Posted by By CHRISTIAN ITA and PATRICK ASONYE on
A fresh angle was brought at the weekend to the mystery surrounding the death of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola in custody on July 7, 1998.
A fresh angle was brought at the weekend to the mystery surrounding the death of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola in custody on July 7, 1998.
The acclaimed winner of June 12 had reportedly dropped dead before the visiting American envoy, Mr. Thomas Pickering, in Abuja shortly after sipping tea.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi, a key figure in the struggle to revalidate June 12, has sensationally revealed that President Olusegun Obasanjo was among the high profile personalities who stormed Abiola's detention camp following the demise of General Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998 with a view to persuading him to abandon the struggle shortly before the latter suddenly dropped dead in custody.
United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and erstwhile Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaokwu, are among those whose visits to Abiola were known to the public.
Speaking exclusively with Sunday Sun in Lagos, Fawehinmi, who was chairman of the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), said Obasanjo not only persuaded Abiola to give up his mandate in exchange for freedom, but "is yet to tell the nation what he knows about Abiola's death."
His words: "We all know the role Babangida played to bring Obasanjo to power at the time Abiola was still alive and nobody can dispute the relationship between Babangida and Abdulsalami. Certain grounds were cleared for Obasanjo (in 1999). It is known to everybody that we in the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON) wanted Abiola to be released to head the interim national government we were calling for. Of course, that would obstruct the plan of Babangida and Obasanjo.
"One of those who visited Abiola in prison was Obasanjo. We reliably gathered that he appealed to him to forget his mandate. This was before Kofi Annan and Emeka Anyaoku came. Obasanjo has to explain why he appealed to M.K.O. to abandon his mandate and why within a space of one month, Babangida had to visit him in Ota. That is what Oputa is saying; that Abdulsalami should come and explain the circumstances of Abiola's death which remains an indictment of his person and government. We know the connection. It is a triangle of iniquities, a triangle of conspiracies, murderous conspiracies."
The human rights advocate who spoke against the background of the refusal by government to make public, the recommendations of the Human Rights Violation Commission that was headed by Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, accused the president of attempting to protect his friends indicted by the panel.
Obasanjo, IBB, Abdulsalami have blood on their hands
"This is a panel that was headed by one of the purest judges in the history of the country, one of the honest judges of all times, one of the most philosophical and erudite of all judges in the country. He has sat as a High Court Judge, he has sat as a chief justice of old Imo State before going to the Supreme Court and in five years, he did wonderfully. This is a man without any blot on him. If you want to count two honest judges of all times in this country, Oputa is one. You cannot buy him, you cannot influence him. Since he came out with the report, Obasanjo has been dilly dallying for two years now; all in the interest of his friends who are all indicted by the Oputa panel. They are all indicted, not only for gov- ernmental aberration but also for serious issues of murder of a journalist of high repute (Dele Giwa) and the other, a man who won a presidential election (MKO). Until these issues are resolved, Nigeria would never know peace. The psyche of the Nigerian people is not just bruised but psychologically assaulted in such a way that those who are governing us have blood on their hands. Nothing will wash the blood off the hands of Babangida, Abdulsalami and Obasanjo until the Oputa panel report is implemented."
Chaos looms
"Oputa panel report is known to everybody by now. It is on the world market. It is even posted on the Internet as www.oputapanelreport.org. Everybody is printing out, I have just printed out.
"Essentially, it indicted Babangida, his government, Halilu Akilu and A.K. Togun over Dele Giwa's murder. It also indicted Abdulsalami Abubakar in respect of the death or should I say murder of Chief M.K.O. Abiola. You are aware of the three people convicted for drug pushing and so on during the Buhari regime.
"Generally, Nigeria would lose a lot if this report is not officially acknowledged, officially acted upon and implemented. Apart from decisions of the panel on various issues, it went to the very heart of Nigeria's problems. It traced all our problems. Oputa did a great analysis of the problems of the country and proffered solutions. One of the solutions is that there is need for Nigerians to meet and iron out some of the problems that have been plaguing the country since 1914.
"But Obasanjo is trying to water down that aspect of the report by his so-called committee of his hirelings which one would call the political running dogs of the regime to prepare grounds for what Obasanjo calls national dialogue. It is a way of trivializing the seriousness of the Oputa's report and what would meet Oputa's expectation. The solution to our problems is the sovereign national conference. Until we have a serious approach to the resolution of our problems, I don't think chaos would be too far away from Nigeria.
"So, to avoid that type of situation, we should look at the Oputa's panel report very seriously. The man has done a serious work, a serious job. The recommendations are very serious. The government is trying to trivialize the report.
"I think the human rights community should be commended for publishing a pamphlet on it and I have a copy. Whoever that placed it on the Internet has done a great service to this country.
"Oputa panel is the very best that has ever happened to Nigeria. We have never had this type of panel before, that met for three years and touched on virtually every aspect of our life and not to accord it the type of respect it deserves would amount to the greatest disservice this regime can do to the country."
