The Olaitan Oyerinde murder saga - by Uchechukwu Olisah.

Solving murder cases in Nigeria, whether high or low profile has, overtime, proved to be a daunting task. Indeed, most times, the venture has been unsuccessful.
The extant case of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, the slain Principal Private Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, may just be one of such cases as it is apparently proving knotty to solve. Besides, some persons have argued those who have been charged with the responsibility of unravelling Oyerinde’s killers are perhaps, by their actions and inaction, made the entire enterprise a convoluted one except, of course, this seeming tradition of unsolved murder cases is reversed in deference to Governor Oshiomhole, Oyerinde’s principal.
The man Oyerinde
A retrospective look at the life and times of Olaitan Oyerinde from a citation on him posted on 09 May 2012 on the official website of the Edo State government showed that he was born on 7 December, 1968, to Alhaji Azeez Oyerinde, a journalist, and Mrs Comfort Oyerinde, a stenographer.Oyerinde was married to Funke Oyerinde by whom he had four children.

“ Oyerinde started his trade union career in 1990 when he was appointed Assistant General Secretary by the Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, an affiliate of the Senior Staff Consultative Association of Nigeria, which metamorphosed into the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.

“While in the union, he was actively involved in the pro-democracy movement, which was waging a relentless battle against the military and the interim government. At this point, he was the Lagos State chairman of the Campaign for Democracy (CD) under the national leadership of the late Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti. He was also executive director, Centre for Worker’s Rights (CWR) and a member of the Nigerian Tenants Association (NTA).

“Olaitan left the Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria as a deputy general secretary after ten years to join the services of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) when Comrade Adams Oshiomhole assumed its leadership. Under an organisational revival programme embarked upon by the leadership of Comrade Oshiomhole, younger and ideologically clear-headed activists were brought into the NLC to help build a more radical labour movement.

“In the NLC, Comrade Olaitan had been head of the departments of Industrial Relations and International Relations as well as the Special Assistant to the NLC President.

“He established a reputation for thoroughness, uncommon brilliance, deep commitment to the values of the trade union movement and capacity for creative thinking and initiative. This explains his rapid rise in the NLC.

‘Like other comrades in the Labour movement, he was involved in the electioneering campaign of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and co-authored the manifesto entitled My Vision, My Mission.

‘In November 2008, following his victory, Comrade Oshiomhole sought and obtained the NLC’s consent to release Comrade Olaitan to work with his administration. Olaitan resumed as the Special Adviser, Special Duties but was appropriately re-designated as the Principal Secretary to the Governor/Head of the Governor’s Secretariat.”

Oyerinde’s murder
Oyerinde was murdered on 4 May, 2012 at his residence in Benin City, the Edo State capital. The news of his assassination became an instant media hit and drew public attention obviously because of the status and personality of Oshiomhole, his employer at the time, and also because the murder occurred at a period of stormy and intense electioneering campaigns ahead of the 14 July governorship election which held in the state with the now re-elected Governor Oshiomhole seeking a second term of four years. But to many people, what increased interest in the murder of Oyerinde and made it to attract high reviews in some quarters was that it occurred few days after the accident of Saturday, 28 April 2012, involving the convoy of Governor Oshiomhole which left three journalists attached to the Governnor’s Press Unit dead and scores of others injured along Afuze-Auchi road. It was a development the governor said was a clear assassination attempt on his life. It was something akin to “some deaths, too many” within a very short interval. 

It was against this backdrop that Oshiomhole gave the police a 14-day ultimatum to fish out Oyerinde’s killers and bring them to book and even offered N10 million to anyone with information that would lead to the arrest of his murderers.

Politics of Oyerinde’s murder
Indeed, Oyerinde’s murder dangerously pushed Edo State to a precipitous edge. Before then, different developments including the fatal convoy accident heightened the verbal attacks associated with the bitter electioneering campaign of the time. But the already volatile polity was ruptured even the more with the assassination and the allegations and counter-allegations that followed, putting the state on the brink of implosion.

