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1966 coup and the Macbeth tragedy – By Festus Adedayo
Chief Richard Osuolale Akinjide, Minister of Education in the First Republic, under Tafawa Balewa, and Minister of Justice under Alhaji Shehu Shagari, and one of the most brilliant lawyers ever in Nigeria, stood before Justice Olujide Somolu. Somolu was Chief Justice of the Western State. Akinjide was a known Samuel Ladoke Akintola sympathizer and a staunch member of the NNDP in the Western Region. The Brigadier General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo government of the Western State had set up an inquiry into the running of the First Republic.
In doing this, that established the Somolu Tribunal in 1967. Though officially known as the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Assets of Public Officers and Other Persons in the Western State, it was a judicial commission to investigate the assets of politicians, public officers, and officials of the former Western Region.
Akinjide was counsel to J. O. Adigun, Minister of Lands in the Akintola government. Adigun was one of the five founders of the Action Group who later went apostate, de-linking from the Awolowo group. He gave evidence on his acquisition of nine properties, five of which were Crown lands. The proceedings received adequate projection in the newspaper press of the time. Two stories on this proceeding were published on the front page of the Tribune newspaper of October 20, 1967 with the titles, Policy maker: ‘Adigun held 5 crown plots’ and ‘This probe will serve a lesson.’
Akinjide then stood up to respond to allegations of Adigun’s multiple ownership of Crown Lands. There was absolutely nothing wrong with somebody acquiring more than one Crown land, he told Justice Somolu. He then quoted from Shakespearean Macbeth where it was said, according to him, that “every man is ambitious to enrich himself.” Akinjide was obviously referring to Act 4, Scene 3 of Macbeth where, while testing Macduff, Malcom had described the “stanchless avarice” (limitless greed) he claims to possess to see if Macduff is loyal to Scotland. Malcom had said, “And my more-having would be as a sauce/To make me hunger more; that I should forge/Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal,/Destroying them for wealth”.
Justice Somolu had an instant reply to Akinjide. He had said curtly, “But tragedy was the end of Macbeth!” That tragedy seems to be the defining end of military rule in Nigeria, as well as its civilian equal who now rule Nigeria.
Details of Adigun’s lands and property acquisitions in Lagos, Ibadan and Ogbomoso, which ran into several thousands of pounds were published in AG-sympathetic newspapers. They were ostensibly published to buttress the claim that the Akintola government was replete with ministers and officials who enriched themselves at the expense of the public.
On the morning of January 15, 1966, the five, now famous, young and idealistic Majors in the Nigerian Army — Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, D. Okafor, C. I. Anuforo and Adewale Ademoyega — executed their planned first military coup in the country. In his coup speech, Nzeogwu said the coup plotters had slated for elimination the “ten-percenters, homosexuals and feudal lords”. If the dry bones of Nzeogwu could look back today, he would be sorry to have killed Nigeria’s patriarchs of saints. Those in power today abhor percentages. They steal in totality. Nigeria’s rulers today are neither homo, bi, nor hetero in their sexual fascinations. They have conquered all the sexes. Their political footstools have gone beyond fiefdoms. The hearts of Nigerians are firmly padlocked, swallowed, and now swimming in the deep oceans of their belies.
With the assassination of Sylvanus Olympio on January 13, 1963 in Lome, then Togoland, now Togo, making him the first civilian president victim of a wave of military coups that would soon sweep across Africa in the 1960s, Nigeria, its neighbour, should have trodden the earth with greater circumspection. Didn’t our elders say, the whip a wife-beater husband administered on his older wife, kept securely on the rafters, is reserved for his most recent consort?
Last Thursday, stumps in place of arms, eye for eyes, healed scars of holes dug by gun pellets, and long, sorrowful faces signposted Nigeria’s long walk through a scorching desert of military rule. As symbolic wreathes were laid in memory of fallen soldiers, January 15 afforded Nigeria opportunity to assess the green khaki, the black jackboots and the oppressive berets of soldiers. As my people say, when a child falls, it looks far ahead of him; perhaps, a wraith Mother talked fearfully about in folklore, had caused the fall? However, when an elderly falls, they look backwards to assess the tottering steps that landed them in an embrace with the brown, coarse belly of Mother Earth. The comparative hopelessness of civil rule today puts the grim reality in perspective.
