When Chief Bola Ige was assassinated in December 23, 2001, everybody rose up to the challenge of calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the unknown killers; The Press lent their voices, the Judiciary also cried out. I could recall the statement of Femi Falana (SAN), Lagos Lawyer when he heard of the news “Why should Ige whose precious life was spared by Abacha's hit squad have to be killed under a supposed democratic regime of which he was the chief legal officer! What an irony of life!" Who could have killed Uncle Bola as he is popularly called, in his bedroom two days to Xmas, during this period of democracy, Remember that Chief Alfred Rewane was killed during the Abacha regime on October 6, 1995? The differences here of course are that Rewane was killed during a military regime, while we now have a civilian, supposedly democratic regime. Rewane was a private official, while Ige was the highest unelected law-enforcement officer of civilian regime. Rewane was a bitter enemy of Abacha, while Ige was the closest thing to a friend that former president Olusegun Obasanjo had, I mean a very close friends.
People took the death of Ige very personally, just as I am sure that former President Obasanjo has taken the death of his long-time friend very personal, to the point of weeping. Ige was the only cabinet member outside Adamu Ciroma who could dare look Obasanjo in the eye and tell him off without batting an eyelid.
Ironically, on Wednesday, December 19, Chief Bola Ige had just turned in his letter of resignation from Obasanjo’s cabinet, taking effect from March 31, 2002, simply because he wanted to stick around for the Bakassi judgement in February as a fitting “farewell” to himself, and to face his new UN Law Commission appointment.
The Federal Government had promised to do something about his death. Obasanjo had declared that the Killers would not go Scot-free.
There were various theories on who killed him. Some said that the killing was a reprisal killing stemming from the killing of one State Representative, Odunayo Olagbaju on December 20, 2001. The remote cause is linked to be political succession ambitions with the then Deputy Governor of Osun State, who later became a Senator, Otunba Iyiola Omisore’s name coming up. Omisore had alleged that back in 1998/1999 he agreed to be deputy governor only on the condition that his then candidate rival, Adebisi Akande would serve only one term (till 2003) as Governor of Osun State. He had pointed out that Chief Bola Ige had vowed that his friend, Governor Akande will go for a second term. So the Akande/Ige team have been doing everything to discredit him through allegations of fraud, etc., including attempts to poison and/or kill him, and Osun indigenes had taken sides in this bloody feud, as others looked on helplessly.
The rift between Akande and Omisore begins almost immediately, both political and financial rifts, with Akande’s friend, Ige naturally in the middle of them. Ige’s presence in Obasanjo’s cabinet had always been seen as his way of getting back at those mainline Afenifere members who would not make him a Presidential candidate despite years of faithful Awo-political-clan service. He was also seen more ominously as Obasanjo’s way of securing a political beach-head in Yorubaland and ostensibly a second presidential term in 2003 - Some would say that Ige literally died in the cause of doing Obasanjo’s service. Looking at the situation in 2003 with Obasanjo’s self-succession plans, Akande’s self-succession, or more accurately, Omisore’s desperation at his own ascension.
In an interview with Tempo Magazine of December 27, 2001 four days before Ige's assassination, Omisore had declared that “Bola Ige is a traitor in Afenifere. He has abused and embarrassed leaders of Afenifere, so, it is nemesis that is catching up with him. He is the 'Akintola' of our time. What Akintola did to Awolowo is what Bola Ige is doing to Adesanya and the Yoruba people”
Every body at least knew what later became of Akintola, whom Omisore made mention of here, so when Ige was murdered, there were speculations as to the cause and the killer, at least one possible set. In Osun State, a contest of political will was going on, with Governor Bisi Akande on the one hand and Deputy Governor Otunba Michael Iyiola Omisore on the other hand. Ige was a supporter of Akande, and Olagbaju a supporter of Omisore. Thus the supported are alive, while the supporters are dead.
A funny twist of event brought out Adebayo Adedamola Aka Fryo, who claimed that he was paid to kill Ige by Omisore, and thus Omisore, Fryo and other named suspects were arrested, following Omisore’s impeachment as Deputy Governor, which cancelled all immunity on him. Omisore had denied ever meeting Fryo before and the stage was set for a proper prosecution.
People were relaxed that for once, a murder case will be resolved, unlike that of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane etc., but surprisingly, the case was dragged along, almost forgotten, giving Omisore the chance to contest as a senator even in detention and won, later gaining his freedom on June 25, 2003 in a judgement delivered by Justice Akin Sanda. On July 20, some other suspects to the case were released in a judgement delivered also by Justice Ojo, and on October 14, in a judgement delivered by Justice Atilade Ojo at Ibadan Court, Adebayo Adedamola aka Fryo, Daramola Ezekiel, Sgt Oye Oniyanda, Nelson Kumoye, Kareem Lawal, Adebayo Adegoke and Oluwole Ogunjimi, got their freedom.
One thing that is so sure is that Uncle Bola Ige did not commit suicide. Certain people forced their way into his home in Ibadan on that fateful night in the absence of his bodyguards who had all “gone to eat”; proceeded to tie up some of his family members; and then later on his body was found bullet-ridden he was rushed to the hospital where he later died. So it was a homicide, pure murder, committed not by ghosts but by some human beings, in flesh and blood.
Despite accepting the notion of innocent until proven guilty, when a number of people, Fryo and Omisore included among others, were arrested on suspicion, either of plotting to kill him and/or actually laying their hands on him to do the dastardly deed, one could not but feel a sense of the need for justice to be expedited on the issue, now all the suspects to Ige’s murder are all free, freed, according to the judge, because the prosecution was completely incapable of providing any persuasive evidence against them either of conspiracy or murder. And we are back in square one, bearing it in mind that his killers are at large somewhere in Nigeria, eating, drinking and making merry somewhere, marrying and being married, having children and hoping to grow up like Ige, you and me. That is, after eleven years, not a single clue is known about who murdered the then Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who was regarded as a personal friend of the President of Nigeria.
We have chosen to forget about the issue and regard the case as “one of the numerous murders” (don’t forget that Funsho Williams, Ayo Daramola, Harry Marshal etc., had since joined the endless list of murdered Nigerian) until when Obasanjo opened the old wound when in a valedictory Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)/Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) interview session tagged “The President Speak” said that Bola Ige was killed by a drug baron, saying that it was wrong to assume that the Police had close the case. According to the president, the drug dealer masterminded the killing of Bola Ige to stall the prosecution of a case of drug trafficking that was being handled by Ige and that the police are now looking into it.
What a new chapter to the case! People expected Nigerians to begin to look among the various drug barons in Nigeria for the murderer of Bola Ige thus starting another “the Ultimate Search XI” who knows when it will end? When will we see this faceless Drug Baron who killed Bola Ige?

Written by ; Mobolaji E Aluko

Oh lawd! Why this long story... Btw we d 2005 kid can learn anyway...

So many questions remain unanswered in this country,if you wont mind,i may also add to this,who killed Funsho Williams？？？clear my throat！

Who killed funsho williams

COMRADES @helinues, you see your hand work of 2014 ba? Nairaland don bring am back for us to see

Back to the topic of discussion, who killed Bola Ige? I think I should be asking you and all APC's members to tell us

Thief'nubu of course

Melagros:
COMRADES @helinues, you see your hand work of 2014 ba? Nairaland don bring am back for us to see

Back to the topic of discussion, wo killed Bola Ige? I think I should be asking you and all APC's members to tell us

Na WHO now

World Health Organization

How can a 50 year old man keep creating threads upon threads. Morning till night.

No job, no wife, no children.. nothing nothing.

God have mercy.