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Tag: June 12

  • Southwest relives June 12

    Southwest relives June 12

    Southwest states were throbbing with huge parties yesterday as residents remembered the June 12, 1993 election — Nigeria’s fairest and freest ever.

    There were various activities to celebrate the election, which was won by frontline businessman Chief Moshood Abiola.

    He died in a titanic struggle to revalidate the election, which was annulled by the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida regime.

    But it was also a day for the truth. Impunity in politics, corruption in the polity and election fraud must stop, some prominent politicians said.

    It was the 20th anniversary of the presidential election.

    Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti declared yesterday as public holiday to mark Democracy Day, which, in their view, the day represents. All the states are controlled by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    In Ondo State, which did not declare a public holiday, a lecture was held.

    There were at least five activities at various venues across the Lagos metropolis. They attracted people from all walks of life.

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and ACN National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for an end to impunity in the polity.

    At Abiola’s Ikeja, Lagos home, a wreath was laid on his grave.

    There was a march by top government officials in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital – the late Abiola’s home state – led by Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    The march terminated at Abiola’s house in the ancient city.

    Other events in Lagos were held at Airport Hotel, Excellence Hotel and Sheraton Hotel. The Lagos State House of Assembly held a special session.

    In Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan described June 12 as “a unique day that has changed the political history’’ of the country.

    “Today is also a unique day, June 12, a date that has changed the political history of this country in one way or the other.

    “In some parts of the country, some state governments have declared public holiday to mark today (yesterday), but at the centre, it has not been formally recognised as a public holiday.

    “We appreciate what happened on this day that you are being inaugurated. I think it is a unique date,’’ he said.

    The President spoke at the inauguration of the Board of the Police Service Commission held at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Former Inspector General of Police Mike Okiro is the commission’s chairman.

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola urged the Federal Government to identify Abiola’s killers.

    He urged the President to announce the result of the presidential election which is adjudged to be Nigeria’s freest ever and declare Abiola the true winner and thereafter accord the late businessman a posthumous honour.

    He saluted the Abiola family members and condoled with them over the sacrifice paid by their bread winner for the enthronement of democracy.

    Fashola and Tinubu criticised the culture of impunity that is threatening the survival of democracy.

    The duo spoke at an event organised by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with the June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations (J12CODEF). They insisted on electoral system that would guarantee a smooth transition in a democratic government.

    Fashola, in his keynote address said democracy is beset with challenges both man-made and institutional, which he said the nation must fight to regain its place in the comity of nations.

    According to him, the tenets of law and order must be entrenched if democracy must thrive. The absence of these key components pose a major threat for its survival, the governor said.

    He said the lessons learnt from the June 12, 1993 election is enough to show the way for the nation to avoid threading the path that plunged it into its present situation.

    He recalled that the process leading to the annulment of the elections as well as the inability of MKO Abiola to regain his freedom were key pointers to the consequences of flagrant abuse of law and order.

    Fashola faulted the move by President Jonathan to rename the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after the late Abiola, saying the process was a sham and a disrespect for law and order.

    He said: “Lately, an institution of higher learning, created by an act of parliament, which gave the institution its name, was visited with an action that in my view was done to mock the memories of Chief Abiola.

    “The name of the institution was changed to MKO’s name without changing the law. I venture to argue that MKO would have distanced himself from such action if he were alive.

    “If you are looking for proof, you will see it in the number of court cases he instituted whenever a threat was made on his life and those that he defended, as his proof for law and order.”

    . Linking the impunity in leadership to the ongoing controversy surrounding the election of a Chairman for the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF), he said: “We are living witnesses to a bizarre arithmetic in a contest of numbers where 16 votes have become superior to 19 votes in a perplexing logic. If this is not an example of impunity, I do not know what it is.”

    Fashola was referring to the 19 votes scored by Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi against Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang in the NGF poll and the Presidency’s recognition of Jang as NGF chair.

    “The message we have heard is this, it must either be our way or the high way. We don’t give a damn; whatever will be, will be. For everybody’s sake, these messages do us no good. The perception of them creates bigger challenges for our democracy. We must stand up as a people, shun ethnic colouration, political affiliation and religious faith to banish this kind of messages from our national consciousness, whether they are real or imagined”.