Babangida should be in jail
"The forces against the Oputa panel are very close to government. As a matter of fact, the forces brought this government to power. Obviously, Obasanjo is trying to dance to the tune of these forces and the forces are indicted by the Oputa panel. Chief among the forces is Babangida. I think in a very decent society, Babangida and his men should be cooling their feet in a charge cell or prison because Oputa recommended that since evidence showed that they were involved, further investigation should be done by the police so that the matter could be charged to court.
"I swore to fight the Dele Giwa cause until those who murdered him are in prison. They will certainly be in prison one day whether Obasanjo likes it or not. His government will not be in power forever.
"There is no immunity for General Babangida now to try him for the murder of Dele Giwa. As for Akilu and Togun, they will also go with Babangida. They are many others too that we don't know who now hold key positions in Obasanjo's government.
"So, the reason why Oputa panel's report and its recommendation are hanging in the balance is because Babangida is against its implementation. Don't forget that Babangida went to court and even before going to court, he refused to honour the invitation of the panel despite all my allegations and incontrovertible evidence proffered by others and me. First, he said Lagos was too hostile to him, then the matter was shifted to Abuja. He found Abuja hostile. The thing he really found hostile was the truth not the place or venue of the holding of the inquiry."
God against IBB
"Murderous heads of states have never gone away with murder. We know what is happening to Pinochet. He would by now be wishing he did not organise those murders.
"As for Babangida trying to come back, I think 2005,2006 and 2007 may shake this country to its very foundation. I think God Almighty is not a wicked God. He has never been a wicked God and Has never supported evil. If Babangida comes back, it means the Bible and the Koran are going to be re-written. This man is a personification of evil in every respect."
I Don't need IBB's adoration
"I am not interested in adoration, I am not interested in adulation, I am not interested in condemnation. I am not bothered about such things. I am not distracted by unconstructive criticisms, neither am I swayed by unswerving adoration or admiration. I am focused. The whole world may support me or condemn me; I don't care as long as I am focused. He may comment that I am a good man, I am not bothered about such a thing.
"He set us on the path of so-called election for 8 years. Operation this, operation that, don't register this, a little to the left, a little to the right, constitution for the left, constitution for the right. He directly misled the Nigerian people for 8 years. Today, he is one of the richest Nigerians and Africans. He sucked our financial blood. Now he wants to use that ill-gotten money with his hands soaked in blood to come and punish us again. God will never allow that."
Obasanjo is a negative character
"Nothing good can come out of Obasanjo's regime. Obasanjo is a negative character. His psyche is never positive, his history is never positive. He takes delights in making Nigerian people suffer, that has been his stock in trade, that has been his style of governments. When he first came in February 1976 after the murder of Mohammed by some miscreants who paid the price for that, look at what he did. He first destroyed labour and destroyed labour leaders. Those who were favoured by Nigerians as labour leaders; Sir Bassey, Pa Imodu, Pa Goodluck and a host of others were banned by a decree not to participate in labour activities for the rest of their lives.
"After we have been enjoying the stability of fuel for 12 years, it was Obasanjo who raised it from 80k by 73% in 1978 and said Nigerians were enjoying too much oil, that they should pay for it. Obasanjo increased tuition fee in April 1978. When students revolted against it, he mowed them to death. When lecturers revolted, he sacked them. More than 30 professors and senior lecturers were forced out of the university. He banned NANS.
"Even before the election of 1979, he announced that even the best candidate might not win the election. Obasanjo has never stood for free and fair election in his life."
"Look at what has happened in the Court of Appeal? We now see the truth. The man has gone one year and 10 months in office and we are still doing election petition. In 1979, the Supreme Court completed the Shagari Vs Awolowo case on Wednesday, the 26th of September 1979. Luckily, one of the judges then was Mohammadu Uwais, the current chief judge of the Federation. The case was concluded 3 months before swearing-in. Look at the Olu Falae against Obasanjo, it was concluded on the 5th of April 1999; long before swearing-in. Look at what is now happening.
"He was indicted by the Court of Appeal on the 20th of December. Even after the judgement, he was confessing to rigging in Anambra State. That opportunity was not given to the court of Appeal to know that the election in Anambra State was rigged."
Togun is a scallywag
"Look at this scallywag called Togun, the charlatan who was running away like a rain-beaten chicken after the murder of Dele Giwa, now has the guts to publish rubbish of a book. He could not even give proper notice for its launch, could not even give the name and address of the printer in the book, only to make useless insinuations. We fought this battle with more than 35 cases in court; he couldn't state all the useless things he is saying in the book. We raised all the allegations at the Oputa panel but he could not appear before the panel. He calls himself a military man and yet he could not appear before Oputa. When he was charged with murder, he ran away. This timid character behaving like a rain-beaten chicken in those days now has the guts to be writing a useless book. I will meet him in court despite the rubbish he wrote."
Togun recently published a book where he criticized Fawehinmi.