Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka has expressed apprehension regarding the safety of former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, who was recently remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre by Justice Donatus Okorowu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Agunloye is facing charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) related to alleged fraud in the Mambilla Power Project.
Soyinka, responding to Agunloye’s remand in the Kuje facility, voiced his concerns, stating, “Dr. Olu Agunloye, we learn, was finally charged to court today. The case was adjourned, and the presiding judge, in his or her wisdom, proceeded to remand the accused in Kuje prison, pending resumption of his case.”
Expressing worry about Agunloye’s safety, Soyinka drew attention to the unfortunate fate of Agunloye’s predecessor, the late Chief Bola Ige, who was assassinated in his bedroom. Soyinka highlighted the mystery surrounding Ige’s murder, emphasizing that the killers have yet to be identified, arrested, and tried.
Soyinka, who had previously criticized the EFCC for declaring Agunloye wanted even when he wasn’t in hiding, stressed the need for an independent, non-partisan commission to thoroughly investigate the Mambilla scam, which has had severe implications for the nation’s energy needs over the past two decades.
Expressing concern over the abrupt decision to remand Agunloye in prison, Soyinka cautioned that there may be forces eager to subject him to a fate similar to that of Bola Ige. He concluded by stating that if anything happens to Agunloye while in custody, the inference will be loud, clear, and unambiguous.