For about 28 years, including the few months of diarchy experimented by General Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria was under the suffocating grips of military rule. Till today, opinions are divided on whether military rule, with its novel hijack of political power on January 15, 1966, was downright evil. Or, was it an ambivalent mixture of good and bad? Or, simply put, a desirable phenomenon for Nigeria’s development?
As Prof Eghosa Osaghae wrote in his book, The Crippled Giant: Nigeria Since Independence, (1998) the military phenomenon is central to any analysis of Nigerian politics today. Young, ambitious military officers have always cited imbalances in the polity as alibi for their strikes. The national crises of 1964 and 1965 census exercise, the economic crises of the Shehu Shagari government, the collapse of the First, Second Republics and the stillbirth Third Republic, as well as other fractures in the political system, have always come before military interventions. This unbroken chain has made many analysts describe military rule in Nigeria as continuation of politics by military means.
The January 15, 1966 coup was a bloody, fierce, definitive and watershed turn-around in the annals of the history of Nigeria. It took the lives of 22 people, including the prime minister.
By 1966, there were three elephants in the Nigerian room. They were tribalism, nepotism and corruption. It must be borne in mind that this triad ills, the elephants that the Five Majors claimed necessitated their strike, represented a euphemistic appraisal of the ills that plagued the First Republic.
In the Western Region, the coup received popular supports, especially from majority of United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) supporters who saw it as a government that had come to rescue the region from Akintola’s NNDP. The perceived ethnic colour of the killings riled the north, leading to the second retaliatory coup in July of the same year. The anger against the coup was palpable. First reason behind the North’s anger was the ethnic pattern of the killings. Its major political leaders, indeed its two most powerful politicians, Prime Minister Balewa, as well as Premier, Ahmadu Bello, and its leading military officers, were killed.
Second was what the North saw as the exuberant air of conquest displayed by Igbo residents in the North after the coup. The one that riled the north most, and which compounded its anger, were posters that appeared in some parts of the North showing Nzeogwu standing on the fallen corpse of the Sardauna. The third prong of disaffection for the government of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who took over after the coup, and his ethnic stock. The fourth reason why the North’s anger was propelled was that Aguiyi-Ironsi was perceived as displaying suspicious actions, post-coup.
For instance, the 1966 Unification Decree, otherwise known as Decree No 34, put a wedge on Nigeria’s strut into development. In the words of Billy Dudley, in his Instability and Political Order: Politics and Crisis in Nigeria (1973), Ironsi, though genial and convivial, was not perceived to be an intelligent man. This affected his perception of issues as the military head of the country. It was worsened by perception that Ironsi surrounded himself with Igbo bureaucrats, who acted as catalysts for Igbo-centered appointments. Even when Ironsi announced that governmental measures, including the unitarization of the country, were merely transient, and set up the Constitutional Review Study Group headed by Chief Rotimi Williams, the Commission for the Unification of Civil Services, headed by Mr. F. Nwokedi, as well as the Economic Committee under Simeon Adebo, the North, already incensed by these policies, was not placated. It led to the pogrom in the North against Igbo, and Ironsi’s abduction and killing in Ibadan. The general state of anomie in the country was the tinder that eventually incinerated Nigeria.
Western Region was however generally happy with the coup and counter-coup. As the Nigeria-Biafra war raged, the war of politicians of the rested First Republic, spread like bush fire in the harmattan. Apparently confirming the Nzeogwu coupists’ allegation of massive corruption in that Republic, the new military administration set up the Somolu tribunal to investigate allegations of corruption and illegal acquisition of wealth by politicians of the First Republic. The major purpose of the commission was to uncover illicit enrichment and recover public assets. It acted under the Public Officers and Other Persons (Investigation of Assets) Edict No. 5 of 1967. The tribunal discovered that many public officers improperly acquired illicit wealth. It subsequently ordered the forfeiture of substantial assets that included lands, houses, bank accounts to the Western State Government. The findings and orders of the Somolu Tribunal led to widespread forfeiture of properties.