    Tinubu said the hope of Nigerians to get its electoral process right was thwarted 20 years ago when the June 12 election was annulled.

    He lamented that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had not witnessed much transformation since the 1993 elections, whereas countries like Kenya and Sierra Leone have made huge progress in entrenching sustainable and credible electoral process.

    Recalling the 1993 election, Tinubu said: “20 years ago today, millions of citizens went to the polls to vote. In some places, it rained; in others, it was warm and a happy sunshine. In a few other places, the sun was merciless. The statement that made people stay in long queues was more important than the harshness of the weather.

    “They wanted to say ‘no’ to military dictatorship and affirm the virtue of a system of popular sovereignty. They wanted to say ‘yes’ to democracy, they were not only saying ‘yes’ to democracy, they were saying ‘yes’ to multi-ethnic democracy. They wanted to pull tribal jingoism or religious bigotry, they voted against violence and mediocrity, what was important for them was not the ethnic accent or the geographic office of the person who won.

    “Yet we know what happened. We were all dazed when we were told by soldiers that our votes were not to be accepted. It generated crisis and paralysed our major cities. Politics became a promise for revenge especially to the people who did not yield to the demand of the military.”

    Tinubu, represented by NADECO Secretary Ayo Opadokun, added: “Some suffered at that time and had to die years later. Prominent among them was Beko Ransome Kuti and others in the process. In cold blooded situation, journalists like Bagauda Kalto, his family was not allowed the dignity of giving him a good burial. Many were wounded. The biggest of them was Abiola himself, who became a martyr.”

    He said Abiola’s struggle left a mark on the progressives to ensure the era of June 12 never repeats itself.

    “It is a protest that gave birth to democracy and it is the protest that will keep it on its toes. When Abiola fought for the recognition of his mandate, he did it in the spirit of protest, many people went to the streets to protest, Abiola and Rewane died in the spirit of protest. Those who stand against protest do so in the spirit of tyranny, that the military prides itself in. I dare say that we stand to ensure that never again will a mufti crowd of people deny us of our fundamental rights.”

    In his lecture titled “Nigeria’s Democracy and the crisis of political instability: An audit of Electoral system”, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, said the story of Nigeria is a metaphor of a recalcitrant child destined to be cramped and diminished.

    The varsity don said the prevailing culture of impunity in the country has made the nation’s elections conflict-ridden, adding that the campaign preceding elections are marked by “pettiness, intolerance and violence”.

    The event was attended by dignitaries, including Senator Oluremi Tinubu, NADECO chair Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Comrade Baba Omojola, members of the State Executive Council, civil society and youth groups, among others.

  • Amosun, Abiola’s children walk for June 12

    Amosun, Abiola’s children walk for June 12

    Over 5,000 people, including Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the late MKO Abiola’s children, yesterday walked major streets and roads in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    The event was to remember the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late business mogul and politician, Chief Moshood Abiola.

    The Democracy Walk, which began at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto at 7:30am, coursed through the Abiola Way, Sapon, Itoku, and Lafenwa, ending hours later at Abiola’s family house in Sabo where the crowd was received by the deceased’s younger brother, Alhaji Mubashiru Abiola and Rahmon Abiola, an engineer.

    The walk train was led by Governor Amosun, his deputy, Prince Segun Adesegun, Ogun Assembly Speaker, Prince Suraj Adekumbi, two of Abiola’s daughters, Tundun and Hafsat, the first daughter of the slain Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, First Lady Olufunso Amosun, pro-democracy groups and trade unions.

    Amosun, who addressed the gathering at MKO Abiola’s family house and later at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto, described June 12 as a watershed in the annals of Nigeria’s elections, which transcended Abiola and his family.

    The governor noted that the late politician paid the supreme price to pave the way for Nigerians to enjoy the democracy being operated today. He urged President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to accord Abiola a befitting national honour and declare June 12 a national day in his memory.

    Amosun said: “For the umpteenth time, I want to reiterate our call on the President Jonathan- led Federal Government to make this day, June 12, a national day and declare a public holiday to commemorate the day. We believe such a gesture will further give good expression to the wordings of our National Anthem that the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain.

    “The University of Lagos that was renamed Moshood Abiola University is still a subject of controversy in the court of public opinion and the law court. The Federal Government in collaboration with the distinguished members of the National Assembly should, therefore, come together and honour MKO nationally.”

