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Some leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
who have been facing murder charges were yesterday freed by an Osogbo
High court, presided over by Justice Yinka Aderibigbe.

This judgement is coming four years after the
politicians were arraigned before Mr Aderibigbe for murder. Moshood
Adeoti and his colleagues were in June 2007, arrested by the police
over alleged involvement in the explosion that rocked the state
secretariat, Abere on June 14, 2007.

Delivering his judgment on the case yesterday, the
presiding judge, Mr Aderibigbe quashed the matter on the ground that it
lacked merit and that all the six witnesses called by the prosecutor
did not link the ACN leaders to the bomb blast.

Mr Aderibigbe stated that the prosecutor could not
prove beyond reasonable doubt that the suspects were masterminds of the
explosion as alleged by the police, adding that no proof of evidence
could be established against the suspects.

He subsequently dismissed the case and absolved the men of complicity in the bomb blast.

The suspects, who appeared before the court, include:
The state Secretary of the ACN, Gboyega Famodun; the party’s Director
of Research and Strategy of the Party, Sunday Akere; Minority Leader,
Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye; a member of the house,
Folarin Fafowora and Assistant Director of Communication, Gbenga
Fayemiwo.

Others are: A former Commissioner for Health, Lai
Oyeduntan; elder brother to the state deputy governor, Sunday Laoye and
Gani Olayiwola.

Judge’s courage

Speaking to journalists after the court ruling,
counsel to the ACN chieftains, Wale Afolabi commended the courage of
the judge in dispensing justice fairly on the matter, saying the
verdict has set the record straight on the controversial case.

The prime suspect in the case, Richard Abayomi, who
lost his left eye in the explosion, is the only remaining suspect yet
to be tried on the matter.

Meanwhile, a member of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission set up by the Osun State government to investigate cases of
human right abuses between 2003 and November 2010, Waheed Lawal has
withdrawn from the commission.

Mr Lawal, who is also the state chairman of the
National Conscience Party (NCP), said his withdrawal was premised on
the fact that he and some members of his party have cases to present
before the commission and “I cannot be a judge in my own case.”
However, a replacement has been effected in the commission with the
appointment of Rufus Oyatoro, the state Chairman of the Labour Party
(LP) as a member of the commission.

“I and other members of the NCP in the state were
objects of harassments and vindictiveness in the hands of the immediate
past government and its individual operatives. We were arrested on
several occasions, even at the premises of the state High Court, Osogbo
on the order of the then Commissioner of Police, John Moronike,” Mr
Lawal said.