Mrs. Faderera Akintola, wife of the late Premier, had her ample share of the riposte. Faderera was a fierce woman reported to always have a pistol in her handbag. She was the woman Awolowo reported in his autobiography, during the swearing-in of Sikiru Adetona as the Awujale of Ijebu on April 2, 1960, as complaining about how a rude crowd of party supporters was shouting “Up Awo!” at Akintola’s appearance in Ijebu-Ode for the Awujale installation. Akintola, said Awolowo, had promised his wife that he would rid the region of the name “Awo” in six months. Some persons also alleged that Faderera, nee Awomolo, of Igbajo in current Osun State, believed in an eye for an eye. One day when he suggested the rout of a political opponent, Akintola was reported to have grimaced and said, “Faderera, you don’t even know more than elimination! If we eliminate this, eliminate that, who else would we administer in the region?”
So, on her day before the Somolu tribunal investigating the Wrought Iron (Nig) Ltd., a company in which she was alleged to have purchased shares worth £22,636 in the name of ‘Aibinu Omotara,’ Faderera was grilled. On September 13, 1967, the headline of one of the stories in the Nigerian Tribune newspaper was, “I lost my husband, yet…’: Akintola (Mrs) sobs at probe”.
Some members of the Akintola government were also tried by the tribunal. The major headline of the Tribune of the same September 13 was, Juju display at assets probe. It was some celebration of the collapse of the erstwhile rulers of the West. Newspapers also devoted front pages to scintillating stories that erupted from the Somolu tribunal. When Oba Claudius Akran, former Minister of Finance under Akintola, appeared at the tribunal, his statement made the front page of the Tribune’s edition of September 16, 1967. It was, I didn’t know it’s govt money: Akran takes turn. The story painted Akran as a patently corrupt man who acquired several thousands of pounds in assets, property and savings which were “above his legitimate income between 1960 and January 1966.”
On October 21, 1967, Oba Akran again came under focus, having attended the Somolu tribunal the previous day. From the sublime, to the hilarious and humorous, the complicity of the Akintola NNDP-led government in the morass that eventually came upon the Western region was feasted upon by newspapers that were sympathetic to the defunct AG. In one of its front page stories with the title, Account Akran’ll give in heaven (October 21, 1967, Nigerian Tribune), the newspaper reported verbatim the cross-examination sessions between Akran and the counsel to the tribunal, an account which though hilarious, brought out the complicity of Akran in the huge theft of the region’s money. Stolen money was alleged to be about £2million. In another front-page story on the tribunal which was entitled, Akran says, I dealt in £ thousands, the former Finance Minister said he never dealt in any amount that was less than £1,000. In the midst of very poor people, this report was almost tantamount to casting leprosy on a public figure.
The lead story of the Tribune of February 7, 1968, still reporting the Somolu tribunal, was the arrest of the Western region Minister for Works and Ports, Chief Adebiyi Adeyi. He was said to have been arrested for having the sum of £73,000 in his custody. A screaming headline, £73,000 funds in private pocket: Adeyi in custody, as well as another one underneath it entitled, Lakanmi sheds tears, were published in the Tribune of February 7, 1968. Mr. Emmanuel Lakanmi was the Chairman of the Western Region Housing Corporation and Justice Somolu had issued a bench warrant for his arrest for contempt of the tribunal.
However, the Somolu tribunal’s actions were heavily contested in court. They resulted in landmark legal cases which interrogated the untrammeled powers of the military government over the judiciary. One of them was the Lakanmi v. AG Western State which ran up to the Supreme Court in 1970. In this landmark case, Chief Lakanmi challenged the forfeiture of his assets.
Sure that the judiciary was going to rout its unquestionable powers, the military promulgated the Decree No. 45 of 1968, so as to curb legal challenges to its powers. It promulgated the Forfeiture of Assets, etc. (Validation) Decree No. 45 of 1968 which essentially validated the actions of the tribunal. It overrode court decisions. When it got to the Supreme Court, it almost led to a constitutional crisis, with the court initially holding that the Decree was invalid. However, the military government responded with the Federal Military Government (Supremacy and Enforcement of Powers) Decree 1970. In it, the military held itself as running a revolutionary government which had supreme powers. This effectively ended the challenge.
The 1968 Somolu Tribunal has however remained a watershed in history, a cornerstone of anti-corruption efforts of government in post-independence Nigeria. It also signposts a flashpoint of the conflict of military might and the rule of law under military rule.
Today, the Nigerian opposition claims that the Somolu Tribunal version in operation now is the EFCC. As those in government and their clapping community rejoice that those opposed to their government like Abubakar Malami, are “eating their breakfast”, they should wait for what would happen to them, too.
