( DR Onagoruwa was a constitutional lawyer and human rights activist who accepted and served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the military regime of General SANNI ABACHA in spite of protestations and objections by his co activists including Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

However when the repression and anti democratic tendencies of the Regime was becoming cause for concern locally and internationally , Onagoruwa resigned.

And for daring to do that his son was eliminated by goons who roamed freely in those dangerous days of the ABACHA era. Onagoruwa never survived the heinous evil visited on his family, he died shortly after.

Before then he captured the events leading to the assassination of his son.

Excerpt of it was published by the Nigerian Tribune July 23, 2017…

“GENERAL Abacha was not happy with my departure from his government. He felt I was arrogant and over-bearing. News started to get to me that I was in danger and that I should be very careful.

First and foremost I was very sure that I had not offended him in any way. Even though he went to investigate my account in the Justice Ministry he could find nothing against me. So personally and officially, I was clean before him; so what other offences could he be looking for? My friends in govermnent told me he had assured them that I should suffer some pains which I could never forget.

Anyway, he was the goyernment and so I started to bid farewell to my wife (this was at a time of many unexplained murders -Chief Alfred Rewane, Mrs Suliat Adedeji, Rear Admiral Olu Omotehinwa, Admiral Tunde Elegbede). My wife would assure me that we should continue to pray.

“Little did we realise that he would pounce on our son, Oluwatoyin, who qualified as a lawyer in 1995. Toyin was very dear to us. He was a loving child; he was palpably cheerful and kind. He had one Igbo boy, Victor, as his friend. They were so close that the boy looked very much like part of our family.

When this boy could not pay his school fees, I had to pay. On the day of his wedding, my wife and I stood in as his parents. We do not know how this boy got into the SSS (State Security Service) camp and these operatives used him against us.

He told them Toyin’s movement in the evenings, particularly to his Fiancee’s house; and he told them the address of the house. Toyin’s Fiancee was Prof. & Mrs. Abiola Ojo’s daughter.

Victor was a very useful target; always collecting money from the SSS boys. So when mention was made about the Onagoruwas, he made himself conveniently available. But his role in Toyin’s murder, although very peripheral, was very effective.

One day, when they were to capture Toyin, Victor phoned and we got the phone call at a time when Toyin had just been attacked. We dismissed the whole thing and never connected him to this evil.

However, on the day that they felled Toyin, Victor phoned and he was told that some people had held Toyin down outside. He then told them to call me to the line. Before I could get to the phone, he cut off.

“At this very time, the assailants were taking Toyin away and thereafter shot him. I did not know what was happening as I was woken from deep sleep. When we later got Toyin to the hospital and they phoned Victor, he told them he would not come immediately as his car was in some predicament. We never saw Victor until some days later.

We later got to know that the group of SSS boys got all the information they needed about ‘Toytn through Victor: The fact that he had just qualified as a lawyer, his Fiancee’s place and name.

That was why that fateful night they first looked for him at the Fiancee’s house. They found him there but he did not know that they were looking for him. He was in fact warning his Father-in-Law to be very careful that night.

“On 18th December 1996, the murderers struck. As Toyin was riding into the compound, he was held incommunicado. Our own security man had left the door unlocked as he normally did and he ran away, while Toyin was held by these assassins who occupied the compound. I was only woken up after they had finished their operations.

They took Toyin outside into the main street, where he had a very big fight with them. They later shot him in the back and fled. By the time I woke up, Toytn had been shot and was in the throes of death. His death was unbearable to me.

Was I dreaming?

Who killed Toyin?

What did he do wrong?

“All these questions filled our mouths.

We did not connect this with the government at all. Why should a government do this? Why?

Soon after this tragic event, the Head of State wrote me a letter expressing his heartfelt sympathy. He assured me that the culprits would be arrested and they would face the law because this type of crime should not take place in this country. He sent delegates to me, one led by his deputy, General Oladipo Diya: *full item on first comment*