    According to Amosun, Abiola was never a sectional leader. He said on the contrary, he was a visionary and national leader, whose contributions to national development cut across ethnic groups and cities, towns and villages in Nigeria.

    The governor said the legacies of the late politician would be sustained in the state, as encapsulated in ‘Hope 93’ manifesto, which bears semblance with his administration’s

    Five Cardinal programmes aimed at rebuilding Ogun State.

    Amosun said. “On our part here in Ogun State, we are working round the clock to sustain the legacy of Chief MKO Abiola as entrenched in the ‘Hope 93’ manifesto. We have beaten all imagination by coming up with a realistic and workable Five Cardinal Programmes as encapsulated in our ‘Mission to Rebuild’ Ogun State.

    “At the last count, we have touched almost all strata of our people’s lives, by sincerely giving them the dividends of democracy. Yet, we are not relenting in our determination to further better the lot of our people. It is creating an equitable society and enlarging opportunities for individual and societal development that Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola stood and died for.

    “As we reflect on the unquantifiable, selfless sacrifice and contributions of Chief Abiola to the development of our fatherland, I enjoin us all to rededicate ourselves to the service of the nation and continue to remain united and patriotic.

    “No greater honour can be bestowed on the late Chief Abiola than this. This is when the labour of the revered politician, businessman and philanthropist as well as other heroes shall not be in vain. “Beyond this celebration, therefore, I enjoin you to shun acts that negate the success made in our great state in the last 24 months. This is the only way we can make progress and achieve the state of our dream.”

  • Fayemi: June 12 is Democracy Day

    Fayemi: June 12 is Democracy Day

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday slammed opposition politicians for attempting to distort Nigeria’s democracy history. He noted that “June 12 is the Democracy Day.”

    Fayemi spoke at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, at a well-attended 20th anniversary of the June 12, 1993 election believed to have been won by the late Chief MKO Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida.

    The governor said the event was organised to remember June 12 and accord the martyrs their deserved respect.

    Said he: “I thank you all for not forgetting June 12. What we are doing here should be known to all. We should not forget where we are coming from and where we are. Abiola remains the symbol of the struggle for the emancipation of Nigeria. Most of our children today don’t know about June 12. But those who know and accept the truth know that if there is no June 12, there won’t be any May 29.”

    Governor Fayemi spoke of his intention to contest the 2014 governorship election. This followed months of what was termed ‘Fayemi Endorsement Rallies’ across the 16 local governments.

    He said it was proper to give a precise answer to the months of requests by people from the nooks and crannies in the state.

    His words: “I offer to serve the state for another term of four years after concluding the current term.

    “Let me say without sounding immodest that I want the good work to continue. I want to say that I share in the dream that the root of democracy must be consolidated in Ekiti. I have listened to the demands of my people from the 16 local government areas that I have to contest election next year. I am ready to offer myself as a vessel for the consolidation of democratic gains in Ekiti.

    “Before the Supreme Court verdict, there was no rumour they did not spread. They said they have godfathers in Abuja. They thought they could ambush justice, but we have surpassed whatever games they could play.”

    The former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Vice-Chairman in Ekiti South Senatorial District, Chief Ayo Peters from Emure Ekiti and Mrs. Bose Balogun from Iyin Ekiti, who were accepted with scores of PDP members into the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the event, said: “The achievements of Governor Fayemi are too attractive to be resisted.”

    Former governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, yesterday in a statement urged Nigerians to remain committed to sustaining democracy.

    He said democracy remains the globally-accepted means of aiding development and social justice across nations, adding that “no country develops except through genuine democracy.”

    Otunba Adebayo said the All Progressives Congress (APC) would provide the desired leadership in the next political dispensation.

  • June 12: 20 years after

    June 12: 20 years after

    • The date remains at once a watershed and a mockery of Nigeria’s quest for democracy

     

    It was a day that was; a day for the history books and all the elements were in concert to hand it a landmark role in the annals of Nigeria. June 12 was a mere presidential election date that grew to become war song, a rallying call, a democratic ethos and a milestone from which Nigeria’s quest for popular rule must take its bearing. June 12 must pass for the very first affirmation that Nigeria may well be more than a geographical expression; it was the first attestation that the entity christened Nigeria has some chance under the blaze of the African sun to shine forth and blossom into a preeminent giant of a country ; the pride of all coloured peoples of the world. That is the power and symbolism of the date, June 12, 1993.

