Being the Text of the First Olaitan Oyerinde Memorial Lecture Delivered by Femi Falana (SAN) at Imaguero College Hall; Sapele Road, Benin City, Edo State on May 6, 2013

A Life of Struggle

As an undergraduate of the
University of Lagos in the late 1980s
Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde was
unarguably committed to the
revolutionary transformation of the
society. In 1989, he teamed up with
other progressive students to mount
a strident opposition to the
Structural Adjustment Programme
and other pro-imperialist policies of
the Ibrahim Babangida junta. Not
unexpectedly, the school authorities
were not comfortable with his
radical posture. Along with other
student activists he was expelled
from the university. Impressed with
the unalloyed commitment of the
dismissed students to the task of
nation building I had no hesitation
in accepting the brief to mount a
legal challenge over the expulsion
and the denial of their National
Youth Service Corps call up letters.
Olaitan and his colleagues won the
legal battle. I can say without any
fear of contradiction that Olaitan
and his colleagues in the Patriotic
Youth Movement were the last set of
progressives to lead the student
movement in Nigeria.
Upon his graduation he joined the
human rights groups and the trade
union movement. Owing to his
leadership qualities and
organizational capacity he became
the Lagos State Chairman of the
Campaign for Democracy and the
Deputy General Secretary of the
Nigeria Labour Congress. In both
organizations he distinguished
himself as a reliable and dependable
cadre in the struggle for a socialist
Nigeria. Even though Comrade
Olaitan was an indigene of Osun
State he played an active role in the
electoral battle led by Comrade
Oshiomole to terminate the ruinous
reign of the enemies of democracy
in Edo State. As the Principal
Private Secretary to Comrade
Oshiomole he made sure that the
governor maintained an organic link
with the masses and several
progressive organisations in the
country. His revolutionary ideas
reflected in the several speeches
written by him which usually
captured the governor’s mood.
Before they Struck
Convinced that no amount of
electoral manipulation could make
them fix the results of the 2012
governorship election in Edo State
the forces of retrogression decided
to engage in the brutal
assassination of some key members
of the Adams Oshiomole
Administration. Thus, at a well
attended wedding ceremony which
took place at the palace of the Benin
monarch on February 7, 2012, a
powerful member of the Board of
Trustees of the ruling party
threatened the life of the Edo State
Commissioner for Information, Mr
Louis Odion. Without any
provocation whatsoever Mr. Odion
was told, “You will see what will
happen to you”. The threat to deal
ruthlessly with the spokeman for the
Oshiomole Administration was made
in the presence of several persons
including two state governors. As a
law abiding citizen, Mr Odion
immediately lodged a complaint with
the police. But the complaint was
treated in a cavalier manner as no
charge was preferred against the
criminal suspect who had
threatened to violate the
fundamental right of a fellow citizen
to life.
Regrettably, the Edo State
Government left the matter in the
hands of the compromised security
apparatus and failed to seek
alternative means of securing the
lives of Mr Odion and other
members of the Administration. If
the suspect had been dragged to the
Magistrate Court and bounded over
to keep the peace under Section 35
of the Criminal Procedure Law or
sued at the High Court for the threat
to infringe of the right of Mr Odion
to life guaranteed by section 33 of
the Constitution the gang of
assassins who invaded Mr Odion’s
residence three months later would
not embarked on the heinous
mission. As the suspect was
granted amnesty by the Police other
criminals were let loose. Happily the
assassins missed their target.
Barely a week later, a mystery truck
rammed into the convoy of the
governor, Comrade Adams
Oshiomole near Auchi. Although he
escaped unhurt three journalists in
his convoy were killed while two
other members of his entourage
were seriously injured. But the
Police investigated the accident and
exonerated the killer driver of any
culpability even though it was
established that he drove his vehicle
in a reckless manner.
The Brutal Assassination and the
Investigations.
