TESLIM FOLARIN, ANOTHER NIGERIAN 'SENATOR-KILLER' FROM ODUDUWA-LAND?

Icheoku says the only reason crime thrives in Nigeria is because there is no adequate  punishment or dire consequence for past offenders, to serve as deterrent to potential criminals. Senator Iyiola Omisore killed former Attorney General Bola Ige and instead of being marched to the gallows was rewarded with a senate seat of Osun East Senatorial District at the Nigeria Senate by Olusegun Obasanjo. Now lesser than five years later, another 'untouchable-feeling' senator from Oyo State has murdered yet another Nigerian. Senator Teslim Folarin is in custody, charged with the murder of Chief Lateef 'Eleweomo' Salako. 

But unbeknownst to Folrain, another man whose name is not Olusegun Obasanjo is now occupying the seat of power at Aso Rock and wants to do good by and for Nigerians. That man, President Goodluck Ebelesimi Jonathan has washed off his hands of protection and would not intervene in this heinous murder and in order to allow the law to take its full course. As a result, the murderer-senator has been arrested, questioned, detained and now stands indicted for the crime of murder and is still locked up in jail awaiting formal arraignment and trial. Icheoku commends President Jonathan for staying out of the way of justice in this criminal indictment of a senate leader; unlike his mentor Olusegun Obasanjo who is no respecter of the law and who has penchant of perverting justice. Equality of Nigerians under the law can only come to fruition in this manner wherein every Nigerian sees the law as all-covering, and that no Nigerian is above the law. 


The investigating police officers established a prima facie case against Senator Folarin based on confessions obtained by the trigger-pulling police orderlies assigned to the senator, who said that Senator Teslim Folarin ordered them to open fire on Chief Lateef 'Eleweomo' Salako, killing him instantly at Oyo State PDP state congress. This confession led the police to charge Folarin with three other accused persons with conspiracy to commit murder and committing murder by shooting the victim with a gun. Senator Folarin is currently in jail, awaiting formal arraignment in the High court as the Magistrate court of first instance declined jurisdiction based on existing first instance hearing of such capital criminal matters in the High courts. His case was continued till January 14, 2011. 


It would be recalled that former Attorney General Bola Ige was murdered in nearly similar circumstances by Senator Iyola Omisore, through thugs masquerading as bandits and Olusegun Obasanjo helped with the cover-up; as he resisted the police from thoroughly investigating the case or prosecuting the accused. But Folarin was not as clever, he thought that his high office in Nigeria as the Nigeria Senate Leader will provide him with a cover and legislative privilege and that he will go Scot-free; hence the blatancy with which he ordered the daylight extra-judicial execution of the former motor-park tout turned transport workers union leader, Chief Lateef Eleweomo Salako. It will also be noted that another motor park tout, Lateef 'Tokyo' Akinsola, previously had a fall out with the late Eleweomo, and Icheoku wonders aloud whether this final end-game was a continuum of that face-off manifested. May be as a conspirator which led another motor park tout, Mukaila 'Auxillary' Lamidi, the slain thug's deputy to take the laws into his hands in wrecking havoc on property owned by Tokyo. Icheoku says this is a definite case of thuggery gone awry in Yoruba Western Nigeria and 'Operation Wee-etie' is still very fresh in mind.

Some sympathizers have called the speed at which the investigation was completed, judging from the usual sluggish pace of Nigeria Police, a political jobber on steroids. Icheoku admonishes, that somebody witnessed someone pull a trigger at another's behest; so why waste time in prosecuting a perpetrator who was literally caught in the act? Unlike when Senator Iyiola Omisore (here right) murdered former Attorney General Bola Ige and Olusegun Obasanjo helped him escape justice and instead rewarded him with a senate seat from which the court of appeal has now ejected him. 


What goes around comes around and Icheoku is hopeful that someday, this other senator-killer would also be brought to justice. Luckily there is no statute of limitation for murder and so, Senator-killer Omisore should not feel it is already Uhuru for him over the murder of Uncle Bola Ige! An injustice to one is injustice to all, so if not today, it might be tomorrow; but the soul of Cicero of Oke-Onaa must be assuaged and allowed to rest in peace. The current freedom being enjoyed by Omisore is repugnant to justice and fair-play; and the sooner he joined his comrade in murder, Teslim Folarin, in the slammer, the better! 


But one good thing out of this ugly saga is that the rich and mighty in Nigeria have finally been placed under the laws of the land, as a previously untouchable senate majority leader is now cooling off in jail while awaiting trial. It will be recalled that the first of such Nigerian untouchable to be brought under the law is the still imprisoned Bode George, a former Minister and PDP chieftain/chairman for the Yoruba South-west. Such novel jurisdictional authority and superiority of the law over these class of Nigerians, gives some flicker of hope that all is not yet completely lost in the Nigeria project hopeless. At last it feels and looks like God is finally ready to take control in Nigeria as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is now sharing a space with some common criminals, whose ranks he joined when he ordered that trigger to be pulled. 


Icheoku says it does not matter what the final dispositive outcome of the case becomes, since it might still come under the boots of the authorities in Nigeria in order not to embarrass one of their own; but the deed is done and there is no putting the genie back into the bottle. The gist of the matter is that Nigeria Senate Majority Leader Teslim Folarin has been arrested and indicted for committing the crime of murder; this is what is important - that such a high-up Nigerian could be brought under the law and made to answer for his deeds, period. We at Icheoku.com do not believe Teslim Folarin's prosecution is political or a witch-hunting as is being alleged by his sympathizers; no, it was someone who acted out under a feeling of untouchable arrogance saturated with the usual Nigerian high-up's impunity. But we shall see how it all ends; as Icheoku, the victim's family, Nigerians and the rest of the world are tuned in and watching!