    Saturday, June 12, 1993 was the day of the great Presidential Election between Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC). The road to June 12 was itself a journey lined with landmines and treachery. Prior to June 12, 1993, the incumbent leader of the era, a serving army general who styled himself a president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) had held Nigeria under the jackboot for nearly eight years, using every trick and machination in the books to hang on to power. That June 12, 1993 had a reckoning at all in history must be put down to a combination of the divine, the desire of Nigerians to do away with military rule in line with the global trend of the time and, more important, the sheer charisma, political savvy and wide acceptability of a certain man called M.K.O. Abiola.

    June 12, 1993 was a culmination of an interminable and deceitful transition programme instituted by General Babangida, which was never meant to yield any fruit ab initio. In 1992, he had unilaterally cancelled a presidential primary election organised by his administration for spurious reason he called, “bad conduct” by politicians. June 12 could be said to have literally defied Babangida’s gun boats and tricksters, including a midnight court ruling the night before, orchestrated by the regime to stop the election. Instead, it rode on a momentum that even a military dictatorship could not comprehend. June 12 became Babangida’s waterloo.

    The National Electoral Commission, NEC, headed by a certain Professor Humphrey Nwosu went ahead with the election in spite of not-so-covert efforts to arm-twist him into calling off the election at the last minute. Remarkably, Nwosu’s NEC adopted what it called Option A-4 which required voters to queue behind the candidate of their choice. By this method, it was obvious that Abiola was going to win what was a free and fair election. Already, in a clear lead after 14 states had been counted, the military government inexplicably halted the counting, collation and announcement of the rest of the election results and kept Prof. Nwosu under house arrest. Ten days later, on June 23, 1993, the June 12 election was annulled by the Babangida administration.

    Addressing a bemused nation in a long-winded speech on June 26, 1993, General Babangida said; “There were allegations of irregularities and other acts of bad conduct levelled against the presidential candidates but NEC went ahead and cleared them. There were proofs as well as documented evidence of widespread use of money during the party primaries as well as the presidential election. These were the same bad conduct for which the party presidential primaries of 1992 were cancelled.”

    It was obvious that General Babangida was merely prevaricating and full of equivocation. Naturally, the country was set on a tailspin as Nigerians who voted Abiola across the country and across ethnic and religious divides continued to agitate for the election to be brought to its logical conclusion and the results announced. Babangida had promised to keep faith with his August 27, 1993 exit date by organising another election. But that was not to be as the pressure from home and abroad forced him to hurriedly flee from office on that date, leaving behind a contraption he called Interim National Government, ING, headed by a stooge, Chief Ernest Shonekan. On November 10, 1993, a Lagos High Court ruled the ING to be a sham and the mess was dislodged by Babangida’s life-long shadow, General Sani Abacha on November 17, 1993 in a ‘soft’ coup.

    Abacha, the goggled ogre rolled out the tanks against Nigerians seeking the validation of their vote; drove members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the then symbol of mass resistance to military rule, out of town. Many Nigerians who protested the annulment of the election were killed and many others maimed. Abacha grabbed Chief Abiola who kept insisting on his mandate and clamped him into detention where he died on July 12, 1998. Before he died, his activist wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola had been assassinated in broad daylight in Lagos by Abacha’s killer squad and his businesses had floundered. Many others were killed by the squad. For four years during which Abacha held sway, Nigeria was a pariah among the comity of nations, was prostrate and comatose until his demise in 1998. General Abdulsalami Abubakar mounted the saddle, organised an election which ushered in a former General Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1999.

    Sadly, the story of the June 12, 1993 debacle has become Nigeria’s narrative for two decades. Her democracy founded on a fault line, has remained askew since then. Elections are still her very albatross as witnessed in the crisis that has engulfed the recent Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, election and democracy has merely wobbled on, lacking any roots. It is remarkable that ethno-religious crises in Nigeria which the Abiola mandate would have curtailed are even more alive and well today, ravaging the country now more than ever. Democratic space has continued to constrict over these decades with successive governments ignoring the basic tenets and conveniently neglecting to build institutions that would enhance civil rule and orderly conduct of governance.