The Oshiomhole Campaign Organisation described the killing of Olaitan as “one murder, too many.” The Director General of the Oshiomhole Campaign Organisation, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said “This gives us reasonable cause for concern against the backdrop of the fact that it is happening on the heels of an orchestrated fatal auto crash involving the Comrade Governor only about a week ago. We call the attention of the public to the fact that these two incidents have happened just 24 hours to the formal flag off of the governor’s re-election campaign.”

Ize-Iyamu said they were informed that their political adversaries plan to orchestrate road accidents and kidnapping of prominent Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leaders in the state. He added that their political opponents also planned to plant bombs in strategic locations especially campaign grounds just to occasion mayhem. “When you juxtapose these events, we are not in doubt at all that this is all about politics of do-or-die and an atavistic attempt to capture power by crude and foul means.”

Furthermore, Ize-Iyamu said, “The purpose of all these is very clear. The first attempt on the governor’s life in an orchestrated auto crash was to go for the jugular and that attempt having woefully failed; the latest attack on the sanctity of human life is aimed at instilling fear on our party leadership and followership with a view to destabilising our campaign efforts.”

Ize-Iyamu recalled that “Johnson Oghuma, an ACN lawmaker representing Etsako Central which coincidentally is the same local government where the chairman of the opposition party comes from, was recently attacked by gunmen whilst on his way to receive decampees from the opposition party.” He further said, “You will also recall that the Commissioner for Information, Mr Louis Odion, had alerted the world about the threat that he received from no less a person than the national leader from the opposition party that he was going to be dealt with. Only last week, and the early hours of the morning gunmen stormed his house demanding to know his whereabouts. We thank God; he wasn’t at home that night.”

Governor Oshiomhole, who also spoke on the heels of Oyerinde’s murder, renewed his allegation and accusation, saying “Last week, they succeed in killing three Journalists. Last night, they killed Olaitan. Let me be clear they cannot kill my fighting spirit. We submitted a petition to the Commissioner of Police in which we informed him of the meetings held at the residence of the godfather where they took a critical evaluation of the forthcoming election and they agreed it is impossible for them to win. They also resolved at the meeting presided over by the godfather to intimidate my person and if possible to eliminate. At that meeting, they said they will kill under the guise of armed robbery, many of my personal staff and key leaders to pretend as if they are victim of kidnapping. I also informed the police they resolved that weeks before the election, they will detonate bombs in parts of the state in order the scare people away from going to vote.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not let the allegation fly without a response. On Saturday, 05 May 2012, the party through the state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, described the renewed accusation of Governor Oshiomhole and his campaign organisation as reckless, wicked and criminal. The party also said the allegation was ridiculous, vexatious, unfounded and a figment of the imagination of the governor.

According to Orbih, there was a dubious attempt to incite the people against the PDP and its leaders because the governor was aware of the defeat that awaited him at the poll. He said all they were doing was to create unwarranted attacks on the leaders of the PDP. Orbih noted that Oshiomhole said he gave the police a 14-day ultimatum to produce the killers of Olaitan and establish the killers of the three journalists that died in his convoy accident, but observed that, unfortunately, the governor had not waited for the 14 days to lapse before accusing Chief Tony Anenih and the leadership of the PDP in the state, just as he pointed out that Governor Oshiomhole was already influencing police investigation.

Breakthrough in investigations
The first hint of a supposed breakthrough in investigations into the murder came on Wednesday, 11 July 2012, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Abubakar, announced that the police had arrested the people who killed Oyerinde. The IGP, who addressed journalists shortly after meeting with officers and men of the Force at the Zone 5 Command headquarters in Benin City, the Edo State capital, said, “I want to announce that we have arrested four persons who had killed the PA to the governor. And that is a credit to the police.”

The IGP, who did not give further details regarding the arrest, took exception to the deadline of 14 days, within which to find the killers of Oyerinde and bring them to book, that was given to the police by Governor Oshiomhole. According to Abubakar, “You can’t just give the police 24 hours to do a miracle. We have to investigate and look at all the facts of the matter before we can come to a conclusion.”

