Soyinka to Tinubu: Probe killing of Dele Giwa, Kudirat Abiola, Bola Ige
By Jeffrey Agbo
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has urged President Bola Tinubu to order an official investigation into the unresolved and suspicious deaths of key figures tied to Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement, including Dele Giwa, Bola Ige and Kudirat Abiola.
Soyinka made the call during a reflective fireside conversation with select journalists on Saturday at Freedom Park, Lagos.
The discussion, themed “June 12: Romancing the Embers,” was part of the events marking the anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election—a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s democratic history now observed as a national holiday.
According to Soyinka, President Tinubu has a duty to revisit the circumstances surrounding these tragic deaths, saying justice and closure are long overdue.
While acknowledging the symbolic importance of June 12, Soyinka emphasised that the struggle it represents must not be reduced to yearly rituals and ceremonial speeches.
As part of his own tribute, Soyinka announced that he would dedicate any June 12-related honour bestowed upon him to the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti.
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He said Ransome-Kuti was not just a defender of human rights, a champion of good governance, and a tireless campaigner for democracy, but an intelligent, resourceful, and fearless individual willing to take dare-devil risks in pursuit of justice.
Turning to former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, Soyinka criticised the former president’s recent memoir, A Journey in Service, describing it as incomplete and lacking full accountability over the June 12 annulment.
“I called him (Babangida) and I said that your memoir is not finished. And I said, isn’t it about time that we name names in this matter? Babangida’s book should be read side by side with Professor Omo Omoruyi’s. Omoruyi was there,” Soyinka said.
Omoruyi, a close ally of Babangida during his presidency, authored The Tale of June 12: The Betrayal of the Democratic Rights of Nigerians, which provides a more detailed account of the annulment saga.
Soyinka maintained that Babangida, as a central figure in Nigeria’s political history, has a moral obligation to finish his story.
“You haven’t finished your book. You have to write another one. That’s my position,” he stated firmly.
He further described Babangida as “a general without an army,” alluding to his lack of decisive follow-through during the June 12 crisis.
“We know of a certain move which he made. We know those who visited him at the time, those who added their weight to the annulment, both within the military and the civil. We know the royal fathers who went to visit and said on no account will they accept the implementation of that election. We know all of that. It’s not me who should write it. It’s he. He owes it to the nation,” Soyinka concluded.
