“History cannot be rewritten by uniformed nostalgia or misinformed interviews; when General Ibrahim Babangida stripped citizens of their right to appeal using retrospective military decrees, it took legal giants, human rights commissions, and fearless judges to stop a state-sanctioned execution in its tracks.” — Odinkalu
Human rights activist and legal scholar Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu has intervened to set the record straight regarding historical claims surrounding the infamous Justice Pius Okadigbo Tribunal and the death sentences handed down to former military governor General Zamani Lekwot and his co-accused.
Responding to a televised interview by public commentator Dr. Shehu Mahdi on Symfoni News, Odinkalu pushed back sharply against allegations that legendary Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief G.O.K. Ajayi, attempted to “intimidate” the tribunal, while exposing fundamental flaws in claims that the condemned men failed to exercise their appellate rights.
Defending a Legal Giant
Addressing claims made against the late legal titan Chief G.O.K. Ajayi, SAN, Odinkalu noted a duty to protect the legacy of defense counsel who can no longer speak for themselves.
“Had he been alive, Chief G.O.K. Ajayi, SAN would not have been reticent in responding to the allegation that he sought to ‘intimidate’ Justice Okadigbo,” Odinkalu stated. “Chief has finished his earthly race & earned his rest. I have a duty to say that the available records do not, however, bear out that specific allegation against a man who is no longer here to defend himself.”
Junta Jurisprudence: The Decree 55 Trap
Odinkalu described claims that Lekwot and his co-accused simply chose not to appeal their convictions as completely “uninformed,” laying bare the draconian legal maneuvers employed by General Ibrahim Babangida’s military junta to force a conviction.
According to historical records cited by Odinkalu:
- Stripping the Right of Appeal: While an appeal was pending before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, General Babangida promulgated the Miscellaneous Offences (Supplementary Provisions) Decree No. 55 of 1991.
- Retrospective Sabotage: The decree amended existing legislation with retrospective effect to July 1991, explicitly abolishing the constitutional right of appeal for any decision rendered by the Okadigbo Tribunal.
- Judicial Handcuffs: By ousting the jurisdiction of domestic appellate courts, the military regime engineered a legal trap designed to make the death sentences final and unchallengeable within the national court system.
The Battle Across Jurisdictions: How Execution Was Blocked
Blocked from appealing within Nigeria’s domestic judicial hierarchy, the defense team pursued human rights litigation beyond conventional borders.
The case of Lekwot and his co-accused was hauled before both international human rights bodies and the Lagos State High Court:
- The African Commission (Banjul): In Communication No. 87/93, decided on March 22, 1995, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found in favor of Lekwot and his co-accused, ruling that the tribunal proceedings violated fundamental fair trial guarantees.
- The Lagos High Court Injunction: On May 5, 1993, in Suit No. M/103/93 (Constitutional Rights Project v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria), Justice Moronkeji Onalaja of the Lagos State High Court issued a binding judgment restraining the federal government from executing the death penalty.
The Verdict of History
It was these precise legal interventions—spanning domestic injunctions and international human rights rulings—that ultimately rendered the death sentences unimplementable, forcing the state to commute and ultimately discharge the sentences.
Odinkalu’s intervention serves as a reminder that public discourse surrounding historical trials must rely on verified legal facts rather than revisionist narratives—especially when evaluating the actions of military tribunals and the legal battles fought to uphold the rule of law.