    Perhaps most important is the fact that no lessons have been learnt from the missed opportunity that was June 12. Some of the chief protagonists and villains of that sad epoch, like General Babangida and Chief Tony Anenih, to name just two, are still playing the field, oblivious of the havoc their actions of two decades ago have brought upon the country.

    Nigeria needs to make atonement for June 12 and that may begin with the key actors coming clean and telling the truth about that election. Then, we need to properly situate that historic election, recognise and honour the winner even post-humously. That is the way to rest the spirit of June 12 once and for all.

     

  • Declare June 12 Nigeria’s unity day, Fasehun urges FG

    Declare June 12 Nigeria’s unity day, Fasehun urges FG

    Dr Fredrick Fasehun, Founder of the Odu’a People’s Congress, on Tuesday in Lagos urged the Federal Government to proclaim June 12 Nigeria’s unity day.

    Fasehun told a news conference that June 12 was the truest mark of Nigerian unity.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the historic June 12, 1993 presidential elections, which most observers adjudged fair and free, was believed to have been won by the late business mogul, Chief M.K.O Abiola.

    However, on June 23, the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida-led administration annulled the election and subsequently handed over power to an interim government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, a businessman.

    Fasehun said: “Just as the Federal Government has declared May 29 Democracy Day, it should consider proclaiming June 12 unity day.

    “June 12 should be our unity day because on that day, all the constituent units of Nigeria spoke with near-unanimity and elected Abiola their president.’’

    Fasehun, the interim National Chairman of the yet-to-be registered Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), said that Nigerians could not forget June 12 as it had become part of the country’s political history.

    “We remember the rape of June 12. We remember the pains of June 12. We remember the dislocation caused by its cancellation.

    “We remember the lives lost, the limbs lost and the livelihoods lost because of June 12,” he said.

    The politician urged President Goodluck Jonathan to work out a compensation plan for the families of Nigerians, who died in the struggle for democracy.

    “As part of events marking the last Democracy Day, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a N5.7 billion compensation for victims of the 2011 post-election violence.

    “Some governors had made similar gestures in the past. We demand that government should immediately expand the scope of the current compensation plan to include victims of June 12,’’ he said.

    Fasehun also criticised a comment credited to the 2011 Presidential Candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, faulting emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

    He called for a national conference as a way out of the nation’s myriad of problems.

    “National Assembly members should concentrate on their core business of law-making and leave making a new constitution to a sovereign national conference of the federating units.

    “The lawmakers should no longer stand in the way of the conference,” he said.

  • June 12: Group seeks apology

    A group, the Nigerian Democratic Awareness Forum (NIDAF), yesterday said the only way government could apologise for the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election is to ensure that votes count in future elections.

    The National President of the group, Prince Obiajunwo Dike, spoke in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, during an emergency meeting organised by the group.

    He noted that it would be difficult to conduct a free and fair election until the Federal Government appreciated and accepted that Abiola won the freest and fair poll in the country.

    Dike said: “My group is partnering other stakeholders to ensure that Nigerians’ votes count. If we are to have a free and fair election in future, our leaders should appreciate the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

    “There should be a live broadcast by President Goodluck Jonathan apologising the mistakes made by past leaders.

    “We also urge the government to investigate the role of past leaders, who aided the annulment of the election. Most of them are still alive. They should be bold to give reasons for their action.”

     

     

  • Lagos Assembly to stand firm on June 12

    As Nigerians celebrate the 20th anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election tomorrow, the Lagos State House of Assembly has pledged to remain committed to the spirit of the poll.

    Speaking on behalf of the Assembly in his office, the spokesman and Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Mr. Segun Olulade, said the import of the election could not be relegated to the background whenever and wherever discussions are held on the history of the enthronement of the current democratic dispensation.

    He said June 12 is the genuine Democracy Day, adding that it represents the collective will of the Nigerian masses and a demonstration of the people’s preference for democracy. Olulade said well meaning Nigerians and lovers of truth would admit that June 12, 1993 takes primacy over other dates in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.

    The lawmaker noted that the appreciation of the significance of the election “in the democratic evolution of our nation has made the Lagos State House of Assembly to pass a resolution declaring June 12 as the genuine Democracy Day worthy of celebration by lovers of democracy, social justice and good governance.”