While Nzeogwu and his fellow coupists identified three elephants in the room of Nigeria in 1966, those elephants have not disappeared, 60 years after. The ethnic suspicions between the north and the southern parts of Nigeria, whose foundation was laid during colonial rule, which escalated during the First Republic, have worsened considerably now. From Gowon, to Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, the brief spell of civilian administration of the Second Republic and the eventual coming of the military in Babangida, Sani Abacha and Abdulsalami Abubakar, the incubus of divisiveness that has gripped Nigeria from the days of colonial administration has never stopped. Even with the advent of the Fourth Republic, with five presidents having ruled Nigeria, sectarian violence, insurgency, banditry and kidnapping are yet to abate. They have assumed even scary dimensions.
Since Nzeogwu, other elephants have since entered the Nigerian room. They are the elephants of hunger, selfish political elites and political office holders who are not just profiteers but vultures and scavengers. Between them, they constitute the Macbeth tragedy of our democratic governance.
May the souls of Nzeogwu and his revolutionary colleagues continue to rest in peace.
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Ahmed Raji(SAN) Accomplish Another Landmark Feat, Launch New School Block, Handover Ultra-Modern CBT Center To JAMB.
Renowned legal icon, philanthropist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Alhaji Ahmed Adeniyi Raji, has once again reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to educational advancement as he is getting ready to launch a newly constructed school building and hand-over a modern Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre to Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Iseyin, Oyo State.
This historic event, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, is expected to attract top educationists, including the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, who will officially receive the CBT centre on behalf of the examination body.
According to statement issued and signed by Hon. Saheed Adejare Yusuf Alaran, brother, development partner to the legal luminary and made available to media, said this intervention initiative is part of Alhaji Raji’s long-standing vision to make quality education affordable, accessible and all-inclusive, irrespective of students’ socio-economic background.
Hon. Adejare Yusuf Alaran disclosed that the legal icon has taken full responsibility for the construction of a modern school complex comprising classrooms, administrative offices and fully equipped laboratories for the Senior Secondary arm of Raji Okeesa Memorial Comprehensive High School. The new facilities are designed to enhance teaching, learning and overall academic excellence.
In addition, Alhaji Raji has also built a well-equipped JAMB CBT Centre with a seating capacity of 250 candidates, fitted to meet global examination standards. The centre is expected to significantly ease the burden on students who previously travelled long distances to sit for UTME examinations.
Hon. Adejare Yusuf Alaran further noted that the official unveiling and handover will ensure the CBT centre is efficiently managed by JAMB for optimal use. He stressed that the initiative would save thousands of youths from avoidable stress while promoting fairness and efficiency in examination processes.
With this latest gesture, Alhaji Raji has once again etched his name in gold as a steadfast champion of education and youth empowerment in Oyo State and beyond.
Oyo State Government has reaffirmed its preparedness for the official commencement of the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examinations.
This is in line with the Federal Government’s directive for a gradual transition from pen-and-paper to full digital testing.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Olusegun Olayiwola, disclosed this while receiving the Zonal Coordinator and Deputy Registrar of West African Examination Council(WAEC), Mr. Waheed Amode, and his management team during a courtesy visit to his office on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
Olayiwola revealed that Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde has directed that the cost implications for the procurement of over 60,000 laptops for public senior secondary schools across the state be worked out, noting that the move is aimed at positioning Oyo State ahead of the full adoption of CBT examinations.
He commended WAEC for the proactive measures taken to address the challenges experienced during the 2025 examinations, while pledging the Ministry’s continued support in curbing examination malpractice and preventing vandalisation of school facilities.
In his remarks, Amode said the visit was to appreciate the Oyo State Ministry of Education for its support during the 2025 WAEC examinations and for its consistent collaboration with the Council over the years, describing the Ministry as a key stakeholder in the success of WAEC operations.
He disclosed that registration for the 2026 May/June WAEC examination closed on 2nd February, 2026, adding that the forthcoming examinations would be conducted using both CBT and pen-and-paper modes depending on the readiness of individual schools, while schools interested in full CBT participation are expected to formally indicate their interest through official correspondence.
Amode also warned that severe penalties await any candidate caught with mobile phones in the examination hall.
He stressed that such misconduct could lead to the cancellation of an entire school’s results, depending on the circumstances, and urged principals and teachers to uphold integrity in order to strengthen educational standards.
