Abacha ruled Nigeria as an ironfisted military strongman having seized power in a bloodless coup in 1993 after ousting the interim president, Earnest Shonekan, who was installed by General Ibrahim Babangida after the annulment of the June 12 presidential election won by Moshood Abiola.
Former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, has recounted the chain of dramatic events that characterised the immediate aftermath of the death of the military head of state, Sani Abacha.
Abdulsalami took over as military head of state after Abacha died on June 8 1998 under mysterious circumstances. Abacha ruled Nigeria as an ironfisted military strongman having seized power in a bloodless coup in 1993 after ousting the interim president, Earnest Shonekan, who was installed by General Ibrahim Babangida after the annulment of the June 12 presidential election won by Moshood Abiola.
Abdulsalami disclosed that he was lured to the presidential villa under the pretext that Abacha wanted to see him on the morning of the latter’s death only for him to be detained in a room for over one hour without any explanation.
He said it was Ibrahim Coomassie, the late Inspector-General of Police at the time, who eventually opened the door.
In his autobiography, ‘Call of Duty’, he stated that he thought he would be sent to Togo, where an ECOWAS summit was going to be held, but he did not want to go as he was tired of embarking on foreign travels and representing the head of state at national and international events.
The former Army-General wrote: “On Monday, 8 June, I received a call very early in the morning that he (Abacha) wanted to see me. I quietly prayed that he would not send me to Togo where there was going to be an ECOWAS summit. I was tired of going everywhere.
“By this time, Lt-General Diya, his No 2, was in detention (over an alleged coup plot). I was effectively the No 2 man in government and I was always representing him at events. I told my wife I was not happy with the call because I didn’t want to travel to Togo. I told my orderly to pack my travelling bag and other personal effects.
“As I entered the bathroom, there was another call. I was told again that the Head of State wanted to see me. Out of frustration, I asked if I was travelling to Togo and the caller replied that it was on another issue. Because of the urgency, I didn’t wear my uniform. I wore a tracksuit and slippers and proceeded to the Presidential Villa.
“On getting to his residence, I was told he was in the office. I wondered why he would be that early in the office. As I was climbing the stairs, one of the guards informed me that Abacha said I should stay in the waiting room. What struck me was that anytime I went to see him, regardless of who was with him, I would still go in.
“After waiting for about half an hour, I reasoned that it was odd. Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi joined me shortly after. We waited for about an hour. I decided to go and see Abacha by any means because I could not understand why I should be kept that long. To my greatest surprise, the door of the waiting room had been locked. I asked Bamaiyi if he was aware that we had been locked inside. Something kept telling me that something was wrong but I could not place a finger on it.
“After some time, the door was opened and the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, came in. He said: ‘Let’s go.’ We walked towards the residence and I informed him that I was told Abacha was at the office. It was at this stage that he informed me that Abacha was dead. I was shocked. I asked him what happened and he insisted we proceed first. He did not tell me anything else.”
Leave a Reply