Osun Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Aregbesola, Oyinlola in fresh battle for ‘truth’

BY DAPO AKINREFON
THE Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up by the Osun State Government, ended its public sitting on Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up in Osun State on February 15 by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, it was given a clear mandate: to probe all cases of human rights abuses, violation and public discontent in the state from June 1, 2003 between June 1, 2003 and November 27, when the new administration was inaugurated.

Aregbesola: In search of the truth and Oyinlola: Absolves self of unleashing terror

The eight-member commission was chaired by Justice Samson Uwaifo and had as members the following, Mr. Yunus Ustaz-Usman (SAN), Prof. (Mrs.) Ayo Atsenuwa, Mrs. Funmi Falana, Hakeem Yusuff, Mr. Bamidele Aturu and Waheed Lawal. Mr. Nurudeen Ogbara served as the commission’s secretary.

In his inaugural speech at the commencement of the commission’s sitting, the governor accused his predecessor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinloa of inflicting pains on the people.

“In the past eight years, a tiny minority in our midst perverted the noble art of politics from the process for leadership training and recruitment to a system of unbridled power acquisition and self aggrandisement. People were denied the right to choice and democracy ceased being an instrument for the emancipation of the people.”

He pointed out that “Protests were visited with repression as the security agencies were unleashed on peaceful protesters on the streets, killing, maiming and hounding them. Subsequently, people were being rounded up in the comfort of their homes and put in illegal detention on spurious charges. Serial abuse of human rights became routine.”

He however admitted that the commission has limited time to establish what went wrong during his predecessor’s administration; he nonetheless called for genuine reconciliation.

While urging members of the commission to seek out the truth without fear or favour, he charged them to be open-minded and humane in the sessions with victims and aggressors alike, but maintained they must be frank and unhindered their recommendations.

“More importantly,” he tasked them not to apply the brakes in any direction “your investigation might lead you. Be courteous and gentle, yet be firm and unsparing.

Let me assure all that this commission is not targeted at particular persons and is not an attempt to witch-hunt. It is meant to give every person that has been wronged an opportunity to seek redress and we are determined to follow that to its logical conclusion.”

As a way of ensuring that there was proper reconciliation, Justice Uwaifo said the petitions had been categorized into eight sections for the commission to be able to carry out its job effectively and efficiently.

According to Uwaifo, the categories are political victimization, police brutality, soldier brutality, chieftaincy matters, land disputes and destruction of property, civil service matters and administrative injustices, complaints against government actions and inactions and other human rights abuses.

Also, the retired jurist disclosed that 400 petitions were received on political victimization, 54 on police brutality, 13 on soldier brutality, 51 on chieftaincy matters, 33 on land disputes and destruction of property, 37 on civil service matters and administrative injustices, while 49 petitions were received on complaints against government actions and in-actions and 36 on other matters.

Oyinlola shuns commission

Having been charged with the task of reconciling aggrieved people in the state, the commission deemed it fit to invite the former governor, Prince Oyinlola to respond to the allegations leveled against his administration.

However, the Okuku Prince failed to honour the invitation of the judicial panel of enquiry set up to investigate cases of human rights violations and abuses from 2003 to November 2010.

The commission had sent an invitation signed by its secretary, Nurudeen Ogbara, to the former governor asking him to appear before the panel to provide necessary answers to some questions before the commission owing to the fact the he (Oyinlola) was governor during the period which the commission was established to probe.

His failure to appear before the commission, however, stalled the sitting of the commission for some time.
The commission’s scribe stated that the former governor had written the commission to explain his inability to appear before it.

He said Mr Oyinlola’s letter, dated 16th May, 2011 and received on 19th May, 2011, explained his tight schedule between May and July, hence his inability to appear personally before the commission.

The former governor also complained that many of the petitions before the commission were meant to smear his character, stating that he had briefed a team of lawyers to represent him before the commission on all the allegations leveled against him.

Oyinlola reacts
But the former military administrator of Lagos state was not pleased with his portrayal.

In his reaction to the many allegations leveled against his administration which he titled “My response to Aregbesola’s lies”, Oyinlola faulted the commission saying “having gone through the petition and having read the 12 page release on Wednesday 25th May, 2011 by my successor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which he set up some months ago with Justice Samson Uwaifo as its chairman, he was allowed by his ‘Truth’ Commission to read that piece and say all manners of things against my person despite the fact that he filed no petition against me before the panel.

Several newspapers, television and radio stations also helped him to carry the manifest falsehood he read out at the session.”

While he faulted the composition of the commission’s membership, he was quick to absolve himself of all allegations leveled against him.

In addition, he declared that he lacked faith in the neutrality of the commission.
Oyinola further advised that next time “he (Aregbesola) wants to set up a fact finding panel, the proper thing to do is to empanel people whose neutrality is not in doubt.

What he has done with the membership of his Truth Commission easily gave his motive away. Why for instance would Rauf choose as Truth Commission members: Mrs. Funmi Falana, wife of Mr. Femi Falana who was Rauf Aregbesola’s lawyer in the forgery case; Chairman of the Labour Party in Osun State, Mr. Rufus Oyatoro whose party contested elections with my party and lost. There were also Messrs Bamidele Aturu and Nurudeen Ogbara who are not just Mr. Femi Falana’s friends but are also allies of Rauf Aregbesola and supporters of his party.

So, I simply laughed when my party chairman informed me that the Commission heard, before winding up, over 200 petitions filed by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) supporters while it heard only seven out of the 79 petitions filed by supporters of our party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

While Oyinloa absolved himself of any wrong doing during his tenure as governor, he accused the Osun state government of allegedly going out of its way to witch-hunt him.