Twists and turns: a tale of one murder, two sets of suspects, two different motives

The Police angle
Two different sets of suspects have been arrested by the two security agencies publicly known to be investigating the murder, namely the police and the State Security Service (SSS). The police in Edo State are holding some suspects, including an environment and economic justice campaigner, David Ugolor, while the SSS also arrested and are holding in Abuja six other suspects in connection with Oyerinde’s murder.

The David Ugolor connection
David Ugolor is the Executive Director of African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and is said to be a close friend and associate of the late Oyerinde. Few weeks ago, armed detectives from Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) stormed Ugolor’s office in Benin City and arrested him in connection with the killing of Oyerinde, with the police claiming that one of the suspects in their custody had mentioned one “David” as a sponsor of the murder. Before the police took Ugolor way, the SARS team had also conducted a search at his private residence in Benin City in an operation that reportedly lasted over three hours.
According to the police, police one of the suspects in their custody had during interrogation alleged that Ugolor gave him N200,000 as part payment for an agreed N20million price to hire late Oyerinde’s killers. However, it is said that during cross examination the suspect could not remember the exact location the transaction took place, neither did he know the way to Ugolor’s office, house address nor his cell phone number apart from the mental image of him always appearing on television to criticise government.

Ugolor had, at a press briefing shortly after the killing of Oyerinde, said, “Oyerinde was with me that night. He called me after closing from work and we went to Etete Street to have a drink. After about 11:00pm we left. He dropped me at my house and he drove home.

“At about 2:00am, the wife knocked on my window and told me thed had shot Oyerinde. I went and we took him to the hospital. He died in our hands after about 30 minutes. Oyerinde was not killed by his friends as speculated. It is only cowards that will resort to violence. We live in a free world. Oyerinde never believed in security. He never thought anybody would hurt him”.

The SSS angle
Besides, while the police are, among other things, looking at the plausibility of the murder being a case of assassination, the SSS has categorically declared that it was an armed robbery incident that went awry. In other words, the SSS said that armed robbers killed Oyerinde, a position which appears to run counter to that of the police regarding the suspects that are in police detention.

The SSS recently paraded six persons which it described as principal suspects in connection with the killing of Oyerinde. Deputy Director, Public Relations of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar said during the parade that “In addition to the suspects earlier arrested by the police in connection with the murder ,the following six principal suspects have been apprehended: Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullahi,Raymond Onajite Origbo; Chikezie Edeh; Saidu Yakubu(aka Imam); Sani Abdullahi Abubakar and Hassan Bashiru”.

According to Ogar, “Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde was murdered in cold blood by the trio of Mohammed Ibrahim,Raymond Onajite Origbo and Chikezie Edeh.The three other suspects -Saidu Yakubu (aka Imam), Sani Abdullahi Abubakar and Hassan Bashiru - are habitual buyers of stolen items”.

Ogar revealed that it was Olaitan’s guard that inadvertently exposed him to the killers through his careless utterances. “Investigation has thus far revealed that careless statements made by Ali Ihade, the security guard of Oyerinde at various times about his master’s position in government  attracted the attention of the prime suspect, Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullahi, who consequently hatched a robbery operation. On the day of the robbery, Abdullahi specifically instructed other gang members to tie up Ihade before they entered Oyerinde’s residence so that Ihade will not see his face.”

She added that “According to the robbery gang, Oyerinde was shot and killed by the prime suspect, Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullahi, when he ran into his bedroom and attempted to go underneath his bed. Abdullahi said he believed Oyerinde was reaching out for a gun under the bed and therefore shot him.” Ogar pointed out that among the items the robbers removed from Oyerinde’s residence were four Blackberry phones, one Ipad, two Galaxy pads, one laptop, a wedding ring, and an unspecified sum of money belonging to Adeyinka Oletubo, brother -in -law to Oyerinde.

“The murder weapons comprising three guns used during the robbery have all been recovered.The above suspects are all currently in the custody of the Service and would be handed over to the police for criminal prosecutions,” she further said.

