Did Oputa reconcile Gani with IBB?
updated: Monday 02.11.2009
Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN)The Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission otherwise known as Oputa Panel, which was set up by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 to reconcile aggrieved Nigerians sat between 2000 and 2001. Yemi Banjo, in this piece, recalls the emotional outburst, drama and theatrics of Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) at Lagos and Abuja sittings of the panel
“...Justice is not a one-way. It is not justice for the appellant only. Justice is not even only a two-way traffic. It is really a three-way traffic-justice for the appellant, accused of a heinous crime of murder; justice for the victim, the murdered man, the deceased, whose blood is crying to heaven for vengeance and finally, justice for the society at large-society whose social norms and values had been desecrated and broken for the criminal act complained of...”
Apart from the bond of friendship, this notable pronouncement of Hon. Justice chukwudifu Akume Oputa, a retired Justice of Supreme Court in the case of Josiah Versus the State reporeted in (1985) 1 NWLR (Pt.1) 125 at page 14, was probably the motivating factor that led a foremost lawyer and frontline human right activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN, to file a petition at the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (HRVIC) to probe the death of his bossom friend and Editor-in-Chief of the Newswatch magazine, Mr Dele Giwa, on October 19, 1986. Giwa was killed in his Ikeja home through a letter bomb suspected to have been sent to him by top government security agents.
Since then, till 1999 when the panel was set up and even now, the question, “who killed Dele Giwa?” has not been officialy answered.
So when the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (HRVIC) was established by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 under the chairmanship of an eminent jurist, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, a retired Supreme Court Justice, Chief Fawehinmi whose efforts at finding the killers of Dele Giwa were frustrated by successive military administrations, saw this an an another opportunity to unveil the killers of his friend and client who was killed on October 19, 1986 while having his breakfast in his residence in Lagos.
The panel was set up by the ex-president to investigate allegations of human rights violations between 1966 and May 28, 1999 in the country.
Fawehinmi’s petition was heard at the Lagos and Abuja sittings of the panel.
Speaking during the hearing of his petition in Lagos on Monday December 11, 2000, Fawehinmi urged the Oputa panel to recommend the former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and other principal suspects named by him for prosecution over the murder of the late Giwa.
The controversial lawyer had since 1986 fingered Babangida and his security chiefs comprising a former Director of Military Intelligence, Colonel Halilu Akilu (rtd) a former deputy director of the State Security Service (sss) Lt. Col. Kunle Togun (rtd), among others, as principal suspects in the crime.
Fawehinmi, who broke down in tears, while giving evidence, also asked the commission to ask Babangida and other suspects to pay N2 billion as compensation to the aged mother, wife and children of the late journalist.
As he was giving graphic details of how his bossom friend was killed through a letter bomb allegedly sent to him by top government security agents, in tears, some members of the audience at the main chambers of the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), the venue of the commision were also moved to tears and at a stage some of them had to leave the venue as they were overwhelmed with emotions.
Apart from asking for prosecution of IBB and his security agents and compensation for Dele Giwa’s family, Fawehinmi argued that” if this commission is to have a meaningful effect on this polity, then I urged it to compel the Inspector General of Police to re-open Dele Giwa’s file so that witnesses can be called and a real trial should start.”
He claimed that his investigation revealed that Giwa’s death was linked with the discovery that one Gloria Okon, whom he said, was on drug-running errands for Maryam Babangida, had been released from custody after she was caught and reported dead.
Fawehinmi, who claimed to have “more than sufficient facts to prove that Babangida ordered Dele Giwa’s murder using Akilu and Togun to carrry it out,” told the commission that Giwa visited his chambers two days before his death, complaining of harrasement by security agents, especially Akilu and Togun.
Giwa, he claimed, informed him that he had been interviewed by the security agents on allegations that he was planning a story on the removal of th Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe as the Chief of General Staff and holding meetings with some people on the possibility of importing arms into th country.
He added that Giwa also complained of being accused of holding talks with some people to cause instability, as well as employ the then Police Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Mr Alozie Ogugbuaja, who was allegedly having some problems with the police authorities.
Chief Fawehinmi presented about 40 documents as exhibits among which was a text of an informal interview Lt. Col. Togun had with airport correspondents which the SSS chief warned the newsmen not to ruin their media outfit in their own interest.
The informal interview which was secretly taped by one of the correspondents who however could not run it because of stem warning of the SSS chief, was attached to other documents linking Akilu and Togun with the murder of Mr. Giwa was admitted as exhibit 35.