In such atmosphere of impunity
Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde’s
residence in Benin was attacked on
May 4, 2012 by assassins who shot
him dead in the presence of his wife
and children. As usual with all
politically motivated assassinations
President Goodluck Jonathan
ordered the Inspector-General of
Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar to
fish out the killers. A police team led
by DIG Gana was constituted to
inquire into the incident. After the
inquiry the Police claimed that Rev
David Ugolor, a close ally of
Comrade Oyerinde masterminded the
crime and recruited some boys to
kill Olaitan with a promise to pay
them N20 million. The suspects who
were illegally paraded by the police
at the press conference “confirmed”
the police story. Although the Police
claimed that there were telephone
conversations between Rev Ugolor
and the assassins when the plot
was being hatched the call logs of
all the suspects did not corroborate
the police account. Meanwhile, in a
suit filed against the Police by Rev
Ugolor at the Benin High Court the
trial judge declared his arrest and
detention illegal and awarded him
N5 million damages.
The police account was further
discredited when the State Security
Service (SSS) held another press
conference at Abuja where it
disclosed that Comrade Oyerinde
was actually killed by a gang of
armed robbers. At a parade
conducted by the SSS the suspects
made “confessional” statements
which implicated them in the crime
of armed robbery. Disturbed by the
conflicting accounts of both the
Police and the SSS the House of
Representatives set up a Committee
to probe the matter. While both
security agencies maintained their
positions at the public hearing held
by the Committee the representative
of the office of the Federal Ministry
of Justice stated that the Director
of Public Prosecutions was confused
in the circumstance. Embarrassed
by the disclosure the Attorney-
General of the Federation, Mr
Mohammed Adoke SAN denied the
confusion and that it was not the
business of the Federal Ministry of
Justice to interfere in the
investigation of murder which is a
state offence.
In an open clash between the
Attorney-General of the Federation
and Comrade Oshiomole in the
Presidential villa on March 12,
2013 the latter accused the former
of resorting to escapism to shield
the actual murderers of Comrade
Oyerinde. Even though Mr. Adoke
(SAN) vehemently denied the
allegation it ought to be pointed that
the Federal Director of Public
Prosecutions regularly writes legal
opinions on state offences
investigated by the office of the
Inspector-General of Police. One of
such matters pertains to the
prosecution of the criminal matter
involving a PDP Chieftain, Senator
Teslim Folarin & 3 Others (Case File
No CR. 611/2010). In that case the
Oyo State Police command had
charged the suspects to court at
Ibadan for the murder of one Mr
Lateef Salako on December 30,
2010.
But in letter Ref No HAGF/
IGP/2011/Vol.1/4 of 11th January,
2010 the office of the Attorney-
General of the Federation advised
the Inspector-General of Police to
“terminate forthwith the present First
Information Report in the matter
against the present four suspects
pending the conclusion of
comprehensive investigations into
the matter”. It was the view of the
Attorney-General that there was “no
indication in the report that a single
faction had a monopoly of weapons
of violence or that the gun shots
came from a particular direction.
The picture painted in the report is
therefore one of a total breakdown
of law order at the venue involving
different armed factions.” The
murder case has since been settled
as a family affair of the Oyo State
Peoples Democratic Party!
In view of the intervention of the
office of the Attorney-General of the
Federation in the offence of murder
in Oyo State which led to the hasty
clearance of the suspects Mr Adoke
SAN should study both reports of
the Police and State Security Service
on the murder of Comrade Oyerinde,
resolve the conflicts therein and
give appropriate legal advice that
will lead to the apprehension and
prosecution of the actual
perpetrators of the tragic murder. In
addition, Mr Adoke SAN should
publicly apologise to Comrade
Oshiomole for the misleading
statement that the office of the
Attorney-General of the Federation
does not give legal advice to the
Police with respect to state offences.
With respect, while the offence of
murder is a state offence the
constitutional duty to protect the life
of every person is binding on the
Federal government and all
authorities and individuals in
Nigeria.
Ending the Culture of Impunity
Since there is no statute of
limitation with respect to the
prosecution of most criminal
offences the fellow who threatened
the life of Mr Odion last year should
have his case reopened to prove
that the culture of impunity is not
acceptable in the new Edo State. I
have also advised Governor Rauf
Aregbesola to re-open the case of
the barbaric assassination of Chief
Bola Ige SAN, a former Attorney-
General of the Federation. It would
be recalled that sometime in
December 2001 the 71-year old
Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola
Ige, SAN was assaulted at a public
ceremony at the palace of the Ooni
of Ile Ife. His cap was removed and
taken away. The very many police
and other security personnel on
official duty at the ceremony did not
arrest any of the thugs who
assaulted the Minister and exposed
him to ridicule. A politician who
later assembled and rewarded the
thugs for assaulting the Minister
was also not arrested.
