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Fryo's Case Against Omisore and Others By 'He said it's only when we kill Ige that the Job will be well done' A transcript of the encounter between Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo and the man whom the police declared wanted in connection with the murder of Justice minister, Bola Ige
Q: First of all, why are you called Fryo ? Thank you. My real names are Olugbenga Damola Adebayo (alias Fryo) I wanted to bring a show down to Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U) in Ife, so I now booked a date with the musical management I cannot recollect the date again. And the artist I wanted to bring then was Baba Fryo. I travelled to Lagos after booking the date. So when I got back to Ife the next day, they told me that another person had come to book for a date and he is to bring Fryo. So I said it is impossible. I am the person who is bringing Fryo. Any other person who comes to say he is bringing Fryo should be ignored. So the woman that booked the date for me said to me so Mr. Fryo where is Fryo. So anytime she sees me, she will be calling me Fryo. That is how the name came about.
Q: But you have been named in connection with the brutal murder of Chief Bola Ige, in short you are seen as the person who actually pulled the trigger on Ige. Tell me how, did you get to that stage? It is very, very unfortunate that a small rat like me could be named as the killer of Bola Ige. In 1999 during the transition programme of Abdulsalami Abubakar, a man called Honourable Olagbaju came to me that he is contesting.....
Q: Do you mean Hon. Odunayo Olagbaju, the man that was killed before Ige? Yes, the man that was killed before Ige. He came to tell me that he has contesting and that I should join him to campaign. Although the Student Union Government then under the leadership of Mr. Lanle Legacy (Lanre Adeleke) stated that students should not part-take in that election. But because this man was a .......of the university, former chairman of Angola Hall, and we saw him as the kind of person that will not betray the Nigerian masses. So I pledged my support for him. And I started supporting him. After the election, he now asked me. Why don't you come into politics. And I told him I don't know anything about politics. He said look at you, join politics and I assure you, you won't regret it. So I joined and I was elected assistant public relation officer of AD Iremo Ward I. So after my election as Assistant Public Relation Officer (PRO), I started getting closer to Olagbaju. He used to come to my house and I use to go to his house. Then I took my Direct Entry form to OAU where I was given admission into part II Physical and Health Education 1999/2000 year 2001/2002 admission. I started going to Olagbaju to tell him that I want to run show. That I needed money, he will give me which I usually returned back to him after the show. I even organised a show in August last year with the money Olagbaju gave me . Tony Tetula, Shino Danto featured. It was after this show that Olagbaju came to me that there was something going on in the House of Assembly. Because he always briefed me about the politics of the Assembly for me to get students union informed. So it is during this time that he informed me that they wanted to impeached Otunba Iyiola Omisore, the Deputy Governor of the state.
Q: What was your relationship with Omisore before this time? It was Olagbaju that introduced me to Otunba Omisore sometime when we wanted to contest...... My friend Lanre Adediakun wanted to contest NANS presidential election. So I told Honourable Olagbaju that my friend is contesting and he promised to take us down to Otumba Iyiola Omisore. We went to his quarters and he promised to take us to the person that will sponsors us. That he is going to inform them in Abuja that we'll be coming the next day or two days after we met him. That he will phone Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, and inform him that we are coming and that he will sponsor us. He cautioned us not to misbehave. We drove to Abuja and went straight to Aso Rock. When we got to Aso Rock with the car we took from school, we passed through the first gate, second gate, third gate, it was at the fourth gate some security men stopped us to inquire our mission. We told them we wanted to see the Vice President pertaining to our election. They now drove us back to the first gate to go and get clearance before we advance further. When we got back to the first gate, the SSS men there were annoyed that how come we crossed the first gate in the first place without clearance. So we explained that no body told us the protocol to follow. So he made effort to check the computer and then told us the Vice President has travelled to Katsina or whatever..... and that we should come back another day. They told us that we should go and meet whoever sent us that our names should be put in their computer because if our names are not there they will not allow us to pass through to see the Vice President even if he is around. So we then went back to Ife and I went to Honourable Olagbaju and told him our experience.