Meanwhile, Honourable Olusegun Olayiwola has called on parents, guardians and teachers to strengthen collaboration in order to address moral decline in schools, noting that effective partnership between the home and the school is essential for raising disciplined, responsible and value-driven students.
The Commissioner made the call while receiving members of the National Education Reform Movement (NERM), urging stakeholders to prioritise discipline and quality teaching, while NERM leader, Mr. Adewumi Abass, warned that weak parent–teacher synergy and rising examination malpractice pose serious threats to Nigeria’s education system and recommended the use of the resource book, “Parenting for Excellence,” as a guide for improvement.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, has congratulated a distinguished Patron and renowned mediapreneur, Olooye Adeboyega Taofeek Adegoke, on the occasion of his birthday, describing him as a pillar of support for journalists and media development in the state.
In a congratulatory statement jointly signed by the Chairman, Mr. Akeem Abas, and Secretary, Dayo Adu, the Council extolled Oloye Adegoke’s outstanding commitment to the growth of the Union and the welfare of its members.
The council noted that as a responsible and dependable Patron, Oloye Adegoke has consistently demonstrated deep passion for the progress of journalism, maintaining a cordial and mutually beneficial relationship with the NUJ Oyo State Council.
It added that his unreserved benevolence to the Union and to journalists who cross his path, stressing that his interventions and support have positively impacted many practitioners within the media space.
According to the Council, the celebrant has remained a strong pillar behind several NUJ programmes and activities, offering support that has contributed immensely to the successful execution of professional and welfare-driven initiatives.
The Union particularly commended his rare gesture of giving without demanding anything in return, describing his selflessness as a virtue worthy of emulation within and outside the media industry.
Oyo NUJ added that Oloye Adegoke’s contributions as a mediapreneur have also helped in advancing media enterprise, capacity building, and opportunities for journalists across the state.
The Council wished him a happy birthday and prayed for continued good health, greater accomplishments, and more impactful years in service to humanity and the journalism profession.
The Department of State Services (DSS) in Oyo State has reiterated its commitment to working closely with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to address security challenges and curb the activities of fifth columnists.
The State Director of DSS , Mr. Rasheed Adelakun, made this known when the executives of the NUJ, Oyo State Council, led by its Chairman, Mr. Akeem Abas, paid a courtesy visit to the state headquarters of the service in Ibadan.
Adelakun described the media as a critical partner in national security, stressing that effective information management and responsible reportage were essential tools to sustaining peace and stability.
He expressed concern over the increasing activities of fifth columnists, warning that their actions pose grave dangers to national security and peaceful coexistence.
According to him, the spread of misinformation and unverified reports could be exploited by such elements to undermine public confidence and social cohesion.
Adelakun, therefore, urged journalists to uphold professionalism and ethical standards in the discharge of their duties in the interest of national development.
Earlier in his remarks, the Oyo NUJ Chairman, Mr. Akeem Abas, assured the DSS of the union’s readiness to sustain collaboration with security agencies to promote peace, security and unity in Oyo State and across the country.
Abas added that NUJ would continue to sensitise its members on the importance of responsible journalism, fact-checking and adherence to ethical standards, noting that accurate and timely information remains a vital tool in supporting security agencies and strengthening national cohesion.
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One Death Too Many: Government Must Be Held Accountable ““The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.”- Elie Wiesel – By Lanre Ogundipe
There are moments in the life of a nation when condolences become an insult. The massacre in the Woro and Nuku communities of Kaiama Local Government, Kwara State is one such moment.
Over one hundred and sixty Nigerians men, women and children were rounded up, bound, and executed in cold blood.
Not in a war zone. Not in a declared battlefield. But in their homes, on their farms, in the ordinary spaces of daily life where citizens are supposed to be protected by the state.
In response, government spoke. It always speaks. Condolences were offered. Troops were deployed after the fact. Statements were issued. And then silence followed, the familiar Nigerian silence that descends after tragedy, as though the mere passage of time could substitute for justice.
But when citizens are slaughtered in one coordinated attack and the primary response is sympathy, the issue is no longer insecurity alone. It is governance failure.
When warnings are ignored, graves multiply.
Several years ago, a former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence publicly expressed loss of confidence in the ability of Nigeria’s security architecture to protect its citizens. He warned that communities were becoming sitting targets and suggested that citizens might have to defend themselves. At the time, the statement was controversial. Some dismissed it as reckless; others saw it as frustration.