Clearing of doubts
As at Thursday, 23 August 2012, both the police and the SSS engaged in what appears to be the clearing of doubts regarding the suspects they were each holding in connection with Oyerinde’s murder. That Thursday, the police said it had recorded a breakthrough in the case following their discovery that four of the suspects they arrested were principal actors in the killing.But the SSS said at another press briefing that same day it was handing over six suspected killers of Oyerinde to the police since, according to the service, it was an armed robbery case.

Deputy Force spokesman, CSP Frank Mba, who spoke while briefing journalists in Abuja, said that four of the seven suspects the police arrested in connection with the murder were the principal actors who killed Oyerinde.He gave their names as Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman, Auta Umaru Ali and Moses Asama Okoro, popularly called Moses Auchi, saying that Garuba Usman Maisamari procured the suspects and participated in pre-operational surveillance by trailing the deceased (with others) to his home.This came as the SSS punctured claims in certain quarters that some of the suspects it paraded before journalists on 01 August 2012, in connection with the killing of Oyerinde, had earlier been paraded by the it in March this year over the alleged kidnap of two expatriates.

While parading the three suspected kidnappers of the two expatriate staff of Stabilin Visinoni Construction Company, who had earlier been paraded in March this year with the six suspects paraded early this month in connection with the murder of Oyerinde before journalists penultimate Thursday in Abuja, the SSS Deputy Director, Public Relations, Ogar, said those behind the wild allegation were intent on politicising the murder of  Oyerinde and ridiculing the service.

Ogar spoke as the SSS handed over the six suspects arrested in connection with the killing of Oyerinde to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) of the Nigeria Police in Abuja, amid tight security, for further action. The suspects the SSS handed over to the police were Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullahi, Raymond Onajite Origbo, Chikezie Edeh, Saidu Yakubu-Imam, Sani Abdullahi Abubakar and Hassan Bashiru.

The SSS spokesperson had earlier told journalists that the service would hand over the suspects to the police for prosecution since it had been established that it was a case of robbery, going by the confessional statements of the suspects and the fact that the police had also arrested some suspects in connection with the murder, saying that it was the police that had an anti-robbery department, which would carry out the prosecution.

Perhaps to clear all misgivings regarding the alleged recycling of suspects by the service, Ogar said, ‘’For the avoidance of doubt, both groups have no link whatsoever, as they were apprehended for different offences at different locations and at different times.”

According to Ogar, “The suspects arrested in connection with the kidnap of the expatriates were between the ages of 19 and 20 years, while those apprehended over Comrade Oyerinde’s killing are between the ages of 26 and 46 years.”

Oshiomhole’s position on the matter
(Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s reaction as electronically sent from the Edo State Government House Press Unit is hereby produced unedited)

“Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to set up a high-powered Panel of Inquiry to look into the contradictions between two federal security agencies, the Nigerian Police Force and the State Security Services (SSS), over the killing of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, his Principal Private Secretary. Comrade Oyerinde was killed by gunmen in his residence in Benin City, on May 4, this year.

In a statement, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Peter Okhiria, said: “the attention of Governor Adams Oshiomhole has been drawn to the contradictory claims by two federal security agencies, namely, the State Security Services and the Police Force over the killing of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, his Principal private Secretary.

“While the SSS paraded some people who alleged to have confessed to the killing of Comrade Oyerinde on account of armed robbery, the Nigeria Police also said they have in their custody exactly the same number of persons who allegedly confessed to the killing of Comrade Oyerinde.

“In fact, the Police have gone ahead to arrest one Rev David Ugolor who is alleged to have been implicated as the sponsor of the murder. In order to clear the position of the Edo State Government, we wish to note the following:

“Following the murder of Comrade Oyerinde, the governor gave the security agencies a 14-day ultimatum to find the killers, which he suspected was politically-motivated. Within a few days of his murder, Mr. Governor was informed by the SSS in confidence that they had made some progress, having located Comrade Oyerinde’s telephone and those who bought it and eventually using their own skills, they were able to arrest, one after the other, those who have since confessed that they killed Comrade Oyerinde.

