The Joint Action Front (JAF) insists Professor Festus Iyayi was murdered by operatives of the Nigerian Government. This is in sharp contrast to the popular opinion that the former ASUU President died in a road crash on November 12 as a result of the recklessness of the Kogi State Governor’s convoy.
In a statement yesterday, JAF said it has every reason to believe that the murder of Comrade Iyayi was connected with the ongoing Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU) strike. Strong accusations you may say.
The JAF statement read: “We strongly believe that the assassination of Comrade Iyayi was carried out by expert shooters in the cover of the Nigerian Intelligence, reminiscent of the State murder of Dele Giwa in 1986 and Kudirat Abiola in 1996,”
The body believes that the explanation by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Dr. Paul Amodu, the Sole Administrator of the Specialist Hospital Lokoja which holds Comrade Iyayi’s death was as a result of the accident cannot blind them from “The Strange object that pierced Iyayi’s heart”.
JAF believes that the Late Iyayi’s death is as assassination aimed at destabilizing ASUU’s struggle as Festus Iyayi played a prominent role in exposing the Government’s IMF and World Bank destructive policies in Education and the Nigerian economy. They reminisced on a similar death of another former Academic Staff Union Of Universities President in 1982
“Nigerians must know that a former ASUU President, Comrade Dr. Mahmud Tukur was murdered in a similar painted-accident scenario on the Kaduna-Zaria road in 1982 following ASUU’s dispute with the Shagari’s National Party of Nigeria (NPN) Government in 1980/81 on the same issue of funding, university autonomy and academic freedom, as it is today with the Jonathan Presidency.”
JAF has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and ASUU to join forces with them to unravel the truth behind the assassination of Iyayi by challenging the Presidency, Minister of Defence and the Inspector General of Police to tell the public what really happened
“As far as we in JAF are concerned, Nigerians should no longer tolerate this unjust polity where: a very tiny group of Nigerians who loot the treasury use their stolen wealth to sustain themselves in power; use their power to get richer and richer when the poor get poorer and poorer and use the unjust system to bring out the army and the police to kill the poor people and comrades whenever we protest against oppression and exploitation.”