Today, after repeated mass killings across the North-Central, the North-West, parts of the Middle Belt, and now creeping steadily into the South-West, that warning no longer sounds extreme. It sounds like an unaddressed alarm.
When a figure who once sat at the heart of the military establishment openly questions the system’s effectiveness, responsible governance demands inquiry and reform. Instead, the system closed ranks. The result is visible in mass graves.
Missing weapons, unanswered questions
Nigeria’s insecurity is sustained not only by ideology but by logistics. Armed groups operate with weapons, ammunition, intelligence and mobility. This raises a fundamental question that has never been satisfactorily answered: how do non-state actors consistently acquire arms in such quantities in a country with supposedly regulated armouries?
Over the years, there have been persistent allegations of missing or diverted weapons from police and military stockpiles. Senate inquiries have been announced. Committees have been formed. Investigations have been promised. Yet the outcomes remain largely invisible to the public.
Weapons do not simply disappear in a functioning state. When they do, and no one is held accountable, it creates an environment where criminal networks thrive. Citizens are entitled to know whether arms procured with public funds to defend them have been mismanaged, diverted, or abandoned to corruption.
Until there is a transparent forensic audit of arms procurement, storage and deployment, every massacre will raise the same disturbing suspicion: that state failure is not accidental.
Security agencies under scrutiny.
It must be stated clearly: many officers have paid with their lives trying to protect communities. Their sacrifice deserves respect. But institutions are judged by outcomes, not intentions.
Nigeria’s security agencies have long struggled with poor intelligence coordination, slow response times, weak oversight, and public trust deficits.
Allegations of corruption, abuse of power and selective enforcement are not new.
They are part of a documented pattern that has eroded confidence between citizens and those tasked with protecting them.
When attacks occur despite repeated warnings, when perpetrators operate for hours without resistance, and when accountability rarely follows, citizens are justified in asking whether the problem is merely incompetence or something deeper.
Asking such questions is not an attack on the uniform. It is a demand for institutional accountability.
Violence reaches the South-West.
For years, the South-West assumed a measure of insulation from the scale of violence seen elsewhere.
That assumption is now dangerously outdated. Criminal networks and extremist violence have found entry points into parts of Osun State through Ora-Igbomina and surrounding communities.
Farmers are afraid to work their land. Families fear nightfall. The early warning signs are unmistakable.
Yet political leadership appears distracted by ceremonies, anniversaries and public celebrations. At a time when security coordination should dominate governance priorities, optics and pageantry seem to take precedence.
Leadership is not measured by appearances in moments of comfort, but by decisiveness in moments of crisis.
Unequal seriousness across regions
Across Nigeria, a contrast is emerging. Some states, particularly in parts of the East and South-South, are investing in intelligence gathering, technological support, community surveillance and structured engagement with security professionals. These efforts are not perfect, but they demonstrate seriousness.
The question is unavoidable: what are other states prioritising? What value does infrastructure, celebration or political theatre hold when citizens are unsafe? Development without security is an illusion.
Security is not one policy item among many. It is the foundation upon which every other policy rests.
Beyond religion and ethnicity.
This tragedy must not be misrepresented as religious or ethnic conflict. Terror does not discriminate by faith. Bullets do not recognise identity. Christian or Muslim, Yoruba or Hausa or Igbo — the dead are united by vulnerability, not belief.
Reducing these massacres to sectarian narratives only benefits those who profit from chaos. The real divide is between citizens protected by power and citizens exposed to violence.
A government that cannot protect its people, regardless of who they are or what they believe, has failed its most basic obligation.
The dangerous appeal of self-help
In the face of repeated state failure, some citizens ask whether they must protect themselves. This is not rebellion; it is despair. But history shows that widespread vigilantism leads not to safety, but to cycles of revenge and instability.
The alternative is not lawlessness. It is accountability.
Citizens must demand:
Transparent investigations into security failures before and during major attacks.
A full forensic audit of missing or diverted weapons.
Clear responsibility for governors, commissioners and security chiefs where negligence is established.
Lawful, supervised community protection mechanisms under strict oversight.
Anything less is performance, not governance.
A quiet erosion of freedom.
There is an uncomfortable question many Nigerians now ask privately: are citizens valued only as statistics — to be governed, taxed, and mourned, but not protected?