Q: So you mean Omisore had the confidence to just tell you to go and see the Vice President, tell him you are from Me? Yes, he told us he will phone him before we get there. So when we got to Ife, I went to honourable Olagbaju in their quarters to tell him what happened. From there we now went to Omisore and we told him the same thing and he said ha, ha, I have phone them and they said you should come. He said we should go back. He gave us N20,000 when we first went to Abuja, we then told him we did not have any more money to go back to Abuja gain. That is how I met Omisore.
Q: So you became close to him, such that you were interacting with him frequently ? Yes, I do go to his quarters with Olagbaju. They joke, they eat, together. When there is a political meeting we go there and so on.
Q: You mentioned something about continued stay in the Alliance for Democracy (AD), what exactly happened? Are you still in the Alliance for Democracy? No, I'm no more in the AD.
Q: What happened ? What really happened is that one day the deputy Governor called Olagbaju and he now told me to follow him down to the deputy Governor's quarters, when we got there, he said we are moving down to PDP because he has been instructed from Abuja .. (Keyamo cuts in)
Q: Obviously by the Abuja contact he had Yes, but that he cannot decamp now. But that all his supporters in AD should move down to PDP I think that was about the time they wanted to have PDP convention.... He said all his supporters should move over to PDP. So Olagbaju and all of his supporters moved to join PDP and we were now waiting for Omisore to move over finally. Since then I started attending PDP meetings. I was immediately given the position of organising secretary of PDP in Iremo ward (I) Ife Central Local Government. It was after we crossed over that there was problem here and there, and we thought people in AD were already aware of our movement to PDP. And the rumour was all over the town that all Omisore supporters had left for PDP. Even my friend used to ask me have you crossed ? And I used to answer yes we have crossed.
Q: Now, how were you getting your fund? Omisore used to tell us that there is enough money from Federal Capital. Abuja is going to finance us and that there is no problem. And that we should just carry on the struggle since PDP is no where to be found in Osun State.
Q: In other words, was he planning to contest for a position under the PDP against the AD? Yes, of course.
Q: Before this time did you know the source of conflict between Omisore and the governor? No, but Hon. Olagbaju used to brief me that this is what is happening in the House of Assembly that they want to rob this man after taking his money from him for election. They want to discredit him because some forces are against him. The Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Dele Adebanjo, the SSG and others are frustrating the Deputy Governor. They know he wants to contest but they don't want him to contest.
Q: So what happened, because we heard that there was fracas in the House of Assembly. What was your role in the problem in the House of Assembly. Thank you very much. I was in school on Monday December 10 when Hon. Olagbaju came and told me that there was problem that some people loyal to Bisi Akande wanted to impeach the Deputy Governor by all means, legally or illegally. That I should mobilise enough people from Ila and Oshogbo to storm that place. That I should try and mobilise students and my party members and supporters in our ward to Osogbo that day, Monday December 10. He told me to tell some of my student friends .. that we should all come to show support and protest against such a move. I went to town with a fourteen passenger-bus. When we got to Oshogbo, it was amazing to us when we discovered that guns and dangerous weapons were been used by both side - that is between the supporters of Bisi Akande and those of Omisore. We were really surprised because we were not there for that kind of thing. They only told us to come and protest, but they were using guns shooting and chasing themselves.
Q: What about Olagbaju himself ? Olagbaju was holding a gun that day maybe a barrel gun. But I did not see him use it. I think he was holding the gun to defend himself.
Q: Where was Omisore at this point ? Olagbaju told me that Omisore had travelled. That the President sent him out of the country for something important and that he will soon be back.
