Criminal Politics: Violence, “Godfathers” and Corruption in Nigeria

officers who are stationed at his home and accompany him wherever he goes. It
remains to be seen whether any of this will change under the Yar’Adua government.
Aftermath
Some residents of Oyo State expressed the hope that once the political battles
surrounding the election were over, they could at least hope for peace to take root in
Oyo. As one activist put it before the elections, “The whole problem is that he
[Adedibu] is the godfather and his authority was toppled and he will not stand for it.
Once he has won it will become quiet.” 221
Unfortunately this has not come to pass and violence has continued since the
elections came to a close. Much of that violence has seen Ladoja’s former supporters
harassed and attacked. Tawa, leader of the pro-Ladoja faction of NURTW, was
reportedly abducted, attacked with machetes and badly wounded by Tokyo’s
supporters just days before Ladoja handed over to Akala as governor. 222 A pro-Tawa
NURTW leader in Ogbomoso was murdered on June 22. 223 And in early July 2007
Ladoja’s own house was attacked by armed thugs alleged in the employ of Adedibu
and Governor Akala. 224 The police made no arrests.
There are also signs that Oyo’s culture of political violence has become so
entrenched that it is continuing to worsen in relation to issues not connected with
the election at all. On June 27, 2007, a group of NURTW thugs armed with clubs and
machetes allegedly attacked a group of state government employees who were
staging a peaceful protest against the Akala administration’s recent decision to
reduce their salaries. Twenty protesters suffered machete and club wounds in the
attack and at least three of them were hospitalized. The workers accused the state
government of masterminding the attack and demanded an investigation.
Commissioner of Police Jonathan Johnson responded by publicly accusing the civil
221 Human Rights Watch interview, Ibadan, February 8, 2007.
222 Human Rights Watch email correspondence with Ibadan-based activist, June 2007.
223 Tunde Sanni, “Police Arrest 11 over Murder of NURTW chief,” This Day, June 25, 2007.
224 See Akeeb Alarape, “Adedibu, Akala Behind Attack on my House—Ladoja,” Daily Sun, July 6, 2007.
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Human Rights Watch October 2007