Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reopen the murder cases of Dele Giwa and Bola Ige, stressing that vital clues remain unexamined.
Soyinka while speaking with journalists at Freedom Park in Lagos, said the murder cases should be reopened because vital clues remain unexamined.
He added that the cases which have been unresolved for decades deserve renewed investigation. He cited the presence of leads that have been overlooked and urged the government to revisit the files, summon witnesses, and identify those who may have deliberately derailed previous investigations.
Bola Ige, a former Governor of Oyo State and attorney general of the federation was assassinated in his home in Ibadan on December 23, 2001.
Dele Giwa, renowned journalist and founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, was killed by a parcel bomb on October 19, 1986.
Soyinka expressed frustration over the ‘repeated betrayals’ by past administrations, including that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who had pledged to investigate mysterious deaths but failed to act. He then urged Tinubu’s administration to fulfill those promises.
He said, “ The clues are there. Pursue the clues, dust up the files, re-investigate, call back witnesses, find out those who deliberately polluted the line of clues that would have led to certain answers.”
“Time and time again, we have been betrayed.
When Muhammadu Buhari came, he said he would order an investigation into all the unusual deaths both within the military and civilians. And we reminded him, ‘Where are the files? Let us see the results.’”
“It is a challenge to the present government to fulfil the pledges made by your predecessor.
Pick up those files, and dust them. It is part and parcel of the responsibilities of government.”
“Let us know what happened. Till tomorrow, we don’t know who killed Dele Giwa, or who killed Bola Ige, but there are clues.”
“Those clues exist. During that Bola Ige period, many things went unpublicised.”