Q: So after you paralyzed the activities, what happened thereafter? When the place was paralysed, they said we should move to town. And I said 'Honourable, I can't go to town with this kind of situation. If we should go to town I don't know who we will meet there because Bisi Akande owned the state and, the commissioner of police is a closed friend to him ......The personal assistant to ... Human something to .......Akande, one Miss Omorale, is a girlfriend to that commissioner of police. So we knew they would be in town and would want to arrest us. My people said we should not go. We then moved. Olagbaju said we should wait for him in one junction in Ede area near Governor Isiaka Adeleke's house that he will join us in about 30 minutes. We stayed for between one to two hours. Some policemen even accosted us to ask where we were coming from. We told them we were coming from Ire, that we were students. We showed them our identity cards... They said we should move out of the place. We then left the place. It was at night that Olagbaju now came to say that things were very terrible in Oshogbo that some people from Ife, supporters of Otunba Omisore, were arrested and detained. That it was he that gave the police N150,000 before they released them and that they have charged them to court. But the supporters of Bisi Akande were not arrested . And both sides held weapons on them. Olagbaju told me to try and come to court the next day. But I told him I had practicals in school that I can't come that day may be I will see him later after the court case.
Q: So what was Omisore's reaction when he came back? Hon. Olagbaju told me Omisore was happy. He told him that they haven't seen anything that he had just come back and had money from the federal level. That he would make sure that he dealt with them and make the state ungovernable for them. That was the reaction of Omisore.
Q: Tell us what happened at the palace when the first lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo was being honoured with a chieftaincy title at the Ooni's palace? This event of Monday December 10 now led to other things. Because it started developing from more angles. Hon. Olagbaju came and said we should meet at the palace that they want to give the first lady a Chieftaincy title that day. A title called Oyiyoromyo of Ife, that supporters of the Deputy Governor should meet at the palace that day. And I went to the palace as directed. Other supporters of Omisore were there, the chairman of Ife, Dr. Wale Olayulokpo, one ex-commissioner, Kunle Alao and all supporters of Omisore were in the palace.
Q: Was Omisore there? Yes, Omisore was there.
Q: Was Akande there? No Akande was not there If Akande was not there and his deputy was there, was Akande at peace with the palace? At all, Akande was not at peace with the palace, Akande had never been at peace with the palace. Even when NTA was launched in Ile-Ife, they brought NTA to Ife, he ought to have come there that day, but did not come. And the news was not carried in Osun Radio that they were launching NTA in Ife. That means that there was something between Ife and Bisi Akande.
Q: Is Omisore at peace at peace with the palace? Yes Omisore is at peace with palace
Q: Is the palace supporting Omisore from the politics you have been on the ground. Yes, the palace is supporting Omisore.Yes now, ha! ha! They are at peace with the federal level because Ooni doesn't go to state level, he goes to the Federal level in whatever he wants to do. He doesn't go to the state.
Q: What about the event, that happened on that day? So when we got there that day , when they introduced chief Bola Ige, all the supporters of Omisore shouted Oleh, to Bola Ige when they mentioned his name because they believed that he was the one causing the crisis in Osun State. They used to tell us that they used to give him (Bola Ige) N5 million every month .... Because he is the main brain behind the crisis. I remember vividly about four or five months ago he organised a rally at Osun State stadium, all AD members were there. And they were there accusing Omisore on Radio. They even invited Pasuma for them to get crowd. So they used that one to get people. And they made it free of charge and they started insulting Omisore that he is not loyal, he is this, he is that .. it was covered live on Osun Radio.
Q: On Chief Bola Ige, you people thought he was the one promoting the crisis in Osun state ? Yes. Actually Chief Bola Ige was the one promoting the crisis. He was the brain behind the crisis in Osun State.
Q: Was that why the people reacted that day? That was why we reacted that day. After the ceremony, they were walking towards the swimming pool to have lunch or whatever. So it was when we were going, I was close behind deputy governor Omisore and I saw him signaling his younger brother, one Kola Omisore.
Q: He was there too? Yes, Kola was there. He signalled to him and pointed to Chief Bola Ige. It was then Kola went forward and removed Chief Bola Ige's cap, Omisore then said I should take the cap and keep for him and out of joy I threw the cap up and the cap hung on a three because I was over-joyed that this is Chief Bola Ige's cap.