“Subsequently, at about the end of June, the SSS again, apparently to assure the Governor of the progress made, paraded the suspects before the Governor and he had the opportunity to ask some questions, for about 45 minutes, about the murder and they told him who fired the shot, where they stood, who bought the phone and for how much and they also showed him the weapons used and the amount of money they found which was less than fifty thousand naira.

“From the interface with the suspects paraded by the SSS, the governor was convinced that they were indeed responsible for the murder of Comrade Oyerinde to which they had confessed. The suspects also repeated to the Governor the confessions they had made to the SSS that they were the same gang that made an attempt to attack the State Commissioner for Information, Hon Louis Odion at his residence and their account corroborated that of Hon Odion who narrated to the Governor that ‘it was the vigilance group in his area that scared the attackers away’.

“The governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is convinced and impressed that the SSS did their job professionally. The only matter that remains unclear is the motive; whether it was a clear case of armed robbery or assassination on the ground that there were two men in the house and the invaders asked Comrade Oyerinde’s wife: ‘who is your husband’. If it was a clear case of armed robbery, it would not have mattered who the husband was.

“Two weeks after the SSS briefing, the attention of Mr Governor was brought to reports in the newspapers that the Police also arrested some people who also allegedly confessed to the killing of Comrade Oyerinde. Each time the Governor asked the Commissioner of Police of Edo State on the progress made on the matter, he insisted that the case was being handled by the Force Headquarters and was not in a position or permitted to brief the Governor.

“Following the arrest of Rev David Ugolor and the interest it has generated, the governor cut short his vacation, and upon his return to the state invited the Commissioner of Police to brief him on the latest development. The Governor told the Police Commissioner of his worries about not being briefed not only as the complainant whose associate was murdered but also as the Governor who has the responsibility for the protection of lives and property in the state. Again, the Commissioner of Police maintained that only the Force Headquarters could brief the governor even when the officer in charge of the case is on ground here in Benin City.

“Having expressed his disappointment on the seeming secrecy and lethargy of the Police and having regard to the persistent reports and calls he received on the matter and on the contradictory role of the two security agencies, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) heading the investigations finally briefed the Governor on their investigation on Friday, August 10, 2012.

“After listening to the briefing, the governor came to the conclusion that there were several inconsistencies in the IPO’s narrative, in particular the alleged involvement of Rev David Ugolor who is easily the most prominent civil society activist in Edo State and a well-known friend of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde.

“According to the DCP (IPO), some of the suspects had confessed one after the other to have participated in the killing of Comrade Olaitan in the course of an armed robbery operation. When they (Police) picked the 4th or 5th suspect, he mentioned that the person who coordinated the operation had told them that they would be paid N20m to assassinate Comrade Oyerinde and the coordinator was already in the police cell.

“The DCP told the governor that the police brought the alleged coordinator out of the cell and put the question to him, to wit: the issue of sponsorship of the killing of Comrade Oyerinde and he admitted that it was one ‘David’ that contracted him to carry out the operation and that the said ‘David’ had paid N200,000 out of N20 million agreed between them.

“That the following morning after the killing of Comrade Oyerinde, Rev Ugolor allegedly phoned him (the coordinator) to confirm that the job had been done and that Comrade Oyerinde had been taken to the mortuary. That at the identification parade, the suspect pointed to Rev David Ugolor as the alleged sponsor. The DCP said they have the call logs of Rev Ugolor and when Mr Governor asked if the claim of regular phone contact between the suspect and Rev Ugolor had been established, the DCP said he had received the call log of Rev Ugolor and was yet to verify that of the other suspect who ‘implicated’ him.

“The governor is surprised that about two weeks after David Ugolor’s arrest, there is no concrete link between him and his accuser. One would have thought that such link would have been established before any arrest is made.

“The governor asked the DCP if the N20 million had been paid to the suspects to whom he said No. The governor also asked if it was possible that a hired killer who had carried out a killing for an agreed sum could subsequently allow over two months gap without being paid.

