Former governor of Oyo State and the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Rashidi Ladoja, on Monday, demanded a public apology from former Osun State governor, Chief Bisi Akande, over a narrative on the murder of ex-Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige.
Ladoja, who addressed journalists at his residence on Ondo Street at Bodija in Ibadan, said Akande must withdraw his claims and apologise or be ready to face legal actions.
“All options will be taken, including legal action against Akande except he withdraws his statement and tenders a public apology,” Ladoja said,
Akande, in a recent podcast by ace journalist, Edmund Obilo, which was released at the weekend, asserted that Ladoja possibly has vital information regarding Bola Ige’s murder.
Ige was murdered on December 23, 2001 at his Bodija residence in Ibadan and the murder has yet to be resolved 24 years after.
Reflecting on the incident in his interview with Obilo, octogenarian Akande, who was Osun governor at the time of the murder, lamented that key figures who might have shed more light on the case, including a former Oyo State governor, Lam Adesina, had died.
He alleged that Ladoja discontinued a case filed by Lam Adesina, seeking to unravel Ige’s murderer.
“There are many things that die with people. I know Lam Adesina went to court over the matter, and I also know his successor, (Rashidi) Ladoja withdrew the case. Ask Ladoja, he would know more about Bola Ige’s death,” Akande said.
“Lam Adesina was the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State and he went to court and the governor that took over from him, Ladoja, withdrew the case from court. He might be able to tell you more. I believe he has more information on Bola Ige’s death,” Akande insisted.
However, addressing the allegation on Monday, Ladoja accused Akande of muddling up facts and lying against him, insinuating that Akande might be suffering from old-age memory loss.
Ladoja said, “Chief Bola Ige was assassinated on December 23, 2001 — 18 months before I got to the office. I got into the government on May 29, 2003, and Chief Ige was assassinated on December 23, 2001, which was 18 months before I got to office.
“I didn’t withdraw the case. My government didn’t withdraw any case. The case was even prosecuted up to the apex court. Chief Akande lied against me and he is old. This is not his first time. People say he lies; someone like Baba (Ayo) Adebanjo even said he lied in his book.
Further refuting Akande’s narrative, Ladoja said he had nothing to gain from suppressing the investigation in Ige’s murder, noting they were close during his lifetime.
He said, “We are not all happy about Ige’s death. We are all concerned about his death. I was very close to Chief Bola Ige while he was alive.
“I did nothing to harm the delivery of justice on the assassination case of Bola Ige. I didn’t withdraw the case. My government didn’t withdraw any case.
“I don’t know what information Baba Akande believes I could have that he didn’t have. All the information I also have was not different from what I heard from social media.
“If you look at the period the book itself was launched, the people close to Baba Akande, like Adebanjo, said Baba Akande lied in most of what he said in the book. I got that from the social media. Maybe this is one of the lies also, but unfortunately, he did not put it in the book. Maybe, he crumbled under the barrage of questions from Edmund Obilo, who interviewed him. Maybe Baba is getting too old to recollect what happened that time. I am saying emphatically that Baba Akande lied against me in his interview.”
Ladoja said instead of attempting to rope him into Ige’s murder narrative, Akande should be bold enough to tell the secret that he knows.
“The case was already in court before I came in. It was investigated. I was very close to Chief Bola Ige. In fact, when I was to contest in 1999, Chief Bola Ige had called me to come and contest before Lam Adesina was given the slot. How then would I know about his death and will not be the one shouting from the rooftop or why will I be happy that investigation into the murder should be suppressed?
“Instead of maligning me, Baba Akande, who said that there are many things he knows that he cannot tell the public, should be asked to disclose them. He said the murder was a state murder and that government was behind it. If he was governor of Osun State then but claimed he did not know who removed the cap from Bola Ige’s head, yet he could know what happened in Oyo State, then, he must be lying. He said Lam Adesina told him many things, which he would not want to disclose to the public because both Lam Adesina and Chief Bola Ige are dead. Then how does he justify his allegation if he cannot say it?”
Ladoja concluded by demanding a public apology from Akande, threatening that he would sue.
“All options will be taken, including legal action against Akande except he withdraws his statement and tenders a public apology,” Ladoja said.
