TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE GANI FAWEHINMI FAMILY HELD IN LAGOS ON THURSDAY AUGUST 19, 2021
Our dear gentlemen and ladies of the Press.
1. On behalf of myself, the other siblings of late Mohammed Fawehinmi, and the entire Gani Fawehinmi family, I warmly welcome you to this press conference.
2. This press conference is a follow-up to the one addressed by my younger sister Mrs. Basirat Fawehinmi Biobaku and our dear brother and family friend Mr. Lanre Arogundade last Thursday in the immediate aftermath of the unfortunate death of our brother and patriarch, Barrister Mohammed Fawehinmi.
3. The purpose of this brief press conference is two-fold. The first is to provide clarification on the cause of the death of our brother Barrister Mohammed Fawehinmi, and the second is to give the full details of the burial plan as already announced.
4. As stated during the previous press conference, the family could not immediately disclose the cause of our brother’s death because we wanted the information to be based on factual medical details especially as maybe contained in the death certificate.
5. Today however, we are in a position to inform you that our dear brother died from Covid-19 related complications.
6. Arising from this, we want to use this opportunity to urge all Nigerians to take necessary precautions to avoid being infected by the deadly disease including but not limited to taking the required doses of Covid-19 vaccine, correctly wearing face masks, regularly sanitising, regularly washing hands with soap and maintaining social distancing amidst crowds.
7. We urge the government to step up its public enlightenmrnt on the deadly character of the disease so that many more Nigerians, especially those whose immune system could easily be compromised because of underlying illnesses, can take the safety measures enumerated above.
8. Additionally and in line with our late brother’s consistent advocacy, we call on the Federal and state governments to invest more in health care. In particular we urge the government to do all that is necessary to end the ongoing strike by members of the National Association of Resident Doctors.
9. With respect to the burial details, the service of songs and the night of tributes for our late brother will hold on Wednesday August 25, 2021 at the Archbishop Vining Cathedral in Ikeja from 4 to 7pm. The two events will be divided into two halves. The night of tributes will enable friends, associates, partners, comrades, human rights activists, pro-democracy, trade union and socialist groups to pay their tribute.
10. In the morning of Friday August 27, 2021, the remains of our brother would be interred at the Gani Fawehinmi family compound in Ondo Town after a brief funeral service.
11. We welcome those who will like to identify with us during these ceremonies but in view of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic we would ideally appreciate if the crowd is limited.
12. We wish to thank all those who have through calls, visits, tributes, etc, been identifying with us during this difficult period. We particularly thank the Nigerian media and journalists for their support and we do hereby apologise for any inconvenience you may have encountered in the course of trying to report the passage of our brother.
13. We are very grateful for your presence today.
14. Thank you.
For the Gani Fawehinmi Family:
Saheed Fawehinmi
Thursday August 19, 2021