“Again, the governor further asked the DCP if the suspect knows the residence of Rev Ugolor to which he said No. He further inquired to know how the suspect knew Rev Ugolor to which the DCP said it was through their transactions in foreign exchange

“The question is if the relationship between Rev David Ugolor and the suspect was based on transactions in foreign exchange on two occasions only, how did David Ugolor conclude that in addition to foreign exchange transactions, the suspect was also a hired killer?

“Like every other Nigerian, the Governor is extremely worried about the claims of two federal security agencies, which, no matter what anyone says, at the end of the day, one of the arms must clearly be playing out a script designed to shield the actual killers and/or their sponsors and it fits into the unenviable record of unresolved politically-motivated murder cases in the country, which Mr President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has denounced publicly when he ordered the security agencies, in unmistakable terms, to fish out the killers of Comrade Oyerinde.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there are too many contradictions in the narrative of the Police and their reluctance even to brief the Governor on the progress as the Chief Complainant and also as the Governor of Edo State.
“With the level of technological advancements in the world, and given the Police admission that a lot of the exchange of conversation between the alleged suspects was on the telephone, the Governor is of the view that the Police ought to have established through the call logs the evidence between the suspects before the detention of Rev David Ugolor.

“The Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, therefore respectfully requests Mr. President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, to set up a high-powered panel of inquiry or set up a crack team to resolve this national embarrassment.”

Ex-DIG Parry Osayande tackles police, SSS
The police, SSS seeming contradictions or perhaps inability to share intelligence and properly coordinate their efforts may have drawn the ire of the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Parry Osayande (retd) who said a situation in which the SSS now arrests and prosecutes suspected criminals is a great threat to the nation’s security.

Osayande who spoke on Monday while reacting to the conflicting reports between the Nigerian Police Force and the State Security Services (SSS) over the killers of Governor Oshiomhole’s Principal Private Secretary, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, said the duty of the SSS was to source information and intelligence after which they pass them to the appropriate quarters for execution. He said it was his belief that the police force which was passing through a process of reforms was capable of handling any criminal issue.

“The SSS should not be heard, they should neither be seen nor heard. They are supposed to operate clandestinely. Gather information, intelligence, distill and authenticate and pass them to the appropriate authority for use. This new trend where every body come and arrest and also prosecute is very bad. Needless schism among security agencies is wrong.

“If you get the information pass it to the appropriate authority. Every body wants to be seen. That was what caused the 9/11 tragedy in America. It is not that they did not have the information but some security agencies were hoarding the information and did not pass it to others. That is rubbish. Once you get the information, pass it to the appropriate quarters if it is the Army give it to them, if it is the police give it to them also,” Osayande further said.
Oyerinde and Nigeria’s unresolved high-profiled murder casesWith the controversies generated by the murder of Olaitan Oyerinde, an aide of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, last May, Assistant Editor, Dapo Falade, goes down memory lane, taking a look at some of the unresolved (or yet-to-be-resolved) murder cases across the polity.

‘In the course of over three decades, the question, “Who killed Dele Giwa?”, had become the catchphrase of sorts owing, largely to the efforts of my late friend and colleague, Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN, to continually remind Nigerians of the inability of the Police to find the killers of the eminent journalist.”

The above submission by eminent legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, in the 27 August, 2012 edition of his column, Afe Babalola on Monday, (Nigerian Tribune), aptly captures the frustration of Nigerians, both the highly and the lowly-placed, with the dangerously recurring decimal in the nation’s socio-political history namely, increasingly unresolved murder cases, most especially since the advent of the present political dispensation.

While no country in any part of the world can be said to be absolutely free of murder-related deaths, the Nigerian situation became a particularly worrisome phenomenon given the fact that its modern history is replete with scores of unresolved murders. But for the ruling of Justice Mojisola Dada of an Igbosere, Lagos High Court which pronounced guilty Major Hamzat al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late despotic military ruler, General Sani Abacha and Alhaji Lateef Sofolahan of being the masterminds of the murder, in June 1996, of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief MKO Abiola, virtually most other similar heinous crimes have remained largely inconclusive and unresolved in the annals of Nigeria, with the identity of the masterminds shrouded in mystery.

