LAGOS -- The family of slain Nigerian justice minister Bola Ige has withdrawn from the ongoing trial of his suspected killers, accusing the government of immorality and perfidy for facilitating the release of the key accused.

Ige, a friend and confidant of President Olusegun Obasanjo of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), was shot dead at his home in the southwestern city of Ibadan on December 23, 2001.

Twelve suspects, including Iyiola Omisore, a former deputy governor of Ige's home Osun State, are on trial for the killing.

But Omisore was on May 30 granted bail by the Ibadan high court handling the case.

Omisore who won a senatorial seat for the PDP while in prison, was sworn in last week in the country's capital Abuja.

In a statement late Monday, Ige's family said it was leaving the matter to God because it had perceived an apparent government bias in favor of the prime suspect.

"In this season of political perversity which seems unending, seasons come and go as do political office holders. We on the other hand choose to put our faith in Him who is unchangeable and has no successor, AFP reported.

"And for the good people of this country, we leave you to make your judgments," the statement said. The minister's family said it was leaving "all concerned, both high and low, to their conscience and hope it is not too late for them to choose the path of honor and righteousness."

The murder two years ago was the first high-profile assassination in Nigeria since the West African country returned to civilian rule in 1999.

Nicknamed Cicero after ancient Rome's most renowned orator, Ige was until Obasanjo's election in 1999 the best known politician from southwest Nigeria.

His appointment to his friend's cabinet was controversial as he was a member of the opposition Alliance for Democracy, also Omisore's party before he decamped to PDP.