While the cases described below are a sample of some of the more high profile killings in Nigeria,
they do not constitute an exhaustive list.

1. Chief Bola Ige
Nigeria’s Justice Minister and Attorney General Bola Ige was shot dead in his home in Ibadan, in the southwestern state of Oyo, on December 23, 2001 becoming the highest level politician to have been killed in Nigeria while in office. Fingers were pointed at the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for complicity in his murder and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka referred to the PDP as a “nest of killers”. The murder case which accompanied his murder was muddled up as one political thug called Fryo who had confessed to being part of the murder and implicated the then Deputy Governor of Bola Ige’s home State, Osun, was later left off the hook when the government withdrew the case from court for “want of evidence”. His murder was widely linked to a political crisis between the Governor and Deputy Governor of Osun State, where Ige hailed from. Ige was the political mentor of the Governor, Bisi Akande who was at loggerhead with his deputy, Iyiola Omisore. Four days before Bola Ige's death, a member of the Osun State House of Assembly, Odunayo Olagbaju who was a supporter of the deputy Governor, had been stabbed to death in Ile-Ife. Some believed Ige’s killing was in retaliation of Olagbaju’s while others were of the opinion that Ige was a victim of PDP’s political chicanery in a desperate bid to control the South West being held by The Alliance for Democracy (AD) party of which Ige was the undisputed leader in the West. Ige had, a few months before his assassination, informed President Obasanjo that he was leaving Obasanjo’s government to concentrate on building his party in preparation for the 2003 election. The Party had won in all the South West States in the 1999 election and the PDP needed a foothold in the region where president Obasanjo hailed from. In the 2003 election, PDP won all but one of the South West
states largely due to the vacuum of leadership in the AD due to the assassination of Bola Ige.

2. Marshall Harry
On March 5, 2003, Harry Marshall, the national vice chairman for the South-South Zone of the now defunct All Nigeria’s People’s Party was killed in December 2001. Marshall Harry was an important politician both nationally and within Rivers State, where he was known as a political "kingmaker." He had supported the Rivers Governor Peter Odili in the 1999 election but later disagreed with Odili's policies and began a move to stop the reelection of Odili in 2003. He moved to the ANPP after his suspension by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2001 for "anti-party" activities. He then began to campaign against President Obasanjo. Harry Marshall became the ANPP's national vice chairman, with responsibility for the South-South zone of Nigeria covering his home state of Rivers and several other states of the Niger delta area. He became a strong supporter of Sergeant Awuse, the ANPP's candidate for Rivers governor and a bitter opponent of Governor Odili. On the night of March 5 2003, some armed men in plain clothes came to Harry Marshall’s residence in Abuja, the federal capital and made their way to his bedroom. He began to shout for help, but no
help came even though his residence was located within walking distance of the headquarters of the Abuja police command. Although the motive for his killing was later said to have nothing to do with politics according to the Police, those familiar with the political scene in Rivers State believed that his death was related to the bad feeling between him and the Rivers State government, more so when his assassination occurred a few days to the kick-off of ANPP’s presidential campaign, which was
planned for March 8, 2003 in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State. As a leading figure in the
party that was likely to mount the most serious challenge to PDP in the 2003 elections, Marshall’s death had major political implications. To further support the accusation against the PDP was the fact that the assassination happened the day after Marshall sent a letter of complaint to the Inspector-General of Police alleging that Peter Odili, the PDP governor of Rivers State, had been stockpiling arms and training gangs of thugs. In the letter, Harry had accused Odili of trying to stop ANPP
supporters from launching their election campaign in the Rivers State’s capital, Port Harcourt.

3. Ogbonnaya Uche
An ANPP senatorial candidate in the Southeastern state of Imo and former commissioner in the Imo state government, Ogbonnaya Uche, was shot in his home in Owerri on February 8, 2003, and died two days later. Uche told journalists before his death in the hospital, that he believed the attack was
political, and explained that two days before the shooting, he had been trailed to the party secretariat by a group of armed men, who had asked his driver where he was.

4. Abigail and Barnabas Igwe
In the Southeastern state of Anambra, Barnabas Igwe, chairman of the state branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, and his wife Abigail Amaka Igwe were ambushed in their car and brutally murdered in Onitsha, in September 2002. Barnabas Igwe had been an open critic of then Anambra state Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju, and had called for the governor's resignation due to his failure to pay government workers for several months. Mbadinuju was the only one of twenty-one PDP governors who could not get a re-nomination of his party in the 2003 election due to his alleged involvement in the murder. He was charged to court for the murder but was never convicted.

5. Ayo Daramola
A PDP governorship aspirant in the Southwest state of Ekiti was killed on August 14, 2006 in what the police said could be a political assassination. Ayo Daramola of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), was stabbed and shot in his hometown of Ijan-Ekiti. His assailants scaled the fence of his home, attacked his guards and burrowed a hole to his bedroom where they killed him, according
to the police. Daramola was killed hours after he staged a campaign rally in the state capital Ado
Ekiti the previous day. A PDP senator, Bode Olowoporoku and former Deputy Governor in Ekiti State, Biodun Aluko, accused the state government of being the mastermind of the murder. That was the end of that matter as nobody was convicted.