The recent killing of Olaitan Oyerinde, the Principal Private Secretary of Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in his Benin residence, has again reopened the vexed issue of unresolved murders in this country. The murder has also added to the growing lists of the victims, including;

Dele Giwa
Dele Giwa, the founding editor of the Newswatch Magazine, was dispatched to the world beyond in the morning of Sunday, 19 October, 1986 via a parcel bomb, a means which was then novel and sui generis. The murder of the colourful, flamboyant and celebrated journalist can be said to be the precursor of the boom in high profile murders which are yet to be unraveled by the police.

Alfred Rewane
An elder statesman and financier of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Pa Alfred Rewane, was murdered at his Ikeja, Lagos home in 1994 at the age of 79. An avowed critic of military dictatorship and despotic tendencies, Rewane was a successful businessman whose murder case remains unresolved since then, notwithstanding the trial of suspects who pleaded not guilty to the heinous crime.

Alhaja Suliat Adedeji
The woman, whose killing was believed to have been politically motivated, was killed in her Ibadan-home in 1996 by yet-to-be identified assassins who were said to have had poured hot leads into her private part.

Chief Layi Balogun
A successful and internationally recognised architect, Chief Layi Balogun was felled by the assassins’ bullets also in his Ibadan home in 1996.

Alhaji Jibola Olanipekun SAN
An Ibadan-based successful legal practitioner, Olanipekun was killed by yet-to-be identified gunmen in the Oyo State capital.

Chief Bola Ige
Former Second Republic governor of the old Oyo State and later, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, popularly known as the Cicero of Esa-Oke, was also murdered under mysterious and queer circumstances at his Bodija, Ibadan residence on 23 December, 2001. While his death threw up series of intrigues, not quite a few Nigerians, including the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, are of the conviction that the death of the leading politician of the Yoruba extraction was politically motivated. With the demise of his wife, Justice Atinuke Ige, in the course of the trial of some suspects, his family had since given up on the case, resigning themselves to fate.

Dr Obi Wali
The seed of unresolved murder case was sowed in the Niger Delta region with the brutal murder, in the early 1990s, of Dr Obi Wali, a leading politician from Ikwere, River State. As it was the case with many others before him, the Police questioned his wife for the murder of Wali in his Port Harcourt residence, but nobody was put to trial for the act.

Chief Marshall Harry
The incidents of politically motivated killings continued in the South-South with the murder of Chief Marshall Harry, a chieftain of the then All Peoples Party (APP), on March 5, 2003. Like Ige and Rewane, he was killed at his home and nobody has been prosecuted.

Aminasoari Dikibo
Dikibo, another high profiled politician and the then national vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-South, was hacked to death on February 6, 2004. The killers of the politician were never apprehended, though the police paraded some armed robbers as the suspects.

Ogbonnaya Uche
Uche, the senatorial candidate of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) for Orlu Zone, Imo State, met his death in the hands of unknown gunmen in his Owerri home. His killers are yet to be brought to book.

Andrew Agom
A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and former boss of the Nigerian Airways, Chief Andrew Agom, was killed on March 4, 2004 on the entourage of the former governor of Benue State and now the Minority Leader in the Senate, Senator George Akume.

Igwe Barnabas’ murder
The killing of the chairman of the Onitsha branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Igwe Barnabas, along with his wife, Abigail Amaka, by suspected assassins on September 10, 2002, became a celebrated case as high ranking government officials were allegedly linked with the murder. But there has been no reprieve for the bereaved family.

Odunayo Olagbaju
Honourable Odunayo Olagbaju, then representing Ile-Ife Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, was brutally killed on December 21, 2001. His death triggered a crisis. Some people convicted of his murder have been granted pardon by the current government in the state.

Funsho Williams
Death crept into the Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos home of the PDP chieftain, Engineer Funsho Williams in July 2006. He was a leading PDP governorship aspirant who many believed was removed from the scene, ahead the 2007 general election. While his murder became a subject of brickbats, accusations and counter-accusations across political divides, the police are yet to identify his killers, more than six years after.

