- Speaking on what transpired during those heady, perilous and inglorious days of military rule under Abacha, Gowon said he wrote a letter to the dictator, begging him not to kill Obasanjo
Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon has revealed that he prevailed upon late Gen. Sani Abacha not to execute former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the alleged coup plot in 1995.
The military junta of Gen. Sani Abacha had arrested and condemned Obasanjo to death in 1995 for purportedly being part of a planned coup to oust his regime.
Obasanjo spent three years in prison before he was released in 1998 after the death of Gen. Abacha on June 8 of that year.
Speaking on what transpired during those heady, perilous and inglorious days of military rule under Abacha, Gowon said he wrote a letter to the dictator, begging him not to kill Obasanjo.
He made this known at the first edition of the Interdenominational Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival organised by the Plateau Government.
“I wrote a letter to Abacha, I pleaded with him that God made him a leader to do good and not evil.
“I sent my wife with the letter in the middle of the night to Abacha in Abuja; I pleaded with him that such a thing should not happen.
“I’m glad that soon after that, things changed, and not only that Obasanjo left prison, he became our president in 1999.
“This is something that only prayers and sincerity can do; I’m happy that today myself and Obasanjo are here to celebrate the unity of Plateau,” he said.