    He said a special parliamentary session would hold tomorrow at the Assembly Complex in commemoration of the poll’s 20th anniversary.

    According to Olulade, the occasion would serve a dual purpose, as it is also billed for the commemoration of the second anniversary of the Seventh Legislative Assembly.

    The theme of the special parliamentary session is: ‘June 12 and the Entrenchment of Democracy in Nigeria.’

    Guest lecturers expected at the intellectual-cum- parliamentary gathering are Prof. Pat Utomi, a renowned economist and former presidential candidate of the Advanced Democratic Party (ADP) and Prof. Abubakar Momoh, an erudite scholar from the Lagos State University, Ojo.

    The event, which will begin at 12 noon, will be attended by the crème de la crème of the political class, including leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

     

  • Al-Mustapha: Appeal Court reserves judgment

    Al-Mustapha: Appeal Court reserves judgment

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Monday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan, challenging a death sentence handed them by Justice Mojisola Dada of a Lagos High Court.
    Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to late General Sanni Abacha, and Shofolahan former Personal Assistant to Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, were sentenced to death on January 30, 2012, for conspiracy and murder of the late Mrs. Abiola.
    Justice Amina Augie, who led the appeal panel, reserved judgment, after counsels to the appellants and respondent adopted their written briefs.
    Counsel to Al-mustapha, Joseph Daudu (SAN), while adopting his address, urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the lower court.
    He argued that the trial court erred in law to have based its judgment on the testimonies of prosecution witnesses (PW1 and PW2), which were contradictory.
    “The testimonies of PW1 and PW2 were inconclusive and contradictory. The court drew inferences from these contradictory statements, to establish the guilt of the appellant.
    “It is my submission that those inferences upon which the court based its judgment, are merely political evidence formulated by the respondent, and which the trial court ought not to have considered.
    “I therefore urge the court to allow this appeal, and quash the judgment of the lower court” Daudu said.
    Lawyer to Shofolahan, Olalekan Ojo, also aligned with the submission of Daudu.
    He accused the trial judge of being patronising, adding that she discontenanced every submission put forward by the defence, while all evidence presented by the prosecution were admitted.
    He said: “It is obvious that the trial judge was sourcing for evidence at all cost to convict the appellant.”
    “The evidence of the star witnesses PW1 and PW2 had been described as not credible by the Court of Appeal and so, I wonder why the trial court held that the evidences were relevant.”
    In his response, counsel to the state government, Lawal Pedro (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the judgment of the lower court.
    Pedro argued that apart from the evidence of PW1 and PW2, there were other evidences from the defendants themselves, which supported the counts off conspiracy and murder.
    He said that the statements of the defendants, which were tendered as exhibits, indicted them.
    Pedro urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit.
    The appeallants were arraigned in October 1999 on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and murder of Mrs. Abiola in 1996 Murder, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, of which they were sentenced to death by hanging.
    They had appealed the lower court’s judgment 24-hours after it was passed on them, praying the court to overturn the judgment.
    The appellants contended that the death sentence handed by the lower court was unwarranted, unreasonable and a manifest miscarriage of justice.
    They argued that the trial judge erred in law by arriving at the conclusion that they conspired to kill Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on June 4, 1996.
    The appellants faulted the judge’s treatment of the contradictory statements of Barnabas Jabila (aka Sgt. Rogers) and Mohmamed Abdul.
    They also faulted the court’s reliance on the testimony of Dr. Ore Falomo on the bullet extracted from the deceased.
    According to the appellants, the court’s rejection of portions of Jabila’s testimony which favored them and applying only areas which did not favor them, was a gross miscarriage of justice.
    Al-Mustapha submitted four grounds for determination while Shofolahan premised his appeal on five points.

  • ‘June 12 fighters have lost out’

    ‘June 12 fighters have lost out’

    Veteran labour leader Chief Frank Kokori played a major role in the struggle for the revalidation the June 12, 1993 presidential election result. He spoke with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE on the pains of the lost battle.

    Today marks the 20th anniversary of ‘June 12’. Looking back, how would you describe the journey?