He said Mr Giwa visited him on Saturday 17 October, 1986 to brief him to take legal action against the government and its agents, particularly, Col. Akilu and Lt. Col. Togun over a number of wild accusations levelled against him (Giwa).
Chief Fawehinmi said the journalist was sure the allegations were merely a way of “giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it”. He said Giwa consequently wanted him to file a court process to pre-empt the govenrment’s sinister action.
Chief Fawehinmi said his chambers swung into action and worked through the Saturday following the briefing preparatory to filing the papers in court the following Monday.
He said he was, however on Sunday 19 October, 1986 in the afternoon called by Mr. Ray Ekpu of Newswatch who told him Mr. Giwa had been killed by a parcel bomb.
Chief Fawehinmi said the letter bomb that killed the journalist was put in an envelope bearing the Nigerian Coat of Arms and the inscriptions “from the office of the C in C’ and ‘Not to be opened except by Mr. Dele Giwa.’
The lawyer told the commissxion that the victim, on sighting the envelope, told Kayode Soyinka then London Bureau Chief of Newswatch magazine that the letter must be from the President.
He said Mr. Giwa was used to receiving correspondence directly from the President. He tendered a handwritten letter from General Babangida to the late journalist in 1985.
He said a few days before the incident, Akilu on Sunday 19, 1986 called Giwa’s home and asked for description of the house from Funmi, the victim’s w ife, who answered the phone.
He said when Funmi asked Akilu if he planned to visit them, he replied that he was sending an ADC to deliver an invitation or something.
Chief Fawehinmi said Col. Akilu called again and got Giwa himself to be sure he was home. He said the parcel was delivered about 40 minutes later.
The lawyer alleged that the drug courier, Miss Okon, caught during the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari in her confessions implicated the wife the then Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Babangida. He further alleged that a commission of inquiry was set up by the government to investigate the claims, but that before the report could be released, General Babangida took up the reins of government and sat on the report.
He further alleged that when General Babangida suspected that Mr. Giwa had a report in the ffing about Miss Okon, he held a meeting with media executives in early October 1986 asking them to forward any publications that related to his family to him for vetting before it was published.
Chief Fawehinmi said Giwa ran into trouble because he refused to agree to this.
When the commission could not conclude its assignment in Lagos, some part-heard petitions including the one filed by Chief Fawehinmi were transfered to Abuja zone for conclusion.
Speaking on July 11, 2001 during the Abuja hearing of the commission, the fiery Lagos lawyer insisted that the former president, Gen. Babangida should be summoned to answer for his alleged involvement in th murder of Giwa, vowing that he would prosecute the matter to the end even in death.
He told the commission that, “now I am going for a heart surgery abroad, I will put it in my will that if I die during the surgery, this petition must continue.”
To butress his claim, Fawehinmi came to the venue of the sitting of the commission with his luggage, preparatory to his overseas journey that night.
He consequently applied for a stay of proceedings in the petition saying, “if Babangida doesn’t appear before this commission, there is no way we can conclude this matter.”
At the occasion, he told the commission that he would not continue with the petition unless the former military president was summoned along with his former security chiefs, Akilu and Togun.
According to him “there is no way the petition can be determined by proxy. Babangida, Togun and Akilu must appear before this honourable commission so that the matter can be resolved.”
However General Babangida went to court to challenge his summons before the commission. His request before the court was to decide whether according to Cap 447 of the Tribunal of Inquiry Act, a person summoned by a panel of Inquiry could be forced to appear before such a tribunal.
The former Nigrian leader got a reprieve from the courts as both the trial high court and the appeal court ruled in his favour, thereby sealing the hope that Babangida would appear before the commission.
Towards the tail end of its assignment in Abuja, the commission’s chairman, Justice Oputa, told a lawyer, Mr. M.B. Wali who stood in for Chief Clement Akpamgbo (SAN), counsel to Babangida that, “it is in the interest of your client to come and explain his side. De Clerk in South Africa did it and so many others in the world. Empty legalism will not help. Let us not make this matter a legal acrobatics. If we do this, we shall ge to nowhere.”
He then adjourned the petition indefinately until there was an assurance that Babangida and those allegedly involved in the matter would come before the commision.
They never did. Even the reports of the commission were never released to the public.
So the question, who killed Dele Giwa? remained unanswered until Fawehinmi gave up the ghost and it would remain so for long.
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