Akande Raises Fresh Concerns Over Bola Ige’s Assassination

By Miracle Ogunde

Former Osun State governor, Chief Bisi Akande, has suggested that ex-Oyo State governor, Rashidi Ladoja, may hold crucial information regarding the murder of former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige.

Akande lamented that key figures who could have provided further insight into the case, including former Oyo State governor, Lam Adesina, had passed away.

Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Edmund Obilo in Ibadan at the weekend, Akande accused the Obasanjo administration of lacking the will to solve the murder.

“There are many things that die with people. I know Lam Adesina went to court over the matter, and I also know his successor, (Rashidi) Ladoja withdrew the case. Ask Ladoja, he would know more about Bola Ige’s death.

“I was the Chief Security Officer of Osun State at the time, not Oyo State. Lam Adesina was the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State and he went to court and the governor that took over from him, Ladoja, withdrew the case from court. He might be able to tell you more. I believe he has more information on Bola Ige’s death,” Akande stated.

He expressed regret that Adesina had confided in him but that much of what he was told could not be disclosed.

“Because there are many things you don’t want to tell the public. I don’t want to tell anybody. Now Bola Ige is dead and Lam Adesina too is dead, so who will be my witness? Nobody.

“I know Lam Adesina went to court on the matter and Ladoja withdrew the case from court. Ask Ladoja, he would know more about Bola Ige’s death,” he reiterated.

Akande claimed that Ige, a chieftain of the opposition Alliance for Democracy, regretted joining the Obasanjo-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration, describing the decision as a “kiss of death.”

When asked whether Ige’s decision to join Obasanjo’s administration was a mistake, Akande disagreed, asserting that it was a collective decision made by Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a mistake. We supported him in joining the government, I mean the Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy.

“We met under the leadership of (Ayo) Fasanmi in AD. We met under the leadership of Abraham Adesanya in Afenifere and we asked Bola Ige to join the government. Abraham Adesanya asked that we discussed the matter in the AD and we met under Fasanmi, the chairman of AD in the South-West and by acclamation, we asked Bola Ige to join the government.

“We supported him in joining the government. We met under the leadership of Ayo Fasanmi in AD and Abraham Adesanya in Afenifere, and we asked Bola Ige to join. It was a unanimous decision.”

Akande explained that upon assuming office, Obasanjo sought to form a Government of National Unity, which included members from various political parties, and subsequently invited Ige to join.

“Obasanjo met Bola Ige and asked him to join his government. Ige asked Obasanjo to tell his party. Before Obasanjo would inform the party, Ige himself had told the party and we debated it and asked him to go and join.

“If anything so happens, we are all responsible. It was a joint decision. We held a meeting at Ijebu-Igbo, and we were unanimous, asking him to go. We held another meeting at AD and by acclamation, we asked him to go and join.

“So if asking Bola Ige to join Obasanjo was a mistake, it’s a mistake of the Yoruba AD and Afenifere.”

He dismissed claims that Chief Ayo Adebanjo was the acting chairman of the AD at the time, insisting that the position was held by Fasanmi.

He further stated that Adebanjo opposed Ige’s decision to join Obasanjo’s government but lacked support.

On suggestions that Ige aligned himself with political adversaries of Obafemi Awolowo, Akande rejected such notions, citing his own political journey as an example.

“Buhari sent me to prison, and I’m now in the APC with him. There are no permanent enemies in politics. We are in politics to win elections.”

The pioneer interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recalled a conversation in which Ige had confided in him about resigning.

“One evening, he just called me and said, ‘I’m going to resign from this government.’ I said, ‘Please sir, I will come back to you’. I called his friend, Oluwole Rotimi. He asked me to advise him (Ige) not to resign because if he does, he’s likely going to die.

“I called Uncle (Ige) back and begged him not to resign. He said he had talked to Wole Soyinka and Bola Tinubu and both of them had asked him to resign. I asked him not to resign. I then said, ‘You can go to Obasanjo, tell him what you are angry about and tell him that if he doesn’t want you again, this is your letter.’

“He actually did so. Obasanjo asked what he wanted him to do and they both agreed. When he was leaving, Obasanjo said ‘Don’t give that letter to the press, give it to me’ and he dropped the letter. Ige told me himself. It was later after that he was moved to the Ministry of Justice,” Akande recounted.

He insisted that Ige’s assassination was politically motivated.

“He was killed in anticipation of what he might become in the future. It was a state murder. The government killed him. The government can kill anybody,” he said.

Akande emphasised that the crime fell within Oyo State’s jurisdiction, not Osun State’s.

He added that if Ige ever trusted Obasanjo, he did so at his own risk, stating that “since Ige was resigning from his government, I think Obasanjo stopped trusting him.

“Obasanjo wasn’t keen on investigating who killed Bola Ige, but was interested in the stability of himself in power and possible continuance.”

On the attack on Ige before his assassination, where his cap was publicly removed, Akande admitted he was unaware of the perpetrators.

“I wasn’t in the country at the time, but Ige told me about it. I advised him to focus on writing his memoir instead of attending social events. Unfortunately, he never got the chance.”

Regarding Ige’s political ambitions, Akande said he did not believe Ige was interested in the Presidency at the time of his death but was focused on ensuring an AD candidate contested.

When contacted at about noon on Sunday by Punch, Ladoja’s media aide, Adeola Oloko, requested that the reporter call back at 6 pm for a response.

However, when contacted again at 6 pm, Oloko said, “I will get back to you as soon as I have his response to the issue at hand.”

Efforts to obtain a response from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, were unsuccessful as calls placed to his mobile line on Sunday were not answered, nor was a WhatsApp message responded to.

Obasanjo had appointed Ige as Minister of Mines and Power between 1999 and 2000. However, after he was unable to make significant progress in reforming the National Electric Power Authority, he was redeployed as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, serving from 2000 to 2001.

Bola Ige was assassinated on 23 December 2001 at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.