Dr Ayo Daramola
The dastardly murder of Daramola, a former World Bank consultant and PDP governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, in Isan-Ekiti country home in 2006 drew a wide condemnation, but the police, as usual, are still investigating the murder.

Godwin Agboroko
The death of the chairman, Editorial Board, ThisDay Newspapers, Mr Godwin Agboroko, remains another challenge to the police. His killers, till date, have not been unmasked.

Abayomi Ogindeji
Another ThisDay Newspapers journalist, Mr Ogundeji, was murdered on 17 August, 2008. While the police are alleging armed robbery, many others in several quarters are not convinced that the death of the journalist was not politically motivated.

Bayo Ohu
Another pen pusher and Assistant News Editor of The Guardian Newspapers, Bayo Ohu, was also killed, leaving law enforcement agencies with yet another unresolved murder case.

Bagauda Kalto
Mr Baganda Kalto of the News Magazine was abducted from his room in Durbar Hotel, Kano and murdered during the Sani Abacha dictatorship and so far, there are no clues yet as to who did it.

Charles Nsiegbe
A political associate of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Charles Nsiegbe was murdered on the street of Port Harcourt on 21 November, 2009. The Nigeria Police are still in dilemma, seeking to unmask the killers of the man.

Dipo Dina
Popularly known as DD-Direct, the late Chief Dipo Dina was the governorship candidate of the then Action Congress (AC) in Ogun State in the 2007 elections. He was hacked to death by another set of mysterious assassins on Monday, 25 January, 2010 around Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State. As usual, his death has been ascribed to the handiwork of armed robbers but the police have not been able to unmask the killers.

While several other Nigerians were murdered unsung, a roll call of numerous other unresolved recorded assassinations in the Fourth Republic includes Yemi Oni, a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Ekiti State (March, 2003); Mr Ikenna Ibor, an ANPP member in Anambra State (March, 2003); Tony Dimegwu also of the ANPP in Imo State (April 2003); Mr Issa Zaria, ANPP, Kwara State (April 2003); Chief Onyewuchi Iwuchukwu, ANPP, Imo State (19 April, 2003); Mr Luke Shingaba (March 2004); Chief Philip Olorunnipa, INEC, Kogi State (April 2004); Mr Esho Egbelu, Cross Rivers State (August 2004); Captain Jerry Agbeyegbe, aviation chief, Lagos State (12 October, 2004); Mr Anthony Ozioko, PDP, Abuja (27 July, 2005); Mr Patrick Origbe, PDP, Delta State (3 June, 2005); Mr Felix Eboigbe, Edo State (August 2005) and Chef Jesse Aniku, ACD, Plateau State (July 2006).

As the murder of Oyerinde, Oshiomhole’s aide upped the stake in the numerous acts of impunity pervading the country, and with the police still investigating his death and those of others, the questions are, who is the next victim? Will the nation’s law enforcement agencies perpetually remain handicapped in the quest to provide a safe environment for the country and its inhabitants?

How far can the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, go in carrying out the order by President Jonathan that not only should the killers of Oyerinde be arrested but that all cases of unresolved murders should also be re-opened for thorough investigations?

Perhaps, an admonition will be succinct here: Delivering a lecture entitled, “The International Criminal Court and its role in fighting against impunity”, at an event organised to mark the 10th year of the murder of the late Chief Bola Ige, Justice Akua Kuenyehia emphasised the need to strengthen the rule of law.

Charging the Nigerian leaders to promptly identify and address the underlying causes of crisis, she opined that the causes of the conflicts were complex and the pre-disposition of a group of persons to conflict may depend more on the strength of their conviction for a cause than the threat of prosecution.

“A multiplicity of actions will be required to deal with such situations. Criminal prosecutions cannot deal with the underlying causes of such conflict. It can only ensure accountability for crimes committed. Failure to address the underlying causes of conflict is obviously a recipe for further conflict, irrespective of criminal prosecutions”, she said.