[Wallaby]

...evidence so far given at the commission clearly indicates that Chief Moshood Abiola was clinically killed, by the Federal Government under Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Testifying before the commission in both Lagos and Abuja, the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, swore that Abiola's death was planned and fleshed out by the Abdulsalami Abubakar government. "My Lord, please and please, let General Abubakar come and tell this honourable Commission and all Nigerians, why he released a convicted person, Gen. Obasanjo, before a detainee who has not been convicted, that is Chief Abiola," Mustapha queried while testifying in the petition brought before the commission, by the family of the late Chief MKO Abiola. Major Mustapha even claimed that the same people who killed Abiola killed the late Gen. Abacha. "From the facts which I now have, both Gen. Abacha and Chief Abiola foamed in the mouth, gasped for breath and jerked before they died. They were eliminated the same way by the same people, my Lord," Mustapha argued at the commission.

In the same regard, Brig-General Ibrahim Sabo, who headed the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) under Gen. Abacha, confirmed to the commission that shortly after Abacha died in 1998, there was a grand plot by the military high command to eliminate Abiola, who was still in detention then, as well.
Brig.-General Sabo spoke of a particular encounter with the then Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Bamaiyi: "After the death of General Abacha in Abuja, Gen. Bamaiyi called me and told me that now that Abacha had died, that Abiola should be killed as well to balance the equation." Sabo told the commission that owing to this position of Gen. Bamaiyi, he (Sabo) decided to stay behind, while many other military chiefs headed for Kano on 8 June 1998 for Abacha's burial. The former DMI boss told the commission that several efforts were made to alert the then Head of State, Gen. Abubakar about the plot against Abiola's life but regretted that Abubakar continually refused to see him, until Brig-Gen Sabo was eventually retired from the Army. He never had access to Gen. Abubakar. And three days after he was eased out of the Army, Chief Abiola died.

Even more damning was the testimony of one Assistant Commissioner of Police, Tweodor Zadok, the man who was in-charge of Chief Abiola's security while in detention. Zadok on 19 July, told the Oputa Commission that he had no doubts in his mind that Abiola was poisoned. Zadok, who took over the security of Abiola in October 1996, said he was "deceived by higher authorities to leave the Akinola Aguda House, venue of Chief Abiola's last meeting with a delegation from the United States. Zadok told the commission that "Abiola would never eat any food until I had tasted it in his presence," and that he was "tricked" into leaving the venue of the meeting between Abiola and the US delegation. "We went into the meeting with Thomas Pickering and other officials, later, there was a message from the office of the Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, that I should come, I told the Chief Security Officer to General Abubakar, Major Aliyu. I left Abiola in the custody of Aliyu," Zadok said. It turned out that he was called to open the door to Akhigbe's office. When he returned, however, the CSO, Major Aliyu told him that Abiola whom he left in good health, "was not feeling fine after taking a cup of tea." Zadok said Abiola was already dead when he returned. "My Lord, the question is, who gave Abiola tea and what is in the tea?" Zadok queried.


"Nigeria; Obasanjo Leads Other Four Retired Generals, Who May Never Face Oputa," Africa News
August 6, 2001 Monday

[aristeides]

One thing that had just happened, just a month before this highly suspicious death, was the equally suspicious death of the military dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. His death too was officially classed as being due to a heart attack. Rumors had it he was poisoned with orange juice. Activist urges calm in Nigeria .

My recollection is that Abacha was still alive and in power when Clinton was in Africa (that being the excuse for Clinton not going there.)

But Nigeria quickly returned to civilian rule after Abacha's death. This was a move that was under way when Abiola died. I would speculate that various interests wanted to see to it that Abiola would not be the country's leader when it reverted to democracy.