By Precious Mark
The Obidient Movement has issued an urgent demand for the immediate reopening of the investigation into the 2006 political assassination of Engineer Funsho Williams, describing the unresolved case as a stain on Nigeria’s political history.
In a statement signed by its Media and Communications Directorate and released on Sunday, the group challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his control of state resources, intelligence agencies, and federal law enforcement machinery to direct the Inspector-General of Police to reopen the case file.
“We challenge the President to use these vast powers to clear the air. If there is nothing to hide, there should be no hesitation in reopening the case.”
“Let Nigerians finally know exactly who ordered the hit on Funsho Williams, thereby bringing an end to the wild speculations that have continued to trail the mention of his name twenty years later,” the Obidient Movement said.
According to the organization, the demand has become an urgent matter of national security following recent remarks made by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi.
The statement highlighted that Obi openly stated that he cannot guarantee he will still be alive for the 2027 presidential election due to the intense state-sponsored frustration, constant harassment, and severe antagonism he faces daily from this regime.
Recalling a past incident in Edo State during the formal reception of Barrister Olumide Akpata into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) back in February 2026, the pressure group noted that an attempt had already been made on the opposition leader’s life.
The group further alleged, “The assassination attempt came shortly after the governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, threatened that he should be prepared for anything if he visited the state.”
Warning the federal government against treating the current alarms with levity, the organization noted, “A democracy cannot thrive where leading opposition figures openly express fears for their safety. Nigeria has paid too high a price for political violence, and too many high-profile killings have faded into silence without justice ever being served.”
Beyond the Funsho Williams case, the Obidient Movement also called on the presidency to investigate other prominent political assassinations and near-assassinations that shook the country in the past.
These include the 2011 murder of Mr. Modu Fannami Gubio, the ANPP gubernatorial candidate whose death paved the way for the emergence of the current Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, as the governor of Borno State in 2011, the January 2010 assassination of Otunba Dipo Dina, an Ogun State AC gubernatorial aspirant; and the March 2011 near-assassination of Senator John James Akpanudoedeghe, the ACN gubernatorial candidate in Akwa Ibom State.
The movement concluded that a democracy cannot thrive under a culture of fear, emphasizing that reopening these past cases with the aid of modern technology is a crucial test of whether Nigeria can finally put an end to the culture of political impunity.
“We will not stand by and watch history repeat itself. Mr. Tinubu must act now to uncover the killers of these late politicians and bring them to justice, to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to use crude methods to terrorize, suppress, or eliminate political rivals.”
“As the leading opposition candidate, the life of Mr. Peter Obi must be fully protected by the government, and the culture of political impunity in Nigeria must be brought to a decisive end,” the statement concluded.