With the official endorsement of
such brazen lawlessness the
Minister was gruesomely murdered,
a few weeks later, by unknown
gunmen in his residence at Ibadan.
At the appointed hour his four police
orderlies were nowhere to be found.
As if that was not enough the
prosecution of the murder suspects
was deliberately frustrated by the
State. A trial judge to whom the
case was initially assigned cried out
that he was under pressure “from
above” to free the suspects. The
then Oyo State Attorney-General
later filed nolle prosequi in favour of
some of the suspects. The others
were later discharged and acquitted
as the case was not proved beyond
reasonable doubt.
It is my belief that if the thugs who
assaulted the person of Chief Bola
Ige and stole his cap had been
arrested and charged to court
together with their well known
sponsor the callous murder of the
former minister might have been
prevented. Therefore, if we are
resolved to defend and protect the
lives of our people we must be
prepared to end the culture of
impunity and the official policies of
granting amnesty to those who
engaged in violence crimes in the
society. Instead of relying solely on
the police to investigate serious
crime the Edo State government
should be more proactive. There
should be a coroner’s laws for the
investigation of politically motivated
killings and other unnatural deaths
as it is the case in Lagos state.
As we are marking the first year
anniversary of the assassination of
Comrade Olaitan we should
remember all those other unarmed
citizens who have been extra-
judicially murdered by the security
agencies and other criminally
minded individuals. In particular, the
four students of the Nasarawa State
University who were killed on
February 25, 2013 while the entire
students were staging a peaceful
rally in Keffi to protest the lack of
water on the campus. Although the
students were exercising their
fundamental rights to freedom of
assembly and expression
guaranteed by the Constitution the
University Authorities invited armed
soldiers and mobile police personnel
to put down the protests. In the
bloody encounter that ensued four
of the students were said to have
been shot dead. The Nigeria Army
has since denied the involvement of
soldiers in the cold murder of the
students.
The university authorities must
accept full responsibility for the
wanton killing of the students. It
should be pointed out that under
Section 217 of the Constitution it is
only the President and Commander-
in-Chief of the Armed Forces who is
empowered to deploy members of
the armed forces in any part of the
Federation in aid of the Police to
restore law and order if there is
insurrection or mutiny. From the
available evidence the armed
soldiers illegally deployed
themselves as they were alleged to
have intervened while on patrol
along the Keffi-Akwanga
Expressway.
All the troops involved in the
criminal action should be rounded
up and tried in a court martial for
conspiracy and murder of the
innocent students. The Federal
Government should be called upon
to stop the increasing militarisation
of the country. Even under the
defunct military rule in Nigeria
armed soldiers were never involved
in curbing students’ protests in any
part of the country. The excessive
use of armed soldiers for routine
police duties including the
monitoring of elections in a
democratic society is a threat to law
and order. The police should be
equipped and trained to maintain
law and order while the armed
forces are limited to the defence of
the country from external aggression
and peace keeping operations. They
must never again be involved in
curbing protests by students and
other unarmed Nigerians.
On October 18, 2012, two policemen
were part of the mob that killed and
roasted four students of the
University of Port Harcourt in Rivers
State. On April 9, 2013 about fifty
people were killed on the Shagamu-
Benin express road. In addition to
the condemnation of the carnage by
Comrade Adams Oshiomole the Edo
state government should mobilize
the victims and relations of those
who were killed in the accident. My
office will be ready to take up such
matters pro bono publico. From
April 16-17, 2013 a multinational
force of armed troops from Nigeria,
Chad, Cameroon and Niger invaded
Baga, Borno State killed 228 people
and set over 2,000 houses ablaze.
The denial of the massacre and the
arson by the Nigerian Army has
been challenged by the Human
Rights Watch which captured the
satellite images of the destruction. It
is worthy to note that the National
Human Rights Commission has
begun an enquiry into the military
invasion.
