Kehinde Fajobi
More than 20 years after the assassination of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, ex-Osun State Governor Bisi Akande has suggested that former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja may have critical information about the case.
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Edmund Obilo, Akande lamented that key figures who could have shed light on the murder, including former Oyo Governor Lam Adesina, had passed away.
“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,” Akande said.
He explained that, as Osun State governor at the time, he had no direct security oversight of Oyo State, whereas Adesina, as Oyo’s governor, had pursued the case legally before Ladoja withdrew it.
“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 who 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 also revealed that Adesina had confided in him about details he could no longer share.
“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.”
Bola Ige, a chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), served as Minister of Mines and Power under President Olusegun Obasanjo before becoming Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Akande disclosed that Ige regretted joining Obasanjo’s government, calling it a “kiss of death.”
“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 discuss 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.
“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.”
Akande recounted how Ige had contemplated resigning but was advised against it.
“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,” Akande said.
“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 insisted that Ige’s murder was politically motivated and accused the Obasanjo government of failing to seek justice.
“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.
“Obasanjo wasn’t keen on investigating who killed Bola Ige but was interested in the stability of himself in power and possible continuance.”