Q: So you were the one that threw the cap up but you did not remove the cap? Yes.
Q: So it was Kola Omisore that removed Ige's cap and then gave it to you? Yes, he even too his glasses and broke it that day because Omisore did not demand for it.
Q: What did Omisore want to do with the cap . In Yoruba what does that mean? I don't know. When I got in he asked for the cap, and I told him the cap is on the tree and he told me to go and get it.
Q: So he needed the cap desperately? Yes. When I got there, there were people looking at the cap. I then told myself how can I be removing cap when a lot of people are here. I decided to leave the palace because I couldn't find honourable Olagbaju. I then phoned Olagbaju to tell him. He then told me that a man of God told him not to come to Ife that day. That was why he was not at Ife that day. And that I should not tell anybody because he was only confiding in me. After I phoned Olagbaju, I now came back to the palace. I then joined Omisore's escort. They took us to one hotel, Hilton Hotel when we got to Hilton Hotel, foods and drinks were declared.
Q: So what were you celebrating? He was happy about what we did to Ige. And he said never in his life would he come to Ife again how much more to come and campaign.
Q: Who were those present, because we want to verify these things who were those present at Hilton Hotel on that day? One ex-commissioner Alao, he was removed for being loyal to Omisore in Akande's cabinet, another man I recognised as Jalo was also there. Ife East local government chairman was also there, Dr Wale Odun was there, and even the Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly was there up-stairs that day. But he didn't want people to know he was there. I saw his driver downstairs and I now said where is Oga because I used to go to the House of Assembly, I was familiar to him. I have address a press conference for the House of Assembly at the time they wanted to impeach the Governor. They said then that the governor was not giving them their allowance. He is not governing the state well and all that. They gave some information which I put on paper. I was taken to NUJ to address a press conference for the speaker and the honourables about what Akande was using Osun State money for. That over 40 million was spent on the child's wedding. That his wife who claimed she doesn't believe in first ladyship is busy travelling with the state's money. All these information were given to me which I used to address the press conference. So the driver told me to wait that some people were with him upstairs and that after they leave, I should go and meet him. So when I wanted to go in I saw the ex-commissioner Mr Kunle Alao and that man called Jalo coming out from the speaker's room. I now went to see the speaker to ask him to celebrate the Ramadan for me.
Q: Are you a Muslim? I am a Christian
Q: Why are you dressed like this, are you Cele? It is because when I came to Lagos, I slept in the Bar Beach. I started praying because of the incident that happened in Ife before the death of Chief Bola Ige.... I went to the Deputy Governor who was in the restaurant of the hotel. I took apple juice because I don't take beer. So where I was drinking he called me aside.
Q; Who called you? The deputy Governor. He said we have done well today but that the job is not yet completed, he said it in Yoruba that I should name my price to kill Ige. He said so in Yoruba which translates to; it is only when we kill him that the job will be well done. I was very surprised because I didn't think I can kill anybody. But I didn't want to show my surprise to him that day because I had a councillorship ambition, at stake and he was the one to sponsor me. I then asked him what about the policemen around Ige. He is the minister and he has a lot of security people around him. He told me not to worry that they would take care of that from Abuja. This was on the 15th of December .
Q: He said you should not worry that they would take care of that from Abuja? Yes. That I should not just worry. I now told him I will collect 15 million naira and he said I am too greedy. I told him many people will be involved that I can't do it alone. I was just giving him the figure.
Q: Why were you giving him the figure? Because I didn't want to do it. I am not a killer. So I just gave him the figure to hear more from him. He then said he cannot offer more than 5 million naira and went sit down.
