NBA Urged To Find Killers Of Ige, Williams, As BAR Seeks support for Fashola

PHOTO: LAGOS STATE GOVERNOR, BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA.

Eminent Lagosian and Pro-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Chief Molade Okoya Thomas today charged the leadership of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to ensure that those who murdered former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Chief Ajibola Ige and ex-gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, Engr. Funso Williams are brought to book. 

Speaking at a presentation of a book; Law, Politics and Development: The Challenges of an Emerging Mega City, compiled essays in honour of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), Okoya lamented the failure of the Nigeria Police to bring to book the masterminds of political murders committed since 1999.

Okoya, who represented Justice George Adesola Oguntade as the chairman of the occasion, tasked the NBA leadership to ensure that killers of prominent Nigerians who were assassinated in the course of serving the country be brought to book.

Specifically, Okoya said Williams, who contested gubernatorial election on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, was slain in his bedroom while the former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) was killed in the same manner, thus tasking the association and the judiciary to revisit the cases.

He explained that the manner politics "is played in Nigeria is bad. Funso Williams was murdered in his room like a goat. Experts were brought from Britain to find out how he was killed. Yet, the police did not make any headway to bring his killers to book. Lawyers have a major role in sealing the holes in Nigeria’s politics.

"I want the judiciary to educate our politicians on how to play politics without shedding blood. Let us educate them on how not to destroy others to get power. I know nobody can destroy Fashola," he said.

Speaking on the political crisis in Lagos, Okoya said he played a major role in ensuring that the fire (apparently referring to face-off between Fashola and his estranged predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu) was absolutely put out.

He stated that Governor Fashola should not be distracted considering his scorecards in the last three years and stated that the governor should be allowed to continue his good work directed at making Lagos Africa’s model mega city.

According to him, I have said it secretly and I’m saying it publicly now that no evil person can remove Fashola from office except God wants him to leave. It is true that Tinubu began some of the projects in Lagos, but Fashola implemented most of them.

In his welcome remarks, Chairman of NBA Ikeja Branch, Mr. Dave Ajetumobi, said that Fashola had set a benchmark for other governors to build on, adding that the only thing the lawyers could do was to commend him for a job well done with a quality book.  

He said: "NBA is strongly behind Governor Fashola considering all the good works he been doing in the last three years of his administration. Fashola is unassuming. This virtue makes him a leader that Nigeria needs to turn things around for good."