Twenty years after the assassination of Engineer Anthony Olufunsho Williams, the killing of the Lagos politician and gubernatorial hopeful remains one of Nigeria’s most troubling unresolved political crimes.
Found dead in his Dolphin Estate residence on July 27, 2006, Williams’ murder shocked the nation, deepened political mistrust and left questions that still shape public debate about power, violence and accountability in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
Williams, widely regarded as a diligent technocrat with political ambition, was emerging as a strong contender for the Peoples Democratic Party ticket ahead of the 2007 Lagos governorship election when he was killed.
His death, coming months before nationwide polls, intensified fears about the lethal stakes of Nigerian politics at the time.
Born on May 9, 1948, in Lagos, Williams built a long career in public service after studying civil engineering at the University of Lagos.
He joined the Lagos State civil service in 1974 and rose to become commissioner for works under successive military administrations, earning a reputation for technical competence and infrastructure delivery.
His transition into partisan politics followed Nigeria’s uneven return to civilian rule.
During the Abacha era, he aligned with the United Nigeria Congress Party, one of the state-backed parties in the aborted transition programme.
After the regime collapsed in 1998, Williams joined the Alliance for Democracy, where he contested the Lagos governorship primaries but lost to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who went on to become governor in 1999.
Williams later defected to the PDP and became its candidate in the 2003 Lagos governorship election, challenging Tinubu for a second term.
Although he lost that contest, by 2006 he was again positioning himself as a leading aspirant within the PDP, campaigning on infrastructure renewal and urban development.
The circumstances of his death were gruesome.
Williams was found bound, gagged and stabbed multiple times in his Ikoyi home.
The killing triggered national outrage and an intense investigation, with early suspicions focusing on political motives and internal party rivalries.
Several prominent PDP figures were questioned, including Adeseye Ogunlewe and Musiliu Obanikoro, but no charges were filed against them.
In 2013, six suspects, mostly aides and security personnel, were arraigned for conspiracy and murder.
The trial stalled amid procedural lapses, damaged evidence and prolonged delays.
No one has been convicted, and the case remains officially unresolved, often mentioned alongside other high-profile political assassinations such as that of former Attorney General Bola Ige.
Then president Olusegun Obasanjo condemned the killing and invited foreign forensic experts to assist investigators.
Despite this, critics accused the federal authorities of failing to pursue the case with the urgency and transparency it deserved, reinforcing public cynicism about justice for politically exposed victims.
Over the years, the absence of closure fuelled conspiracy theories.
Some opposition voices alleged involvement by then governor Tinubu, claims he consistently denied, arguing that he had already defeated Williams electorally and had no motive.
Tinubu later renamed Western Avenue in Surulere as Funsho Williams Avenue in 2007, a move supporters described as a mark of respect.
Other accounts pointed to internal PDP struggles.
Declassified United States diplomatic cables later suggested Tinubu himself believed the murder was linked to factional battles within the PDP.
After Williams’ death, his widow, Hilda Williams, sought the party’s gubernatorial ticket and reportedly won the primaries, only for the decision to be overturned by the party leadership. She subsequently left the PDP, citing injustice and interference.
Two decades on, the killing of Funsho Williams remains a symbol of the dangers that once defined Nigeria’s competitive politics, particularly in Lagos, a state with enormous economic and political value.
While the state has since enjoyed relative stability, the unresolved murder continues to surface in political rhetoric and historical debates.
Analysts argue that the lasting damage lies not only in the loss of a public servant, but in the failure of institutions to deliver justice.
As Nigeria reflects on its democratic journey, the story of Funsho Williams stands as a reminder of the cost of political violence and the enduring need for accountability, transparency and the rule of law.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
