In an apparent response to Ibrahim Babangida's crocodile tears over the passing of human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi's wife, Ganiyat, has revealed that her husband contracted cancer during one of his many incacerations in the hands of the military dictator. "He knew he was going to die of the disease because it all started when he was locked up in prison during the Babangida military era till he eventually died."
Going further, Mrs. Fawehinmi said her late husband told her Babangida's agents kept injecting him with dangerous substances in detention with the aim of silencing him.
As far back as 1996, Gani had alleged that attempts were made on his life through the pumping of substances into his blood whenever he was detained by Babangida. He had revealed to Tell Magazine that such attempts on his life was affecting his eyes.
President of Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, beleived such a step was not beyond the realm of what the former military dictator might have done. She said it is hard to exonerate Babangida from any medical problem Gani may have had because of the activist's record of fighting one of the most wicked dictators in Nigeria's history.
Ganiyat, who spoke of Gani’s resolve to fight on even in grave, said the deceased believed he would have showcased the essence of his struggles and dogged opposition against maladministration that has pervaded the system over the years if only he was given the opportunity to serve.
According to Ganiyat, he insisted that lawyers should continue to fight the battle to free the masses from oppressive tendencies.
Gani Fawehinmi succumbed to a long fought battle with cancer of the lung. He was 71. A statement from the family announcing the passage of the legal icon reads: “Chief Gani Fawehinmi, LLD, D.Litt, SAM, SAN is dead. He died at the early hours of today, Saturday, September 5, 2009, at the Lister Medical Center, Ikeja as a result of the cancer of the lung… We thank all Nigerians for their strong support during the period of his illness.” The statement was signed by his eldest son, Barrister Mohammed Fawehinmi.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Babangida, whose government regularly detained Gani Fawehinmi, told reporters today he sympathised with his family and loved ones. "We had our differences. We went to the Supreme Court several times, and I was always winning. His death is not a relief for me at all."
It must, indeed, be a relief to Babangida that the lawyer who he feared the most and who never gave up on tying the dicator to Dele Giwa's murder, is gone.
