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.”
Naijaonpoint 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.”
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.”
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.