When deaths are normalised and accountability is endlessly postponed, freedom becomes symbolic rather than real. Democracy cannot survive where life is cheap and power is insulated from consequence.
One death is too many
Let us return to the central truth. One death is too many. One hundred and sixty is a national indictment.
This massacre must not be absorbed into Nigeria’s long list of forgotten tragedies.
Condolences cannot replace justice. Silence cannot replace accountability.
History will ask what was done when citizens were slaughtered. Words alone will not be an acceptable answer.
Lanre Ogundipe , A Public Affairs Analyst, Former President Nigeria and Africa Union of Journalists writes from Abuja, Federal Capital City.
February 6, 2026.
*A landmark clinical trial is underway in Nigeria, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Obafemi Awolowo University, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Medserve and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre. The trial investigates PD-1 blockade immunotherapy in patients with mismatch-repair-deficient colorectal cancer. The trial was approved by the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC)—the organization responsible for ensuring that all health research conducted in Nigeria is ethical and globally compliant—and by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the organisation that regulates and controls the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, packaged water, chemicals and detergents in Nigeria.*
This is a moment of great pride for the University of Ibadan (UI) College of Medicine! Three distinguished UI College of Medicine alumni: Dr Lilian Ekpo, Dr Zainab Yunusa-Kaltungo and Dr Tolu Adewole are instrumental in this initiative. They are part of a groundbreaking clinical trial that’s set to revolutionise colorectal cancer treatment in Nigeria. Their expertise underscores the institution’s commitment to advancing cancer research and treatment.
Dr Abraham Ariyo, a UI College of Medicine alumnus and cardiologist based in the US, shared this exciting news with me. We’d connected online about 4 months ago, bonding over our shared interest in UI and the College of Medicine. As he said, “I have read your pieces about Ibadanland and the University of Ibadan, especially about Profs. Ronke Baiyeroju and Olayinka Omigbodun. You are interested in UI and Ibadan. You are engaging in similar efforts with me regarding the alumni of the Ibadan College of Medicine. I appreciate you.” He’s been sharing stories about notable alumni achievements and this immunotherapy trial is the latest feat!
Back to the basics! This trial is a major turning point in Nigeria’s fight against cancer, with potential implications for sub-Saharan Africa. Alumni contributions reinforce the UI College of Medicine’s reputation as a hub for innovative research.
This trial’s success could establish Nigeria as a frontrunner in cancer research, demonstrating the nation’s capacity to tackle urgent health concerns. Kudos to the UI College of Medicine for nurturing talented professionals who are making a difference!
The trial is partially funded by the Thompson Family Foundation. Co-principal investigator Prof. Olusegun Isaac Alatise says, “The approval marks an important milestone in the fight against colorectal cancer in Nigeria.” Co-principal investigator Prof. Fatimah Abdulkareem adds, “This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to advancing cancer care.”
MSK’s Global Cancer Research and Training programme partnered with OAU Teaching Hospital in 2013 to establish the African Research Group for Oncology. Dr T. Peter Kingham says, “We hope this trial will lead to a similar shift in treatment possibilities for Nigerian colorectal cancer patients.”
Dr Tolulope Adewole, Medserve CEO, emphasises, “Quality oncology care should not be a privilege; it must be the minimum standard irrespective of location.”
If any advanced medical innovation occurs in Nigeria, UI alumni are likely behind it. They might not always be in the spotlight, but they are driving progress.
Globally, colorectal cancer is a significant issue, and Nigeria is not an exception, with less than half of Nigerian patients with colorectal cancer living one year after diagnosis. Colorectal cancer is a type of cancer that typically affects the colon or rectum, often presenting with no symptoms at first. But when it progresses, it can be tough to treat.
Some common signs to watch out for are changes in bowel habits (like diarrhoea or constipation); blood in stool or rectal bleeding; abdominal pain or cramps; unexplained weight loss; and Fatigue
Risk factors include age (50+); family history; diet (low fibre, high processed meat); lack of exercise; and smoking and heavy drinking.
Screening is key! Procedures like colonoscopies can catch it early when it is more treatable. The good news is that research is advancing, and treatments like immunotherapy (like the trial mentioned above) are offering new hope. Stay proactive about your health, and get checked if you’re due!
Tunji Oladejo, mnipr, JP, writes from the University of Ibadan and is the Chairman of The Progressive Forum, Ibadan (TPFI) via oladejo65@gmail.com
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