    I will say that it is quite a long period and everything is historical. We are happy that today, we are breathing the air of freedom in a democratic Nigeria; where people can now criticise openly in the newspapers. They can come out to demonstrate openly and say a lot of things about the President and the political leadership of this country. Every Nigeria is now free to speak out his mind, which is quite an achievement for the country. If we had not had dictatorship, military and civilian benevolent democracy, we will not appreciate what is freedom. Now, you could be arrested for any crime and be taken to court for trial. With the judiciary that is encumbered in democracy, you could be given a fair hearing and be granted bail. You could have representation of lawyers to defend you at courts. I think that is quite an achievement. But when you are under dictatorship which was that period we are now talking about, which is 20 years ago, in Nigeria there was nothing like democracy and freedom. In the military era, if you say anything that is against the President or those in power, you could be handled the way they like it and nobody heard about it. Today, we are very happy that we have reached a stage in Nigeria where freedom is no longer a luxury. But notwithstanding, that does not mean that our aspirations and most of the good things Nigerians were talking about when they went for the struggle have been achieved.

    Those who annulled June 12 have not told Nigerians the reason for that 20 years after…

    It is very unfortunate actually. But I think the fault is with Nigerians and you don’t have to blame the military people who were in power at that time and those who are still lucky to be alive, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), a coupist who caused the whole problem. This is because Nigerian themselves have not called him to order. Sorry to say that Nigeria’s situation has not helped even matters because those who struggle to get things done have not actually benefited from it. They have not actually found themselves in position to benefit from it. In other part of the world, freedom fighters end up being the real leaders of their countries. They set the milestone that guide their countries. A typical example is the Russian revolution, the American struggle. Coming back home we have South Africa where the African National Congress (ANC) took over the leadership of the country after the independence struggle. Uptill now they ANC governs the country and has made good laws guiding the country. They embark on genuine reconciliation, those guilty were told and the necessary atonement made. In Nigeria, the situation has not really been so, and nobody has been told they did one wrong or the other. Nigeria situation has always been that of opportunity. The people who struggle at the end of the day actually do not benefit from the power equation. Take Nigeria independence struggle for instance, the Southerners were more in the struggle. We have the likes of Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and others they were the people who were in the forefront and in the north we have the likes of Ahamdu Bello and Tafawa Balewa. But it was like the was forcing the North to join the independence struggle. That was why it took much longer time before the independence came. Those in the South were proposing some date closer to 1954, 1956 and 1957, but because of the North, independence had to be delayed. And when independence actually came, the party that came to power was the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). This, I will say, Nigeria got on a platter of gold without the shooting of guns. It was achieved based on dialogue and negotiation.

    But if you look at the process that brought Mozambique, Angola and other countries to independence, where the people died for the cause and particularly, what ANC actually passed through to get South Africa independence, one will understand that Nigeria got hers on a platter of gold. So, when you come to power on a platter of gold, you don’t seem to know how to manage it. Nigerians who were in their comfort zones are those ruling you today. The capitalist bourgeoisies took advantage of the freedom and lunched themselves to power. They could not come out to do things that we did. And unfortunately for us in this part of the world, when the political whistle was blown to start political activities they in their comfort zones who hobnobbed with the military to launch themselves to power. They had made corrupt and stupendous wealth; they now have the money to throw around because the people are so poor. The people were easily manipulated by them. The civil society that went into the struggle was not even as organised as people thought. They were not organised to take over the governance and when the whistle was blown they were in disarray. The bourgeoisies who were more organised took over governance. The civil group was not deep in ideological social philosophy. It was later they now started to regret but already those people have entrenched themselves. And being a corrupt system, you can’t uproot them because they will always use money.

    The agitation for power shift to the North is now rift. Is this justifiable?

    You cannot tell me that 14 years is not a long period. But to me, I believe that people should demand for power when they know they want to make a good use of the power and not for self aggrandisement. The north has always held power for self aggrandisement but they struggle for it through coups or other methods. The southerners got it on a platter of gold after June 12. The norths now said oh, let us pacify this people and they gave it to us on a platter of gold. It has never been like that before. They had to even allow the candidates that contested the elections to come from the South. Obviously, they just wanted power to be in the South for between four and eight years and now it is going to 14 years. Obviously, you can’t say they want it back. And honestly, they want it back because power in Nigeria has so much patronages. The country has been so mismanaged that there is no other business as lucrative as government business. So, the most lucrative business in Nigeria is government business. They want if for self aggrandisement which too often resides in the hands of few. And now, the power is in the hands of President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors who are now enjoying it. Who do you think will want to give it up? Nobody wants to give it up. That is the Nigerian system; first of all they stay there to accumulate corrupt wealth. Thereafter, they live forever with the wealth acquired in a corrupt manner. But when we now reach a stage where you will account for how you make your wealth, they will be afraid to seek power and steal public fund.