It is doubtful if the Federal
Government knows that it is
unconstitutional for any foreign
force to violate the territorial
integrity of Nigeria. In other words,
no multinational force can usurp the
exclusive constitutional duty of the
country’s armed forces without an
enabling law. Even the National
Assembly passed a resolution to
back the declaration of a state of
emergency in Borno state by the
President. There is no law that
allows the President to bring in
foreign troops to attack and kill
Nigerians. It is tantamount to an
assault on the territorial integrity of
the country which the armed forces
are obligated to defend and protect.
Unlike the JTF which is funded
through the budget of the ministry
of defence did the National
Assembly appropriate funds for the
joint patrol and other activities of
the nigerian troops involved in the
so called multinational force?The so
called multinational force was
secretly set up. Hence there is no
backing the force or budget for its
operations. There was no agreement
that the multinational troops would
enter one another’s territory. The
force should therefore be disbanded
forthwith while the armed forces of
the Republic are allowed to continue
to defend Nigeria from external
aggression.
We can no longer wait for the
Federal government that is not
prepared to prevent avoidable
deaths on our roads. Three years
ago, a multiple road accident killed
about 40 people at shangisha,
Lagos. My law office got the
coroner to conduct an inquest. One
of Dangote’s vehicles was found to
have caused the accident and the
driver was indicted by the coroner.
Right now, the Dangote group is
negotiating with us with a view to
compensating the survivors and
dependants of the casualties.
Following the Dana crash on June
3, 2012 our law office requested the
coroner to commence an inquest.
The Federal Government and the
management of Dana Airline
obtained a court order to stop the
inquest. The order has been set
aside and the inquest has resumed.
The proceedings have revealed a
lot. Unlike the crashes of Bellview,
ADC, Sosoliso etc the Dana Airline is
currently paying compensation to
the families and dependants of
those who lost their lives in the
crash. Many suits have also been
filed in the United States against the
Dana Airline and the plane
manufacturers for damages. We are
pursuing several cases of negligent
killing of innocent people in many
parts of the country. At the instance
of the Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Projects the Special
Prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court has commenced
investigations into allegations of
extra-judicial in Nigeria.
In celebrating the life of Comrade
Oyerinde we should all bear in mind
that no one is safe in our country.
Our country is grossly under
policed. For instance, with a
population of 18 million people
Lagos State alone requires the
services of 1 million police
personnel but the entire country of
167 million people is guarded by
400,000. Out of the figure not less
than 120,000 are engaged in special
duties while the nation is protected
by ill-equipped, ill-trained and
underfunded 380,000 police men
and women. In some cases the
efforts of some state governments to
equip the police are rejected without
any basis. Just last week, the
Federal Government was reported to
have stopped Governor Fashola
from installing 10,000 CCTV
cameras in Lagos state. With the
recent arrest of the terrorists in
Boston, United States with the aid of
cctv cameras and other
technological devices it is
irresponsible on the part of the
Federal Government to continue to
politicise the security of life and
property in Nigeria. State
governments that are not prepared
to allow militias to usurp the
statutory duties of the Police should
not be frustated from acquiring
modern gadgets to enhance the
capacity of security agencies in the
country.
Conclusion
In a country where citizens are
treated like aliens outside their
states of origin the government and
people of Edo State deserve
commendation for not subjecting
Comrade Oyerinde to any form of
discrimination in the service of the
people. We also thank the Oyerinde
family for donating a man of ideas
to a nation that is in dire need of
men and women of vision. While the
selfless patriot lives for ever in our
hearts the greatest tribute we can
pay to him is to collectively resolve
to build a new society of his dream
where the security of life and welfare
of every citizen will be guaranteed
by the Government.
Finally, when Comrade Che Guevera
resigned his ministerial position in
the Cuban Government to take part
in other revolutions in Latin America
he sent a letter to President Fidel
Castro on April 1, 1965 wherein he
wrote that, “I am not sorry that I
leave nothing material to my wife
and children; I am happy it is that
way. I ask nothing for them, as the
state will provide them with enough
to live on and receive an education.”
In the same vein, although Comrade
Oyerinde left no material wealth for
his young wife and children I am
delighted to note that the Edo State
Government has adopted them as
indigenes and taken care of their
welfare. Such humanitarian gesture
is a challenge to the Federal
Government which has failed to
provide for the welfare of the people
and secure full residency rights for
every citizen in all parts of the
country.