Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has urged President Bola Tinubu to fulfil his 2023 promise to revisit unresolved cases of assassinations and extra-judicial killings across Nigeria.
Soyinka said this on Friday at the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture Series organised by the National Association of Seadogs (Pirates Confraternity) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In his lecture, themed ‘Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, the playwright 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 decried what he termed selective justice, accusing the judiciary and citizens of failing to stand against injustice.
Soyinka Asks Tinubu To Reopen Unresolved Killings, Assassination Cases
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 yet to face justice years after the incident.
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 called on Nigerians to demand justice and ensure that alleged perpetrators of extra-judicial killings do not escape punishment.
“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.
