By Our Correspondent<\/p>\n
Worried by the state of the nation,Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Friday challenged the Federal Government to publish findings on unresolved political assassinations and extrajudicial killings, warning that Nigeria cannot achieve stability without accountability and justice.<\/p>\n
Soyinka spoke in Port Harcourt at the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture and National Association of Seadogs, NAS, Martyrs\u2019 Day, with the theme: \u201cReclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage.\u201d The event honoured victims of state repression, mob violence and extrajudicial killings.<\/p>\n
The Nobel Laureate dedicated the lecture to Nigerians who have \u201cneedlessly and avoidably\u201d lost their lives due to state failure, including the 18 NAS members detained under military rule, victims of police brutality, and Deborah Yakubu, the Sokoto student lynched in 2022 over alleged blasphemy.<\/p>\n
He condemned what he called the \u201ccasual butchery\u201d of citizens and cited a recent viral video allegedly showing a police officer shooting a young man in broad daylight. Soyinka urged Nigerians to closely monitor the prosecution to prevent another cycle of impunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has happened to those files? We deserve answers,\u201d Soyinka demanded, recalling that a previous administration promised to investigate all unsolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe must make sure the system of justice does not fail us again and establish another pattern of impunity,\u201d he said, stressing that every human life remains the foundation of governance.<\/p>\n
Delivering the keynote, former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, said Nigeria\u2019s central problem is not constitutional restructuring but the absence of accountability and a shared national purpose. <\/p>\n
He described the country as \u201cselectively strong\u201d strong in coercion and revenue collection, but weak in service delivery and transparency.<\/p>\n
Chidoka revisited the 1997 arrest of 33 NAS members, known as the F-18, who were first branded NADECO members and later accused of cultism. He noted that court judgments later declared the allegations unconstitutional, yet no official was sanctioned.
\n\u201cThe state acted first and then went looking for justification afterwards, linking the case to what he termed Nigeria\u2019s \u201calibi culture\u201d of shifting blame,” he said.<\/p>\n
He compared the F-18 detention to the 2005 Apo Six killings in Abuja, arguing that successive governments have failed to reform institutional behaviour. Chidoka said justice must go beyond court rulings to include restitution, sanctions and systemic reforms.<\/p>\n
The former minister also decried the state of the correctional system, noting that over 64 per cent of inmates are awaiting trial.
\n\u201cExplanation without correction is not accountability.<\/p>\n
“While we are waiting for restructuring, governors are spending security votes without accountability. While we are waiting, over 50,000 Nigerians remain in prison awaiting trial,\u201d Chidoka stated.<\/p>\n
He called for a new national consensus built on equal citizenship, answerable power and civic courage. Chidoka urged stronger whistleblower protection, independent complaints bodies, and strict obedience to court orders to lower the cost of speaking truth to power.<\/p>\n
Former Managing Director of NDDC, Timi Alaibe, in a goodwill message, said sustainable development can only thrive where accountability exists. <\/p>\n
\u201cNations are not reclaimed by rhetoric alone. They are reclaimed when conscience triumphs over convenience, when institutions become stronger than individuals and citizens find the courage to do what is right,\u201d Alaibe said.<\/p>\n
In his welcome address, NAS Capoon, Dr. Joseph Oteri, said the lecture was conceived to rebuild public trust and strengthen democratic institutions. <\/p>\n
He recalled that NAS members were detained under Gen. Sani Abacha\u2019s regime for their association with Soyinka, then a leading pro-democracy voice in exile.<\/p>\n
Oteri said Martyrs\u2019 Day is observed annually to preserve the memory of those persecuted for defending democracy and human rights, and to challenge Nigerians to demand justice for all victims of state abuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent Worried by the state of the nation,Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Friday challenged the Federal Government to publish findings on unresolved political assassinations and extrajudicial killings, warning that Nigeria cannot achieve stability without accountability and justice. Soyinka spoke in Port Harcourt at the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture and National Association of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16195,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193\/revisions\/16195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}