Q: What happened between that day 15th and 19th that Olagbaju was killed? Thank you very much. It was on Sunday 16th that Olagbaju came to me and said Damola, they are going to court tomorrow. And there is information that people are mobilizing to lynch them in court. In the morning of the next day, I went to school saw one of my friends and told them to take me to Oshogbo....when we got to Oshogbo, we went straight to the court. And when they did not start the case in time we went to town. Because I was given a cheque of 2000 naira by Kola Omisore, Omisore's brother. So I went to cash the money at Living Spring Bank opposite former House of Assembly. When I came back to court, they had finished. Before then, we were in one place one person from Ooni's palace I am not sure of his name. I think his name is Biodun, the one that used to carry his umbrella. He told honourable Olagbaju that the Ooni sent him to go and warn him that these people he is dealing with are not easy people, that Bola Ige can do and undo.
Q: You mean that the Ooni himself warned Olagbaju that Bola Ige can do and undo? Yes. He sent somebody to him that Bola Ige can do and undo. That he should be very, very careful in any step he is taking.
Q: Q: You were there when the man came? I was there, even the chairman East Local Government was there, honourable Olagbaju's father was there, Dr Wale Oladipo was there.
Q: These names can they be verified? Yes, they were there we were in Ife East local government chairman's house that day when the man came. The man said I should come and take some charms that would protect me. He said I should come early in the morning. So on Tuesday morning before the court case I went there with one Gbenga, to the man's house. That is the man who came to warn Olagbaju. I then kept the charms in my pocket. But when we got there, I told myself I cannot be giving charms to Olagbaju in public. And I thought the charms could protect me too. It was why the people were waiting in court that I went to that bank. After the court case, we went to Ife and then down to Omisore's house. Omisore then told us that if anybody attacked anybody we should attack that person back that it has come to the time they would know he is on the ground.
Q; Did he address all of you? Yes he addressed us. He said there was enough money from Abuja. That we should not be afraid that the head of SSS is his personal friend that he was given directive from Abuja to be guarding us. That even if the police commissioner harass us, we have the SSS on our side. That we should not worry............Omisore then told us to go and drink. The ex-commissioner was there, Kunle Alao, honourable Olagbaju was there, honourable Lekan Diran, many people were there. I was the one monitoring the drinks everybody took that day. At the end of the day, the drink everybody took was 24,000naira. One Mr Shola with red BMW was the one that brought the money from the deputy governor. We calculated and paid. I even took two five hundred naira notes from the money. I told them I wanted to eat because I had not taken any food before. From there we went to Ife. When we wanted to go to Ife, I said Olagbaju should come and enter the vehicle I came with. And he said no that one councillor had just bought a Mazda. A Councillor..... that he would want to test the car.
Q: The 19th was when Olagbaju was killed, how did it happen? I told him I wanted to organize a show. I wanted to bring down some musicians to Ife. He promised to sponsor the show and he gave me some money. I then travelled to Lagos to get musicians. Early in the morning on the 19th, I came back to Ife and couldn't find Olagbaju. I then went to Ife local government chairman to find out where Olagbaju was. He told me that I should go and look for him somewhere in Imure. When I got to Imure, I saw honourable Olagbaju drinking in one joint called Old School. I joined him. He said Damola go and look for my car for me. He had two cars. He had given the Benz to his wife to travel to Lagos when the crisis started. So he told me to go and look for the other car but couldn't find the car. I was so tired that day. I then told him to give me some money. He gave me 100 naira. His friend Shola was there Shola then said he wanted to go. So I told him to drop me at my house. So the guy took me to my house. It was the next morning, on the 20th now that I heard a knock on my door. I told my younger brother to open the door. And I saw honourable ....... crying that they have killed brother. I said which brother and he said Hon Olagbaju. I didn't believe it.
Q: Did he describe what happened? Femi was there with one guy, Ayelara, they said after I left they moved from that place to another joint opposite the police station.
Q: Was it right in front of there that it happened? Yes. It was opposite the station that he was killed. They said they saw a gang of people with guns, matchete, sledge hammer. And that these people are known to them.
Q: How many people saw them? The guy that was matcheted with the honourable saw them.
Q: Who are those they saw? They said they saw one Egbeji who was a political thug, to one engineer Omijora, a core loyalist of Governor Bisi Akande. He was the one that moved the impeachment of the deputy governor.
