Osagie Obayuwana: Unbowed champion of the masses and social justice

By Owei Lakemfa

It was  Monday. July 5, 1993. That was the date, conscientious Nigerians had chosen to commence   confrontation with the military regime that had weighed the country down, stolen it blind and, in order to perpetuate  its misrule, had annulled the Presidential elections.  The generals had declared any protest,  enemy action and, had directed the armed forces and security agencies to employ maximum force in crushing the  protests.

To worsen the situation, the politicians had declined any confrontation with the military.

The only option was for the protest organisers to overwhelm the military by turning the masses out and seizing the streets.

 In Lagos, as we moved from various locations, reports filtered that there were giant tidal waves of human beings  roaring from the Lagos Mainland towards Ikeja, the state capital and,  home of the election winner, Chief Moshood Abiola was located.   After about three hours, the tidal waves swept into Ikeja. Leading them was a 38-year American-trained lecturer, turned lawyer, Dr Osagie Obayuwana.

When the tidal waves were sweeping  through Yaba, some soldiers from the Ann Barracks  in a military vehicle suddenly found themselves in a sea of heads. In panic, they drove into the crowds causing casualties. Obayuwana had expertly handled the situation, saving the lives of the soldiers.

Those human tidal waves had formed over the Lagos Mainland with Evans Square as the epicentre. Obayuwana’s law office on Kano Street, Ebute Metta  was just behind the square. The Obayuwana-led  organisers  including Wale  ‘Wally’ Balogun and Wale ‘The Don’ Salami, became known as the Militant Mainlanders.   They were one of the most militant, courageous and best organised arms of the pro-Democracy Movement in the country.

When after the nationwide bloody resistance against the Babangida dictatorship and its ouster, the pro-Democracy movement had to renew its struggles for democracy against the military contraption called Interim National Government, ING, it was to the Militant Mainlanders we turned.  The rally held in the streets around Evans Square stretching to the Murtala Mohammed Way and Oyingbo.  By daybreak, armed policemen, had occupied the streets. But our hosts, the Militant Mainlanders were on home ground and at the appointed time, protesters poured out from various houses   and the police found themselves overwhelmed. The  street battles that day, went on for hours. Such was the strong fighting organisation Obayuwana had helped put in place.

He later relocated to Benin. When the brutal  General Sani Abacha as Head of State decided to pay an official visit to Edo State, Obayuwana and the activists in the state  issued a statement, saying that the dictator was not welcome. About forty eight hours before the planned visit, the security agents tracked down Obayuwana and detained him without trial.

After the ouster of the military and return to civil rule, he continued his advocacy.  Then, former trade union leader, Adams Oshiomhole  became Edo State Governor on November 12, 2008 and, he appointed Obayuwana as the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.  Being friends with both men and knowing their temperament, I didn’t think it was a good idea for Obayuwana to accept the appointment.  But he did, and within the space he could operate, carried out some reforms. These included establishing an ‘Equality before the law’ programme which emphasised  the rights and obligations of citizens of the state. He also  initiated the creation of the Citizens Rights Project in the Ministry, as well as the electronic storage of case files.

After leaving office, he intensified his struggles for justice and emancipation. On Monday, May 31, 2021 he led a protest against the serious cases of insecurity in the country. But as he and the protesters rallied  in New Benin, armed thugs attacked, beating them, seizing protest materials and damaging property.  Never a man to give up, he gathered the  protesters in another part of the city to continue.

Obayuwana continues pro bono, to run to the rescue of people in need of justice. In one of the latest, he waged a two-year  fight in  the High Court of Justice, Edo State. It involved a radical lecturer of the University of Benin, UNIBEN, Dr Bode Steve Ekundayo who was accused of raping a female student, Anita Adesuwa Efosa on October 5, 2021.

It had all the trappings of a setup.  Given the role of the university and its security services, it pointed to an inside job.    The findings of the State Criminal Investigation  Department, SCID which visited the alleged crime scene was that: “the books on it (the table) were all neatly arranged” suggesting no disturbance whatsoever. It also reported  that there were no physical marks and bruises on the body of Miss Efosa (as attested to by the university hospital and a private hospital); the door of the office at the time of the alleged rape, was not locked; Efosa had opted to remain in the office; none of the clothes she wore, including a t-shirt, shorts,  pants and bra were torn. The SCID: “concluded that the whole incident appeared to be a setup”

Despite these  findings of fact, the lecturer was humiliated on campus, detained in police cell and prosecuted. Obayuwana made a no case submission.  Justice  Mary.E. Itsueli agreed with him that no prima facie case had been established and, on October 25, 2024 discharged and acquitted the lecturer.

 I had met Obayuwana  in the 1980s in UNIBEN where he was the Secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.  UNIBEN had become the centre of resistance where Vice Chancellor, Professor  Grace Alele-Williams had  engaged in bruising fights with students and lecturers  led by Dr. Festus Iyayi. Lecturers had been manhandled along with their families and physically thrown out of the campus.

 Obayuwana read law at the university and worked with Chief Gani Fawehinmi. He was instrumental to the hosting of the Alternative to SAP Programme during which the Babangida regime detained Fawehinmi and  the two legendary labour leaders, Michael Imoudu and Wahab Goodluck.

Obayuwana  was one of the founders of the Gani Fawehinmi Solidarity Association, GFSA  in 1989 which fought corruption and  military misrule.  He  was elected Chairman of the   National Conscience Party, NCP in 2004 and, was until 2023, National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR.

On April 24, 2025, he became a septuagenarian.  To mark his birthday theme of abolishing all forms of poverty, he sent out a  message.  Nigerian mass and professional groups like the Bar, Medical and  market associations, unions and youths, should collectively ensure that the Fundamental Objectives  of the constitution should be made justiciable so that Nigerians would have a right to employment, education and healthcare.

 At 70, Obayuwana remains  an unbowed champion of the masses and social justice. Our historical  gratitude.

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