- Safiu Kehinde
Olumuyiwa Ige, son of late ex-Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, has narrated how his father was assassinated in his Ibadan residence on December 23, 2001.
Olumuyiwa attributed the incident to a heavy security compromise, stressing that his father was accessible to all prior to the incident.
He disclosed this during an interview with journalist Edmund Obilo on State Affairs.
The former Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development in Osun State, held the trauma from the political subversion of the case led to his mother, Justice Atinuke Ige’s death on April 9, 2002.
According to reports, Olumuyiwa also alleged the complicity of Ige’s Chief Detail, identified as Ezekiel, in the assassination that occurred two days to Christmas at Solemilia Court, No. 8, Akinlabi Sanda Close, Bodija, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He recounted that the assailants accessed the building around 7pm, when the former Minister’s security aides left their duty posts after his father returned from a Lagos trip.
“We had about 8 security men in his entourage with us. We had a DSS official who was on the phone, just checking in, giving information to people about where we were going, I had to tell him to tell everyone that we were going to Esa-Oke. When we were approaching the house, there was an issue of what the security men wanted to eat.
“As we were driving into the house, the Bodija Police Security personnel that were detailed to the residence, two of them were not there. I observed that and said it is almost 8 something; they were supposed to change the shift at 6. The ones in the morning overnight to 6pm were there, but the ones to take over didn’t show up, so my dad said whenever they show up, they should let them know so that they can get their Christmas surprises. So we went in.
“And then, 8–10 minutes later, was when the invaders, the murderers, the assassins came. There has never been an armed robbery in that house. I was there together. My aunt had gone upstairs, so the security men were going to take her to Oluyole, and they would come back. But my aunt was still upstairs when the invaders arrived. If I were with my father when the invaders came in, it would have been a different story, but I wasn’t.
“He was upstairs in his room when the Murderers came. My son, my wife, my aunt, were in different places of the rooms. My father’s house is like a town hall where you can just walk in and go to his bedroom; he will talk to you. Everyday, hundreds of people will come to the house just to meet with Uncle Bola. I couldn’t just imagine it, two guys with guns, not knowing if many were still outside. I wondered how people could come in with guns without our security, so it meant that my father was isolated.
“The assassins packed us into the rooms and started ransacking everywhere. My Mum sat up and begged them not to kill anyone. They didn’t touch us. Then, maybe 20 seconds after, I heard a gunshot. I felt maybe it were the security people that came and started exchanging fire with the assailants.
“About 5 seconds after, the guy just said MOPOL, let us go. He locked us in. I crawled to the phone to call the Police. I tried. I could not get anybody. I heard my nephew Cyril and my sister. I just ran to my father’s room and saw that he had been assassinated. I looked into his left eye and saw that the tissue had come out. I started CPR, but I noticed that there was blood. In the meantime, the crazy security men and the driver now came upstairs.
“We later found out they had come up into the room, the Chief Detail touched him and saw what had happened to him, but did not say a word. He was playing with one of his (Bola Ige’s) grandchildren downstairs telling her that we were upstairs. I was just wondering. The security men gave the right of passage to them.
“During the trial, we also found out that one of the suspects who lived around the corner when they came inquired if we were around and the security men said Yes. The star witness who was the security I was paying recounted. I believe Nigeria happened to him. They put him in the same cell with the prime suspect. I got information and said we should call Chief Akande, but he said we should go to Alagbon.
“The invaders had slapped him and put a gun to his head when they came in. He identified them (the suspects) on the day of parade. On the 9th of April, 2002, after my sister and I had testified, he recounted. That was the end of the case. He was the one who identified the prime suspect. But at the stage, Ts and Is were dotted; he now threw everything upside down. He said he could not remember anything again.
“As at the time, Lam Adesina had lost the election, it was Ladoja, a PDP government, who was coming in. So, they had to dance to the tune and were preparing to bring a no-case submission on behalf of the state. That was what killed my Mom. From that night (on April 9th), she could not sleep, she died in my arms that night,” Architect Ige said.
He also recalled events leading to the removal of the cap, necklace and glasses of his father at the palace of the Ooni of Ife.
His words, “All of us wondered why a Chief Detail (a Secret Service operative) will say that how will some people were able to get close beyond him and remove his principal’s necklace and glasses in one fell swoop. There was this character called Omisore and Fryo (the one that was arrested) the thugs that were there that day. My father was so trustworthy that he said Ezekiel (the Chief Detail) tried but we were curious to know how such happened when he was in the palace of the Ooni of Ife that he gave staff of office. It was sacrilegious and terrible.
“By the time, Omisore was giving Akande trouble. Everything has been said vividly in Baba Akande’s book, ‘My Participation.’ Uncle Bola had told Chief Akande that he could not be his deputy because he was part of the new greed of politicians then. They were a new breed of politicians without ideology but chop, chop, chop… My father described them as five fingers of leprosy. That was Abacha’s party.
“They were the moneybags. Baba Akande did not have any money. Omisore was the moneybag. My father said No to them but Baba begged him to allow Omisore become Deputy Governor. My father told him that he would have been the luckiest guy because if Akande had done eight years and went through training, he could have become Governor for another 8 years but he was over ambitious.
“My father was not involved in Osun politics. He was a leader of Alliance of Democracy, he was Deputy Head of Afenifere. He was a leader of the party. The Governor is the leader of the party in the state. They had a good relationship.
“My father’s death had everything in the direction of a state murder whether remotely, overtly or passively. If the state wants to resolve it, they can. I thoroughly believe Bola Ige will get justice. Capital punishment does not have any limitation. Somebody will trip,” the son of the late Cicero of Esa Oke noted.