Q: So you are saying that one of the people who killed Olagbaju is a thug to one Omijora who in turn is a supporter of Bisi Akande? Yes Because they promised that Omijora is the one that will become deputy governor.
Q: What about Egbeji is he under arrest now? No, he is still walking free and the police have done nothing. One Olaolu who is known to be a political thug the chairman of Ife central, Hon Kunle Adedibu is also a strong supporter of Bisi Akande . He used to mobilize crisis for Akande during the crisis in the house.
Q: Has Olaolu been arrested also? No. They have not arrested him. One Ayo was also killed.
Q: Are there witnesses who saw them? Yes, Ayelara was there, because he was even matcheted by same people that day. He managed to escape by luck.
Q; What did you do when you heard all these? Many people came out that day. Because the young people loved Olagbaju. He was a vocal man who loved his people and an activist. He ought not to be in politics. It was when we got to town that the people were saying they knew those who did it. So everybody moved to the house of Egbeji. When we got there, what we saw was a rapid shooting from Egbeji. We then decided to go back and mobilize but by the time we came back, they had burnt the house. They found a list of names of people.
Q: Q; What list was that? List of people to be eliminated in which my name was included. Olagbaju was there, Ife local government chairman was there, my name was number 4. One Biodun Adeleke was number3. Many others were on that list. They also found a list of the gang that were responsible for the attack. The list is one Dr Wale Oladipo, he is a loyalist of Otunba Omisore.
Q: Having recovered the list have they effected the arrest of any of them? No they have not arrested anybody.
Q: So what happened that day 20th and 23rd that Bola Ige was killed? I went to campus and people advised me that they can come and kill me. Since Olagbaju was now gone, I couldn't move out that day because it was already late. So my friend took me down to his house. I then sent for my younger brother Shehu.
Q: Who is that your younger brother Is he Shehu the one who was published in the papers as last seen with you? Yes, he is the one. He is just a small boy of about16/17. He is the one that followed me. We don't have the same father but we have the same mother. And I told him not to sleep in that house that day that they could come and kill him. Early in the morning the next day I told my friend that we should go to Olagbaju's house in Oshogbo because there was nobody to feed his dog which had just given birth to puppies. So we moved to Oshogbo that day and because of the security situation, we then decided to go to the house of the Deputy Governor. Fortunately when we got there I met the ex-commissioner Mr Kunle Alao, that Jalo was there and some other people were there, including one honourable Oyekun Oyetelun who was very closed to honourable Olagbaju. I told him my mission that we want to go and get the dogs. So he said I should tell the Deputy Governor. So I went inside to tell the Deputy Governor that we want to go and get the dogs that the dogs will die if we don't give them food. That he should give us police to go and get the dogs. It was then he now told me that; now since your friend is dead I told you to carry out, will you do it, I mean eliminating chief Bola Ige, would you now do it so that things would be at.......
Q: What day was this? 21st of December. That is two days before Bola Ige's death? Yes.
Q: This time you were forced to accept? I couldn't accept it at all. I know I couldn't do that job for N5million. I told him it is not only me that will do the job, while we were still talking, one Assistant Inspector General of Police now came in to say I should excuse them.
Q: Which AIG was this? The one in charge of that zone. He came to discuss with Otumba Omisore. They told me to excuse them. I then went out.
Q: Do you know what they discussed? No, I don't know what they discussed. Then that honourable came out and said we should go and get the dogs. When we got there Olagbaju's neighbour was crying. So I went and carried the dogs and went away. I don't know any thing pertaining to the killing of Chief Bola Ige. They just want to use me as a scapegoat.
Q: But you were offered money to kill him and you refused? Yes, I didn't participate in it.
Q: He sent you to Abuja before to the vice president? Yes. ---------- http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/saturday/20020110cov02.html ThisDayonLine has removed this link from their site. January 19, 2002 Culled from ThisDay Newspapers January 2002
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