Bode George asks Buhari to reopen investigation into murder of Funsho Williams

Bode George, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to reopen investigation into the death of Funsho Williams.

Williams, a gubernatorial candidate in Lagos, was murdered under controversial circumstances on July 27, 2006.

He was governorship candidate of the PDP in 2003 and was warming up for the 2007 gubernatorial election when he was murdered.

In an statement, George said it has been 14 years since the incident occurred, wondering why the killers of Williams are yet to be brought to justice.

He said the death of the former gubernatorial aspirant dashed the hopes of several Lagosians and crumbled a great dream.

George said Williams, whom he described as his friend, was reserved and humble, adding that he had no bad intentions for others.

“He was gentle but reflective with sharp analytical convictions. There was always certain piety about him, an effective calibration in self-effacing innocence. He meant no harm to anyone. But he was firm, resolved, dedicated to the righteous path,” he said.

The PDP chieftain said Buhari has done the right thing by reopening investigation into the death of Bola Ige, former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation.

He urged the president to do the same by ordering an investigation into William’s death.

“It has been 14 years now when a terrible dark cloud fell upon the Lagosian entity and upon all lovers of freedom. It was really a very sad day on that horrific July 27, 2006, as the blood-soaked body of Engineer Funsho Williams was discovered in his Dolphin residence in Ikoyi,” the statement read.

“With the murder of Funsho Williams, who stood at the threshold of triumphing at the general election, a great dream was shattered. The hopes of millions of Lagosians who were hearkening to be rescued from what was then building up as a gradual servitude of the Lagosian natives was dashed.

“I am particularly passionate about Funsho who many of his acolytes adorably called captain. Funsho was my junior at the University of Lagos. We were both Engineering students but sprung from different departments. While he was in Civil Engineering, I was in the Electrical Engineering Department.

“Those who killed Funsho Williams might have killed a man but not his dream of rescuing and salvaging our society. We continue where he stopped.

“We appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to re-open the investigation of the brutal murder of Funsho Williams. The President has done the right thing by re-opening the investigation of the murder of Chief Bola Ige.

“He will be greatly enhanced in historical reckoning and signification if his administration is attested as being the one that finally nailed the evil characters hiding in plain sight who murdered Funsho Williams.”

In 2014, a Lagos high court discharged and acquitted six persons arrested and prosecuted for the murder of Williams.

The judge ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the suspects.