thoroughly investigating politically- motivated killings and other forms of murder.

The governor was represented at the event by his Senior Special Assistant on Legal and Judicial Matters, Ibrahim Lawal.

He warned that failure to do so would scare away genuine progressives from taking part in the development of Nigeria.

Represent- atives of civil rights groups and student unions were present at the forum, which also had in attendance the renowned Yoruba poet, Prof. Akinwunmi Ishola; former Methodist Archbishop of Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu; and Prof. Kolawole Ogundowole, among other personalities.

Aregbesola said, “This is not the first time that such killings have gone unresolved. Such assassinations have always been done to scare people away from legitimately vying for purposeful leadership. And good governance suffers when political killings reign.

“One basic problem of our security forces is the absence of forensic and modern investigative skills and facilities. So, the only way the government can give us hope is to empower and strengthen our security forces with the right forensic tools.”

Deputy National President of Arewa Youths   Consultative Forum, Mohammed Abubakar, said the Federal Government must re-arrest the Oyo State Police Commissioner at the time of the assassination, Zakari Biu, arguing that the circumstances that surrounded the killing were suspicious.

Abubakar said Ige occupied a special place in the history of the country and that he did not deserve to die the way he did.

He said, “We all know that Bola Ige had the police guarding  him. At the time of the murder, they said they all went to eat. This is an indication of the  complicity of the state. We can say the state intentionally killed the Minister of Justice.

“My opinion is that the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State then should be arrested. Let him  come and give account of what happened. I believe it is not too late to get justice. Justice can be gotten anytime. So, we have met with the Bola Ige Centre for Justice and other civil rights societies. We are going to put pressure on government.”