Abacha’s death fishy, Abdulsalami raises fresh suspicions

Former Nigerian Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.) has voiced lingering suspicions about the circumstances surrounding the death of Gen. Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998. Abubakar stated that the hours leading up to the announcement of Abacha's demise left him with a sense that "something was fishy."

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something was fishy

According to revelations in Chapter 19 of Abubakar's autobiography, 'Call of Duty,' he and the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, were inexplicably confined to a waiting room at the Presidential Villa for nearly an hour. It was only after this prolonged period that they were informed of the Head of State's death. The book was presented alongside two others at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, coinciding with Abubakar's 84th birthday celebration, attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

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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.

Abubakar recounted that the unusual chain of events began with an early morning phone call on June 8, 1998, while he was awaiting his own military retirement. He later received another instruction to meet Abacha. Upon arriving at the Presidential Villa, he was directed to wait in a room, a situation that struck him as strange, especially as he was joined by Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi. The door to the waiting room was reportedly locked without their knowledge, deepening Abubakar's unease.

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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.