    The re-naming of the University of Lagos after Chief M.K.O Abiola protests. Does that mean the man is no longer popular?

    No, the man is still very relevant. It is just that the way the government went about it angered the people. The way the government sold it to the people was not unwelcome. Even the most ardent supporters of Abiola felt it was wrong. If it was done when Abiola just died it would have been better. Many people will just merely grumble and that will be the end. You see, this type of things are not tampered with easily. You can’t just go to Oxford University over night and change its name to Margaret Thatcher University. Even when you consider the ages of the students, most of them were not born when the incident happened. You now went to their university which they are very proud of its name and say Unilag the brand name is now ‘MAU’. To me, this is right but it was not done in the proper way and untimely. There are other things that could be name after the man. It was even painful that most of the Pro-Abiola people could not speak against it. They were just grumbling, they could not just come out and say oh it was bad at that time. But to me too, I sympathise with the country and the system. The way it was done was political; at that time Jonathan aim was to please the people of the Southwest and when he did it the situation boomeranged. There are other good things he can still do in Abuja and Lagos for M.K.O Abiola. Goverment can even name the National Assembly because Abiola was the symbol of that democracy or declare a public holiday in his honour.

    You were almost forgotten in prison for your role in June 12 when General Abacha held sway. What lesson should Nigerians learn from the dark period?

    You see, when you struggle for your country that does not mean you will come and demand for compensation or that you want to enjoy something. It is just a 50-50 situation. For instance, how many people will pray to pass through what Nelson Mandela passed through by spending 27 years in jail? They cannot even afford one year in jail, nobody wants that. Mandela was just lucky, a lot of his compatriots just died unsong. Mandala suffered and suffered and old before becoming the president. Again, the people were better organised because they have a freedom fighting machine that knew what they wanted. To them, if they survive it good. What is even killing in the Nigerian system is the tribal sentiments attached to what we do and has become a national problem. There are certain people who will appreciate you and there are some who will not. The Nigerian civil society could not have come out with anything better because it was disorganised. We never agreed that this is what we wanted, so we lost everything to the bourgeoisie class. There is no system in the world that people will patronise you for just championing a change without the clear cut focus of leadership that you want to provide. Even in the West, people never went as far as what we went through. If I had been a Yoruba man, they will just give me a governorship on a platter of gold. I know what happened to late Lam Adeshina, People like Bola Tinubu, Segun Osoba and Bisi Akande, they were all made governors without money but for the role they played in the struggle. But I am from a different part of the country and my own belief was different from theirs. To me, it was Just NUPENG, give this to NUPENG or give that to NUPENG. It was just about the union alone and not political. If I had gone to Delta State at that time I could have become a governor even though it is more difficult to achieve this there than the West. At that time, I was the number one hero of democracy in this country. Apart from Abiola who was the symbol himself. Who again? Then the human rights people like Gani Fawehinmi who was not a politician, he later realised. That was why I said, we the human rights people were disorganised. We never knew what we were looking for.

    But you later contested elections in Delta State…

    No, I just had somebody who I was more interest in him becoming the governor. And I was just fighting for him, since I was getting older than the age that will provide me the rigour to serve as governor. The Delta politics too was heavily monetised. If you don’t have money, you can’t even run since huge money way involved. In 1999, you don’t need much money to contest elections. If it was monetised then, people like Lam Adeshina, Akande could not have become governors. People you even say were rich at that like Tinubu and Osoba were modestly rich.

    For those who don’t have money and want to serve the country, how do they go about it?

    They have to go their gods. It is so bad that people are being discouraged. In the South-south I think it only Cross River State that is only modest in terms of money you pay to become a councillor. Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom are on the high side. In the SDP days, you did not need much money to become a councillor but now a young boy there would need at least N2 – N3 million to become councillor. For local government chairman, you need up to N20 million that is the minimum. Who among the activists or student activists can afford such money? If you are talking of becoming a governor then you should be coughing out money running into billion of naira.