Posted by EXCLUSIVE REPORT BY LAOLU AKANDE on
Yet another devasting news from Nigeria: Mrs Justice Atinuke Ige, 71, wife of the assasinated Attorney General of Nigeria, Uncle Bola Ige has died. She died reportedly of heart attack this morning in Ibadan.
Yet another devasting news from Nigeria: Mrs Justice Atinuke Ige, 71, wife of the assasinated Attorney General of Nigeria, Uncle Bola Ige has died. She died reportedly of heart attack this morning in Ibadan.
Sources close to the Ige family told me that the court of Appeal Justice had been in a state of complete depression after Wednesday's court hearing of her husband's murder case. Some weeks ago, Mrs Ige broke out in a grim cry in the open court while her son was recounting the gory details of Uncle Bola's murder. Clearly uncle Bola's wife has been going through a rought time since her husband's assasination.
And now a leading witness in that case who had earlier identified the killers to the police and signed a wriiten statement to that effect suddenly recanted on Wednesday saying he did not identify any of the killers, but that he was confused about the whole incident.
According to news reports in the media today, the witness, Mr. Andrew Olofu, who was Ige's own private security guard said he cannot "recognise any of the three gunmen that stormed the Bodija, Ibadan home of Chief Bola Ige, ...because at that time, I was in a state of confusion and fear had gripped me."
This guard was said to have previously identified one of the killers at a police parade and also written in one of his statements, the description of the suspected killer.
But yesterday's event at the court was a wild and dramatic twist that took the prosecution by surprise. Uncle Bola's wife must have been devastated as Olofu told the ourt that he never recognised any of the gunmen because he was not in the right frame of mind at the time the incident occurred.
Sources close to the Ige family told me that this was so depressing to Mrs. Ige and by the time she woke up this morning she could no longer take it, sustaining a fatal heart attack. She was rushed to the hospital where she died.
The recant of the witness, according to sources close to the Ige's family circles is a clear indication that there are grand orchestrated moves to cover up the murder. The question now is, who is doing the covering?
Will time reveal this question as well? I am praying harder for the Ige family, and even harder for dear country.
It is time for all the leaders in Afenifere and AD who have backed Obasanjo up till now to demand in no uncertain terms that the killers of Ige must be brought to justice. They have to demand that this effort at a cover-up should be exposed and terminated now.
It is time for President Olusegun Obasanjo to measure up and unravel this mystery otherwise clear stains will dot the federal government that he heads and the PDP on this matter.