Abdulsalami Recalls ‘Fishy’ Events Before Abacha’s Death

A former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has said the hours surrounding the death of General Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998, left him with a lingering suspicion that “something was fishy.”

Naija News reports that Abubakar disclosed that he and the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi were mysteriously locked inside a waiting room at the Presidential Villa for nearly an hour before they were informed that Abacha had died.

The revelations are contained in Chapter 19 of Abubakar’s 264-page autobiography titled Call of Duty, obtained on Saturday during the public presentation of the book and two others at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

The presentation was held to mark the former Head of State’s 84th birthday and was attended by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Abubakar said the chain of events began with a phone call on the morning of Monday, June 8, 1998, while he was waiting to be informed about his possible retirement from the military after 35 years of service.

He wrote, “On Monday, 8 June, I was waiting for him concerning the assignment he said he had for me. I received a call very early in the morning that he was going to be retired. There was no other way to interpret that.

“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.

“I was effectively in detention; I didn’t want to travel to Togo. I told my wife I was not happy with the call because I was still hoping I wouldn’t have to travel to Togo.”

He said another call later came, directing him to meet the Head of State.

Abubakar further stated, “As I entered the bathroom, there was another call. I was told that the Head of State wanted to see me.

“Out of frustration, I asked if it was travelling to Togo, and the caller replied that it was on a different 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 not in the office.”

Locked In Waiting Room

Abubakar said the events that followed at the Villa appeared strange to him.

He wrote, “One of the guards informed me 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 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 Abacha said I should stay in the waiting room.

“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 we should be kept that long.”

According to him, he later discovered that the waiting room had been locked from the outside.

Abubakar further stated, “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.”

Coomassie Shared The News

Abubakar said the door was later opened by the then Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, who led them away.

He stated, “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 office, and I informed him that I was told Abacha was at the residence.

“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.”

Abubakar said he later saw Abacha’s body at the residence.

He recalled, “When we got to the residence, I asked to see Abacha’s body. I was told it was inside. I entered the room and removed the covering.

“I was in shock at the sudden development. I prayed for him and left the room. Then lots of conversations began.”

Succession Politics Began

The former Head of State said senior figures soon gathered at the residence, including the late Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babagana Kingibe, and the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Uwais.

He said discussions quickly shifted to succession.

“We deliberated on how to break the news to the world. The CJN said the first thing was the appointment of a new Head of State to avoid a vacuum before informing Nigerians,” Abubakar wrote.

He accused what he described as Abacha’s “inner caucus” of being more concerned with who would succeed the late military ruler than with burial arrangements.

He stated, “It then occurred to me that all along, some of those we met at the Presidential Villa, the so-called ‘inner caucus’, were not even involved in preparations for the burial.

“They were more interested in who was going to be the next Head of State. Bamaiyi and I would not be involved in the process, according to their plan.

“They were preparing to pick the new Head of State from among themselves.”

PRC Meeting Turned Tense

Abubakar said he later chaired the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) meeting as Chief of Defence Staff and the most senior officer in the military hierarchy after the removal of Gen. Oladipo Diya.

He said, “As the Chief of Defence Staff and next in hierarchy to the Commander-in-Chief, the No. 2 position was vacant following the removal of General Diya, over an alleged coup; I chaired the PRC meeting.

“I went home to change my tracksuit for the military uniform. After initial deliberations, I informed the meeting that one, General Abacha had passed away; two, the family wanted him to be buried in Kano; three, the CJN had advised that we could not leave a vacuum, hence the need to have a new Head of State.”

He said the meeting became tense as members debated succession before Abacha’s burial.

“We began discussions and were not anywhere near reaching a conclusion. It was getting late. Someone who had his own idea complained that we all knew the tenets of Islam and instead of going to bury Abacha, we were busy talking about who was going to be the next Head of State,” he wrote.

“I immediately pointed out to him that it was not our idea, but it was state protocol. We then agreed to break and go for the burial and converge afterwards.”

Abubakar said the trip to Kano for Abacha’s burial later appeared to have been used to keep key actors away from Abuja while succession plans were being perfected.

“We went to Kano around 2 a.m. ” Little did we know that the ‘inner caucus’ had got wind that something was fishy. They had left officers on the ground with instructions that they should not allow any drama,” he wrote.

“We did not sleep that night. We returned to Abuja around midnight and resumed that night. Little did we know that the burial was just a decoy to perfect whatever they had up their sleeves.

“While we were in Kano, they were already preparing to swear in their preferred choice, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, the Chief of Naval Staff, and Major-General Sarki Muktar, who was GOC of 1 Division, had got wind that something was fishy.”

How I Became Head Of State

Abubakar said the final contest for succession involved senior military officers, adding that some people wanted Bamaiyi to become Head of State.

He wrote, “There were people who wanted Major-General Bamaiyi to be the Head of State. Before we returned from Kano, some approached me to make a case for him, but I waved them off. Still, Abacha recognised me as one of the insiders.

“The contest was directly between Lt-General Useni and me, being the two most senior officers in military affairs, although Useni was no longer involved in military affairs. I was senior to Bamaiyi, but he was next in the hierarchy.

“I won the vote. That was how I became the 11th Nigerian Head of State.”