By Emma Nnadozie, Paul Odili, Albert Akpor, Olasukanmi Akoni, Evelyn Usman & Idowu Olaide
Posted to the Web: Friday, July 28, 2006

Gone with him was the hope of thousands of his supporters who, in the last two years or so had laboured and prayed that he might emerge governor next year.
As news of his death spread, friends, supporters, associates, and sympathisers in their hundreds besieged his 184A Corporation Drive twin-duplex residence to ascertain the story.

He was found dead at about 9a.m. by his personal driver popularly called Ajiroba who had gone into his bedroom to wake him up for the day’s meetings/appointments.

By then, scores of supporters and associates had gathered at the gate for the continuation of Engineer Williams' ward-to-ward campaigns ahead of the PDP primaries. They were scheduled to campaign in Eti-Osa and Lagos Island local government areas.

But what Ajiroba saw was shocking. He raised an alarm that attracted everyone including the six security men at the house, four of them policemen. His Personal Assistant (PA) called Frank was also there. The police were immediately alerted and the security men and the PA were taken in for questioning.

Governorship aspirant quizzed

A report last night said a prominent governorship aspirant of the party was also being quizzed by the police.
Mr. Williams was all alone inside the house when he was killed. His wife had travelled abroad to see their children.
Vanguard gathered that the three-time gubernatorial aspirant retried to bed around 2 a.m. yesterday after series of meetings with his supporters. He had earlier on Wednesday met with the Police authorities at the Zone 11 Command in Onikan, Lagos together with other PDP stalwarts including the state Chairman of the party, Chief. Rasheed Williams.

It was gathered that during the meeting which was convened by the Police authorities to warn PDP political aspirants on the need to maintain peace in the state, Engineer Williams and other aspirants were made to sign an undertaking to maintain law and order while going about their campaigns.

One of the supporters told Vanguard that when they arrived his residence, the guards opened the gate for them and they sat down waiting for him. He said one of his drivers arrived later around 9a.m. and went straight upstairs to inform Engineer Williams that they were around only to raise an alarm few a seconds later.
According to him, “we all went upstairs only to see his lifeless body lying in a pool of his blood with his hands and legs tied and his mouth gagged. He was lying face down.”
The death of Engr. Williams who recently threw a party to mark his mother’s 80th birthday sent shock waves all over the state.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, personally visited the house at about 4p.m. yesterday and was ushered into the room where Williams was killed. The IG was accompanied by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 11, Mr. Adeoye, and the State Police boss, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, who were already on ground assessing the situation. The Police boss who declined to speak to reporters left a few minutes later amidst shouts by sympathisers who called for the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in the death of Engr. Williams.

Prominent politicians and leaders of the People’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the state including, Chief Olabode George; Minister of Works, Chief Femi Anibaba; Security Adviser to Governor Bola Tinubu, Major Tunde Pinnox (rtd) and many others were also at his residence to sympathise with members of his family and his teeming supporters.

Chief George, Chairman of the party in the South-West later addressed the crowd and called on them to maintain peace, stressing that “perpetrators of the senseless and dastardly act must be brought to book.”

Forensic experts from the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), Alagbon arrived the scene at about 3.30p.m. and proceeded to the bedroom where his body was for examination. As at 6p.m, the body of the politician was yet to be taken to the mortuary but sources said it would be taken to Creek Mortuary in Apapa, Lagos.

There were several theories yesterday on how the assassins gained entry into the apartment without the security men knowing.

One theory suggested that the killers entered through the vacant second duplex in the building.
They had apparently entered his room through a wall opening meant for air conditioner.