The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Osun state chapter has described as insincere, crude, barbaric and uncivilized the decision of the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in the state Mr Niyi Owolade not to release the case file and the principal suspect in the 2007 Bomb blast case to the investigating team from the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ogbonaya Onovo who came to Osogbo to finally take over investigation into the matter from the State Police Command.

A press release issued by the party in Osogbo and signed by its Director of Research and Strategy Hon Sunday Akere alleged that if the PDP administration in the state are genuinely sincere about its claim that it is not using the bomb blast case to harass, torment and victimize opposition politicians in the state, it should have allowed for neutral, impartial and unbiased investigation and handling of the matter to unravel the mystery surrounding the explosion.

Recalling that when the explosion occurred in 2007, the members of the opposition ACN complained about the plan of the state government to criminalize their leaders by roping them into the blast through an affidavit allegedly sworn to by the only survivor Mr Richard Adesanmi in which he claimed there exist a phantom diary belonging to the dead co-occupant of the wrecked car Taiye, the outcry made the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to order the transfer of the case to the Special Investigation Unit under his office.

With the transfer, three leaders of the Osun ACN including the gubernatorial candidate in the 2007 election Engr Rauf Aregbesola, State Chairman Alhaji Moshood Adeoti and State Secretary Prince Gboyega Famoodun were invited to Abuja in August 2008 to make statements regarding the allegation in which they reiterated their innocence concerning the explosion. Based on the statements they were released only for a curious twist to be introduced to the case when the then compromised Osun police command in connivance with willing hands in the judicial arms started arresting the leaders and hounding them into jail at will on the excuse that their names were discovered in the fake diary said to have been found in the wreckage of the car nine good months after the explosion.

With the 2011 general elections around the corner and feeling threatened and afraid of defeat, Osun PDP through its Attorney General last week filed a fresh suit at the State High Court, Osogbo in which eight ACN leaders were charged for murder in a brazen attempt to arrest them and get them into detention so as to pave way for them to rig the forthcoming election in the state.

On Wednesday 25^th August 2010, a team sent from the IGP office in Abuja arrived in Osun to take away the case file and the arrested occupant of the vehicle who till date lives in the cozy comfort of the government house with only agents of the state having access to him. The new team sent by their coordinating leader CP Ahmodu was rebuffed by the Attorney General who refused to release the case file sent to his office by the Osun State CID while also claiming they have no knowledge about the where about of Richard Adesanmi.  

Curiously, nobody except the agents of the state could claim till date that they have seen the diary in which names of opposition leaders were said to be found? Also where is Richard Adesanmi who to all intent and purpose is been used to rope innocent ACN leaders? Why for goodness sake is the state refusing to allow for open investigation if there is nothing to hide on their part? Why is Osun Police Command and IGP office handling the same matter with the state refusing to hands off by its charging opposition leaders to court well after the matter has been taken off them by Abuja ? As is customary, is it true the police normally send duplicate case file to the Attorney General’s office when seeking legal advice while holding on to the original file? If yes, in these circumstances where is the original case file?

While we are not striving to shield anybody from prosecution if truly found guilty, we are appealing that President Goodluck Jonathan should act today by stopping this attempt to cast a blur on the reform work he is doing since taking over and tarnishing the exalted image of our country Nigeria in the comity of nations. Situations where the majority will be pushing forward while some minority are hell bent on drawing everybody back will do our nation no good. The whole world is watching whether we are prepared to mend our ways or we are continuing in our banal sinful habits.

President Goodluck Jonathan should use his good office to order the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to fully take over the matter today while the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the National Judicial Commission (NJC) should rise up to condemn and stop the attempt to use the judiciary to punish innocent souls for offences they know nothing about.

HON SUNDAY AKERE

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND STRATEGY,

OSUN ACN.