– Soyinka, NLC, Festus Keyamo, Others Condemn Killing
FRIDAY morning’s cold-blooded murder of political organizer and aide to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Mr. Olaitan Oyerinde, is generating widespread condemnation from many public persons and organizations from across the country, including eminent professor and Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
Mr. Oyerinde died on Friday, as earlier reported by sharpedgnews.com, after he was shot by assassins who had invaded his residence in Ugbor neighborhood of the Government Reservation Area of Benin City, in Edo State. According to a statement from Tony Iyare of the Edo State government, he was killed in the presence of his wife and children, among other family members present.
Edo State’s Commissioner for Information Louis Odion had confirmed via telephone to sharpedgenews.com that the killers had stormed the Oyerinde’s at about 2am in the morning, where the invaders had overpowered and tied-up the security guards on duty before barging into the house in search of the late Oyerinde. They later confiscated the mobile phones of every member of the household and shot Oyerinde in the face, chest and abdomen, killing him instantly before escaping from the scene of the horrific attack.
Reacting to the sad event later on Friday, Professor Wole Soyinka said it was obvious that it was a politically motivated assassination of Mr. Oyerinde, comparing the killing of Oyerinde to that of the late federal attorney-general Bola Ige, whose assassination while in office as the nation’s chief law official remains unsolved to date.
“The hand of the assassin is clear as day,” said Mr. Soyinka, adding that “it reaches all the way back to the killing of Bola Ige. Please convey my deepest condolences to his (Oyerinde’s) widow, children and colleagues .Tell Oshiomhole we all stand by him against the agents of darkness and retrogression. They shall not triumph.”
From Mr. Oyerinde’s former colleagues in the labor movement also came words of condemnation for the killing and empathy for the bereaved. A statement released by the president of the Nigeria Labor Congress, Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar, expressed profound shock over the killing of a man who was not a politician but an aide to a politician.
“His gruesome assassination is baffling, as Comrade Oyerinde was not a politician, held no high government appointment such as commissioner and was not even an indigene of Edo State,” Mr. Omar said in the statement, wondering why the Osun State indigene who was on leave of absence from work was targeted for political elimination.
“The way the politics of Edo State is going is reminiscent of the First Republic politics in the old Western Region which led to tragic consequences for the entire country.
“The NLC therefore calls on the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest the criminals in Edo State and their pay masters. In any electoral contest such as that slated for Edo State, the electorate must be allowed to determine its outcome.
“Otherwise, the struggle for democracy will be lost and the country will descend into a state of anarchy. The NLC therefore calls on the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate Comrade Oyerinde’s assassination and bring the criminals to justice.”
Also among those who are reacting to the death of Mr. Oyerinde on Friday was frontline lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo. In a statement made available to journalists on Friday, he said the “frightening news comes a few days after there were attempts on the lives of the Comrade Governor and my friend and brother, his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Louis Odion.
“It was only a few weeks ago that Olaitan sent his personal driver to me at the Benin Airport to convey me all the way to Warri, my hometown, as I was stranded at the Benin Airport late in the evening when my direct flight from Lagos to Warri was cancelled at the last minute. Such was the compassion with which Olaitan treated everybody around him.
“It is obvious that some elements in Edo State who want power at all cost and who are resistant to change have decided to deep their hands in blood rather than the ballot box. They will fail, they will fail and they will fail again and again just like they failed before.
“Olaitan’s death must not be swept under the carpet. Those who perpetrated this heinous act must be brought to justice. In the past, I have fought tooth and nail to bring such people to justice, just like the case of Bola Ige, eleven (11) years ago, and this time I intend to do just that again.”
Another lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, also reacted strongly to the killing of Oyerinde, saying that he was numbed by the news of the manner of his death.“I lack words to describe my pain concerning the wicked cold blood murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde today in Benin by some agents of darkness.
“Those who masterminded the killing of Olaitan are little minds who were scared of his enormous intellect and organizational acumen, both of which he marshaled in aid of the current Governor of the State. Those who kill men of ideas betray the ignorance that ideas do not die with those who propound or profess them. The ideas cherished and articulated by Olaitan remain indestructible.”
Prior to his death, Olaitan, aged 44, worked for Governor Oshiomhole as a principal secretary who helped with organizing and managing the governor’s ongoing campaign for a second term as the executive governor of Edo State. He was a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. A prolific organizer, he worked for the Nigerian Labor Congress before he left to work for the Mr. Oshiomhole on his emergence as governor of Edo State. He was married with two children.