The public outrage and widespread condemnation trailing the recent gruesome assassination of Otunba Dipo Dina, the Action Congress gubernatorial candidate in the April 2007 election in Ogun State, no doubt reflects public frustration with previous unresolved murders that have soiled Nigeria's political landscape, over the last few years.

With such high profile, politically motivated, killings assuming a disturbing frequency towards any general elections, Dina's death is both an indication of the desperation for power by the political elite and the failure of the nation's security agencies to protect life and property.

As accounts claim, Dina was shot pointblank near Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State by unknown gunmen on Monday, January 25, 2010 in his sports utility vehicle right before his driver and an unnamed friend. The dastardly murder reportedly took place at about 8.30 p.m. Police statements so far claim that several bullet holes were found in his body, rendering it unlikely that it was a robbery incident. We cannot agree less, because only his car was taken away, apparently to frustrate police investigations. Notably, no harm came to the two other occupants of the car, who are being interrogated.

So far, it is gratifying to note that Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has publicly directed the Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo, to speedily fish out the killers by all means possible. And the IG has swung into action by dispatching the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Azubuko Udoh, with a team of police detectives to effect the arrest of the unknown killers. The police, it should be placed on record, have said this is a "high profile murder case" and "pure assassination". Given that clear-cut perspective, the investigation should be able to close in faster on the likely killers.

To succeed, however, a holistic approach is required, as the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has called for. The obvious snag is the likely attempt by the perpetrators to employ every means at their disposal to frustrate all efforts by the police and the judiciary to speed up the justice process.

Hasty comments by top officials had frustrated similar cases in the past. Nigerians were shocked, for instance, when the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, commented that the assassination of Aminasoari Dikibo of the Peoples Democratic Party was a robbery attack, on the eve of the 2003 general election. Far worse was the statement, also credited to Obasanjo, linking the cold-blooded murder of an incumbent Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, the late Chief Bola Ige, to a faceless drug baron. That the statement came after years of long-winding legal processes characterized by deliberate delays, betrayal, and outright arm-twisting of judges, one of whom had to withdraw because of "undue pressure" from above, spoke volumes about the nation's shoddy handling of even sensitive crimes like high profile murders. Subsequently, the former IG, Sunday Ehindero, declared the Bola Ige case closed, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of not a few patriots.

Similarly, it is deplorable that years after the despicable murders of Funsho Williams, the former gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for Lagos State, and Ayo Daramola, his counterpart in Ekiti State, the killers are still walking our streets free. Coincidentally, both were slaughtered in their bedrooms and the incidents took place toward the 2007 general elections. This ugly pattern thus has the ring of a well-planned Mafia crime to it.

The Williams and Daramola politically motivated murders in 2007 went unresolved largely because the killing, four years earlier, of Marshal Harry of the All Nigeria People's Party and of Dikibo Aminasoari had gone unpunished. This culture of impunity has exacerbated the feeling that in Nigerian politics might is right. This is regrettable. It presents a formidable challenge to IG Onovo to make a paradigm shift from the less than commendable efforts of his predecessors in this regard. We shall continue to remind him, therefore, of his recent assertion, namely, "This is one killing that we cannot allow to go undetected. We must do everything within our capacity to find those behind such a dastardly act." The Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, which has been directed to take over the investigation of Dipo Dina's death, should match the IG's words with concrete action.

More importantly, the police should take cognizance of the increased tempo of political activities starting with the Anambra gubernatorial election in February. As campaigns get heated up, with politicians getting more desperate for power, the likelihood of more assassination attempts increases. While security measures are tightened to forestall any fresh cases of political murders, we wish to express our conviction that, ultimately, the way out of the present murderous political culture is the enthronement of fiscal federalism in the country. Simply put, the insane lure of political power in Nigeria derives from the colossal booty that is synonymous with political office. This, in turn, stems from the concentration of 'free funds' at the centre, permitting office holders to spend revenues that they do not produce and for which they do not feel accountable. The principle of servant leadership - of public office as a channel for selfless service - is strange in such a context. Instead, the nation is a no-man's land of desperate devotees of lucre.

For as long as the masterminds behind high profile murders are confident that they will go unpunished, and the Federation Account is available for looting by office holders, for so long will competition for power be a do-or-die affair in Nigeria. Let Dina's killers be fished out promptly and made to pay for their callous crime.