See how their supposed saint battered the head of a human being and still walks freely as though blood were now part of his perfume. I honestly have no quarrel with Fredrick Akinnuoye’s lawyers. They are doing what lawyers do, saying and doing anything that can keep their client out of trouble. That is their calling and I understand that. What I do not understand is how a man of law, occupying the exalted office of the Attorney General of Ondo State, could be so easily sold a dummy and then proceed to deploy the full machinery of his office to defend evil.
The police had done their work meticulously. They investigated the Ajisafe and Akinnuoye saga, interviewed both families, and confronted the accused with irrefutable evidence of forgery and impersonation. When the mountain of proof emerged, Akinnuoye could not raise his head. His lawyer of eleven years, Barrister Bode Akinkoye, was so livid that he withdrew his representation on the spot, saying his client was trying to soil his reputation. That was the point at which integrity drew its own red line.
But as often happens in the theatre of influence, fortunes changed overnight. Akinnuoye found his way to powerful lawyers with connections in high places, and some other power brokers who had acquired parcels of the Ajisafe family’s land through fraudulent means. Suddenly the story changed. The same Ministry of Justice that had issued a legal advice recommending criminal prosecution performed a complete somersault, citing an unexplained review of a case already before the High Court. When asked what review and why, the Attorney General’s mouthpiece reportedly replied that he owed no one any explanation. He invoked constitutional immunity as though the Constitution were a cloak for selective morality.
What kind of injustice is this? Even if the law grants silence, does conscience grant it too? Does public opinion not count? Does the voice of God not echo in the stillness of power? The principle of natural justice is clear, no one should be a judge in his own cause. Yet deception and hearsay from powerful busybodies somehow metamorphosed into a nolle prosequi, terminating a case built on painstaking police work.
The family’s position remains unwavering. They are demanding that the Inspector General of Police order a DNA test to determine the true bloodline of the Ajisafe family once and for all. Ojo Ajisafe, the rightful son, has offered himself for the exercise. They also want an investigation into the cause of their father’s death, convinced that foul play definitely played a role. They have submitted the original Power of Attorney signed by Pa Michael Akintola Ajisafe, and witnessed by his son Ojo as evidence. Let the world be our witnesses.
Fredrick Akinnuoye is not and has never been an Ajisafe by blood. DNA technology will speak for the truth when rhetoric fails.
For those who doubt the gravity of the deception, ask Barrister Bode Akinkoye, a gentleman and upright lawyer who served Akinnuoye faithfully for eleven years before withdrawing in disgust. He dumped his client’s file at the court room before everyone present, including his honorable Justice at the case’s very next adjournment saying his conscience won’t allow him to be a part of this fraud and injustice, after he had seen those documents that exposed the lies. If a man’s own lawyer publicly disowns his client over evidence that he is not who he claims to be, then the matter has moved from dispute to deception.
Yet the Ministry of Justice still insists on its nolle prosequi, claiming constitutional cover. Its spokesman, Olaoluwa Meshack, had even gone a step further to publicly proclaim Ojo Ajisafe a land grabber, and even attempted to replace Ojo with Akinnuoye as the lawful owner, effectively trying to usurp the powers of the courts.
The family has since demanded that the Attorney General clarify whether the overzealousness of his lieutenant in the brigandry pronouncement indeed represents his own official position or a mere unfortunate gibberish from a spokesman chasing favour. If it is the latter, they demand an immediate retraction and a public apology. Anything less will confirm that the Ministry of Justice has become a private shield for impostors.
Ondo people are not fools. They have long memories and they despise lies. This is a closely knit community where deceit travels poorly. Our courts are upright, our judges are independent, and in customary land ownership, they alone and not the Ministry of Justice determine who owns what. The Attorney General may wave his constitutional powers, but justice is not a private instrument. When public outrage meets selective silence, the law itself becomes complicit.
And just when you think the drama could not grow darker, another thread surfaces. The governor himself may be unaware that the same man he once cautioned, the Yangede of Epe, whom he warned in writing to desist from illegal chieftaincy installations, has one of the recipients of such titles, Olayele Awonusi as one of those who attacked Ojo. Till date, he prides and parades himself in Ondo with His Royal Highness plates on his vehicles. The then Deputy Governor, now Governor Aiyedatiwa, had issued formal directives halting those appointments, yet the same individuals remain emboldened.
The Attorney General’s defenders claim he owes no one an explanation. But justice stripped of transparency is nothing more than tyranny dressed in legal robes. The Latin maxim Audi Alteram Partem reminds us to hear the other side. When even that is ignored, the system becomes a mockery.
The Ajisafe family says it will dignify no one with further response until the court, the true temple of justice, speaks. And it will. For in the end, truth always outlives the politics of power. As the maxim goes, Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio, no right of action arises from a base cause.
When justice kneels before power, it is not only the innocent that suffer. The very soul of society bleeds quietly in the background, waiting for conscience to wake up and remember its oath.
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