Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Wole Soyinka, has urged President Bola Tinubu to fulfil his 2023 promise to revisit unresolved cases of assassinations and extra-judicial killings across the country.
Soyinka made the call on Friday at the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture Series organised by the National Association of Seadogs (Pirates Confraternity) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The lecture, themed ‘Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,’ was chaired by former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Timi Alaibe.
The playwright also demanded justice for victims of unresolved killings, including Deborah Samuel, who was murdered by her classmates in Sokoto State in 2022 after being accused of blasphemy, and 28-year-old Mene Ogidi, who was allegedly shot dead by a policeman in Delta State.
Soyinka warned against selective justice, accusing the judiciary and citizens of failing to stand against injustice.
He said perpetrators of crimes, regardless of their status or location, must be identified and punished in accordance with the law.
The Nobel Laureate said the lecture series was a reminder of the injustices in the country and a tribute to victims of state failures, including the six policemen killed in Apo, Abuja.
He expressed concern that one of Deborah’s classmates allegedly displayed the matchstick used to set her ablaze but had not faced justice years after the incident.
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Soyinka said the swift arrest of the policeman accused of killing Ogidi contrasted with the handling of Deborah’s case, describing the situation as a sign of selective justice.
He said, “That is why my remark is to remind you of that, that actually through me, paying honour to those who have been, who’ve lost their lives as a result of these deficiencies in the state and also the criminal participation, even indirect, of ours, the complicity in the decimation and the devaluation of our humanity.
“I don’t want us to lose that sense that this session is dedicated to the martyrs, to those who have needlessly and avoidably have lost their lives, whom we all admit, the life of a human being constitutes the basic unit of any community, any structure, any system of governance.”
He added that the lecture was dedicated to victims of various injustices, including the six policemen killed in Apo and youths allegedly killed by security agencies.
Soyinka said, “It’s dedicated to individuals, the youths, like Deborah, who was killed, who was butchered by her own classmate, hunted through the city, necklaced and set on fire. But that is not the crime. That really is not the crime.
“The crime is the silence of the rest of us, that such a thing is possible, and that the killers of that girl can actually go on television, hold up a match, and say this is the match with which I set her on fire.”
He called on Nigerians to demand justice and ensure that alleged perpetrators of extra-judicial killings do not escape punishment.
“Watch with me so that we can force the government to bring up all the files. When there was a government retreat, you remember? The incoming president said, I want all the files of all the unsolved assassinations, killings, extra-judicial killings.
“What has happened to those files? I want you to join me in asking President Tinubu to say, we want you to dig up those files. We want to know what happened, why it happened,” he said.
In his keynote address, former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, said justice in Nigeria begins before cases get to court, noting that it starts with how complaints are handled by security agencies.
Chidoka said 64 per cent of inmates in custodial centres were awaiting trial, adding that more than 50,000 Nigerians were being held without convictions.
“Each of these 50,000 is a life in suspension, a job lost, a family destabilised, someone’s health failing. When the state causes that delay, and the citizens pay for it in lost liberty. The delay is not inefficiency, it is a form of violence carried out by the state itself,” he said.
He argued that justice must be applied equally, regardless of a person’s identity or political affiliation.
Earlier, Alaibe said sustainable development could not be achieved without accountability, urging stakeholders to see the lecture as a platform for reflection and renewed commitment to rebuilding the country.
“Nations are not reclaimed by rhetoric alone, they are reclaimed when conscience triumphs over confidence. When institutions are stronger than individuals. When citizens summon the courage to do what is right, even when it is difficult,” he said.
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