The years from the early 2000s until 2007 were among the worst in Nigerian political history. It was a time when, as in the 20th century, evil strolled the streets of Nigeria unchallenged and wined and dined with the political elite. Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), a late human rights attorney, called the period of political assassinations in Nigeria “the darkest and saddest event in Nigerian history.” Fawehinmi stated: “What we have been seeing lately is not democracy on the part of politicians, but rather a thoughtless outburst of insanity by some in the political class, and if checked promptly, the democratic structure will undoubtedly fall, and we will be responsible for the extraordinary bloodshed that ensues.
About thirty incidences of assassinations and attempted assassinations were reported in various locations of Nigeria between 1999 and 2006. Ayo Daramola, a candidate for governor of Ekiti State, Alfred Dikibo, the National Vice-Chairman (South-South) of the PDP, Bola Ige, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in office, and Engineer Funsho Williams, who many thought would succeed former Lagos state governor Bola Tinubu, were among the numerous politicians who were brutally killed.
Williams received both his elementary and secondary school in Lagos, where he was born on May 9, 1948. He purportedly prevailed in the Alliance for Democracy’s (AD) 1998 governorship primary against Tinubu, but party officials urged him to resign so that Tinubu, who went on to win the governorship in 1999, could run. This is thought to be because Williams was a part of the repressive military regime, while Tinubu was involved in the June 12, 1993, struggle He changed to the PDP to challenge Tinubu, but he complied and let Tinubu run as the AD candidate.
Prior to that, he belonged to the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), the ruling political party, which had supported General Sani Abacha, the previous head of state of the armed forces, to run for president in the August 1998 election. However, this election was never held since Abacha passed away in June 1998. Williams, a 2003 PDP candidate for governor when Tinubu sought a second term, was defeated by the incumbent after receiving 725,000 votes to Tinubu’s 910,000. Williams graduated from the University of Lagos with a degree in civil engineering and a second degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the United States.
He had served as an engineer in the Lagos Civil Service for seventeen years until his political career called. In 1991, he retired from the Ministry of Works as a Permanent Secretary. In addition to managing his own business, he was a board member of other organizations, including Cappa and D’Alberto Plc, Ajaokuta Steel Company, and Julius Berger. Later, during Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s military rule (1993–1996), he would return to Lagos public service to serve as Commissioner for Works. It was during this time that his ambition to serve Lagos expanded; he desired to be governor and was well-positioned to win the 2007 governorship race.
Stated by Babatunde Fashola, “After serving as commissioner, he believed that entering politics would be the only way to fulfill his ambition to improve the lives of Lagosians and the state.” Unfortunately, Captain, as he was affectionately known, was never able to realize his dream of leading Lagos before falling victim to the wave of political killings that were then plaguing Nigeria. On July 27, 2006, he was strangled to death in his Dolphin Estate home in Ikoyi. In his testimony before a Lagos High Court, Prof. John Obafunwa, the Chief Forensic Pathologist of Lagos, stated, “His hands tied and lying face down in a pool of blood on a dagger, wrapped with a newspaper. Our findings indicate that the deceased died from asphyxia, or lack of air intake, as a result of manual strangulation,” he continued. “The deceased’s wounds can be classified as defense wounds.”
In relation to his demise, two persons were taken into custody on July 28, 2006. Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe, a senator and former Works Minister, was one, and his campaign manager was the other. Ogunlewe had aspirations of running for governor as the PDP nominee. The court also cleared the six suspects—Bulama Kolo, Musa Maina, David Cassidy,Tunani Sonani, Mustapha Kayode, and Okponwasa Imariabie—who were put on trial in connection with Williams’s death on June 30, 2014, many Nigerians are still perplexed by Funsho Williams’ murder 14 years later because no one has been prosecuted.
He left behind their four children and his wife, Hilda Williams. On August 10, 2006, he was buried in Lekki’s Victoria Court Cemetery. The state administration renamed the well-known Western Avenue in Surulere, Funsho Williams Avenue in honor of the man who, in the view of the public, would have been elected Lagos state governor in 2007. Rev. Father Mary Vin Ubili characterized Williams as a politician who believed that the politics of ideas might be the foundation for gaining power in order to benefit humanity during his burial. He was a man who, both literally and symbolically, stood above other men. He was taller over six feet and always had a serious facial expression.