6. Funsho Williams
Three weeks before Daramola’s killing, on July 27, 2006, a leading governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Funso Williams of the ruling PDP was strangled in his home, a few hours after he returned from a political meeting. Williams was a leading member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which was locked in a bitter internal struggle over the Party’s ticket for the Lagos coveted governorship seat. Although about a dozen top politicians were detained by the police in relation to his assassination, they were later released leading many to believe that like many past political killings, this would end up as another undetected murder.

LIST OF KILLINGS BELIEVED TO BE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED IN NIGERIA BETWEEN 1999 AND 2007

1. SOUTH EAST
• On April 19, 2003, a stalwart of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Onyewuchi
Iwuchukwu, was murdered in Ikeduru Local Council, Imo State.

• On April 20, 2003, an ANPP member of the House of Assembly, Toni Dimegwu, was killed
in Imo State.

• On March 27, 2003, Mr. Ikenna Ibor, an ANPP councillorship candidate in Anambra State
was assassinated.

• On September 1, 2002, Mr. Barnabas Igwe and his wife Amaka Igwe were killed in Onitsha,
Anambra State. The then Governor of Anambra State, Chinwoke Mbadiniju, was arraigned.

• In February 2003, Theodore Agwatu, principal secretary to the Imo State Governor, was
murdered by suspected hired assassins in Owerri.

• On February 7, 2003, Mr. Ogbonnaya Uche, a chieftain of the ANPP and a senatorial
aspirant in the Orlu senatorial zone, Imo State was gunned down in his residence not long after he defected from the PDP to the ANPP.

• On August 29, 2001, Chief Victor Nwankwo, younger brother of Dr. Arthur Nwankwo,
founder of the Eastern Mandate Union and a known political activist, was assassinated in Enugu State.

• On September 9, 1999, a few months after the return to civil rule, Sunday Ugwu, elder
brother of Nwabueze Ugwu, a legislator representing Nkanu East Local Council in the Enugu State House of Assembly was assassinated in a case of mistaken identity.

2. SOUTH-SOUTH
• On 6 February 2004, the National Vice-chairman (South) of PDP, Chief Aminosoari Dikibo
was assassinated in Delta State on his way to the south-south PDP meeting in Asaba.

On March 5, 2003, Dr. Harry Marshal of the ANPP was murdered in his bedroom in Abuja.
He was the National Vice-Chairman of the ANPP (South-south). He left the PDP for the ANPP
following a rift with some top players of the party.

• On June 3, 2005, the principal administrative officer of Uvwie Local Government Area in
Oredo Local Council in Edo State was assassinated by unknown gunmen.

• In August 2005, Mr. Felix Eboigbe, councilor in Oredo Local council in Edo State was
murdered.

• On Christmas day in 2005, the Chairman of Warri South Local Council was murdered.

3. NORTH-CENTRAL
• On June 30, 2006, a governorship aspirant of the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD),
Mr. Jesse Aruku, was abducted and killed near his house in Bassa Local council in Plateau State.

• On August 15, 2002, the State Chairman of PDP in Kwara State, Ahmed Pategi was assassinated.

• On July 27, 2005, PDP’s Assistant National Director, Research and Planning, Mr. Anthony
Ozioko, was murdered in his residence in Saburi-Gwagwa, Abuja.

• On March 3, 2004, the convoy of the Benue State Governor, George Akume was attacked by
suspected assassins on his way to Kaduna. Although he survived the attack, a member of PDP’s board of trustees, Andrew Agom and Joseph Ngama, a police sergeant were killed.

• On March 4, 2004, Mr. Luke Shingaba, a chairmanship candidate, was killed in his house in Bassa Local Council in Kogi State.

• On February5, 2005, Sunday Atte, the leader of the legislative council in Yagba East Local
Council of Kogi State, was murdered by unknown gunmen.

• On February 18, 2003, A Security man in the residence of Chief Paul Unongo, ANPP
gubernatorial candidate in Benue State, was murdered.

4. NORTH-EAST
• On February 23, 2003, Speaker of the Borno state House of Assembly, Hon. Inuwa Kubo,
escaped an assassination attempt on him.

5. NORTH-WEST
• Alhaji Isyaku Muhammed of the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP).

6. SOUTH-WEST
• On December 19, 2001, Mr. Odunayo Olagbaju, a member of the Osun State House of
Assembly, was brutally murdered in front of a police station in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

• On December 23, 2001, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief
Bola Ige and leader of the Alliance for Democracy party (AD), was murdered in his bedroom at Ibadan, Oyo State.

• November 25, 2002, Lagos PDP governorship aspirant, Dele Arojo, was killed by unknown
assailants.

• On August 14, 2006, Dr. Ayo Daramola, a PDP gubernatorial aspirant in Ekiti State was
murdered in his bedroom at his hometown, Ijan Ekiti. His death was linked to the intra-party crisis.

• On July 27, 2006, Engineer Funsho Williams, PDP gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos State and
Chairman, Board of Directors of Nigeria Maritime Authority (NMA), was murdered in his bedroom
after a political meeting. Police are still investigating.

• On May 15, 2005, Alhaji Sulaimon Olajokun, a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD)
was murdered on his way to Lagos from Ile-Ife in Osun State.

• On July 16, 2005, unknown gunmen killed Alhaji Lateef (aka Lati Osogbo), a close associate
of Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, a topnotch leader of the PDP.

Source: The Guardian newspaper, August 17, 2006.

The list above reflects that political assassinations are widespread in Nigeria since the return to
democratic rule in 1999. The above list is not exhaustive.

Well researched.