Abdulsalami opens up on Abacha’s final hours

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has recounted the dramatic events surrounding the death of General Sani Abacha in June 1998, revealing that he was locked inside a room at the Presidential Villa before learning of the military ruler’s death.

In his autobiography, Call of Duty, scheduled for unveiling in Abuja to mark his 84th birthday, Abdulsalami said he received an early morning call on June 8, 1998, informing him that Abacha wanted to see him.

At the time, he feared he was being assigned to represent Nigeria at an ECOWAS summit in Togo, a responsibility he said had become frequent following the detention of Abacha’s deputy, Lieutenant-General Oladipo Diya.

According to him, he hurried to the Presidential Villa wearing a tracksuit and slippers because of the urgency of the summons.

On arrival, he was directed to wait in a room and later joined by Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi. After waiting for about an hour, Abdulsalami said he attempted to leave, only to discover that the room had been locked from the outside.

He said he sensed that something was wrong but could not understand the situation.

The former military leader said the door was eventually opened by the then Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, who informed him that Abacha had died.

Abdulsalami said he was shocked by the news and requested to see Abacha’s body. He said he entered the room where the late Head of State’s body lay, prayed for him and left.

Although he did not identify who ordered that he and Bamaiyi be locked inside the waiting room, Abdulsalami suggested in the book that some military officers appeared to have had “other plans” as events unfolded.

Later that same day, the Provisional Ruling Council selected Abdulsalami as Abacha’s successor.

He subsequently initiated a short transition programme that culminated in the handover of power to a democratically elected government led by President Olusegun Obasanjo in May 1999.