How General Bamaiyi And I Were Locked Up Day Abacha Died – Abdulsalami Abubakar Fmr. Head Of State

By Adesina Soyooye 

 A former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has revealed the intrigues that took place in the Aso Rock Villa the  day General Sani Abacha, former Head of State died. One: He and then Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Ishaya Bamaiyi were locked up in a room.

General Abubakar, who  succeeded Abacha, and finally, handed over power to a democratic Government, headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1999, has narrated how he was called to the Villa, on the pretex that the Head of State, General Abacha wanted to see him.

At the time the phone call came, Abubakar narrated in his autobiography, *’Call To Duty*’, which was launched Saturday, June 13, in Abuja, he had not taken his bath. It was early in the morning. He said he thought Abacha wanted to send him to Togo to represent him since Abacha’s second in Command, Lt. General Oladipo Diya was in jail  over an alleged Coup D’etat. He said he was tired of traveling to represent Abacha, and complained to his wife. 

However, he entered the bathroom for his bath. But while there, another call came relaying the same message. In a hurry, therefore, he had no time to wear his uniform. So, he quickly wore a tracksuit and a pair of slippers, left to see Abacha, and asked that his bag be packed in case he would be traveling to Togo.

His first shock on arrival Abacha’s residence came when he was told the Head of State was in the office. So he went there and was ushered to the reception. After a long wait, he got worried and wondered why he was being kept for that long. Then, in walked the Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Bamaiyi.

The wait was still on. Agitated, he stood up meaning to usher himself into Abacha’s office by all means as he had never been kept for that long before, no matter who the Head of State was with.

That was when the second shock hit him. The door had been locked against him and Bamaiyi. They waited, worried, agitated. He said it dawned on him that something was amiss but he could not place his fingers on what. After about a 90- minute wait, the then Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Coomassie came and opened the door for them. He asked them to follow him. It was on their way back to Abacha’s residence that Coomassie broke the news of Abacha’s death. General Abubakar said it sounded unbelievable to him until he saw Abacha’s body.

His words: “On Monday, 8 June, 1993, I received a call very early in the morning that he (Abacha) wanted to see me. 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.

“By this time, Lt-General Diya, his No 2, was in detention (over an alleged coup plot). I was effectively the No 2 man in government and I was always representing him at events. I told my wife I was not happy with the call because I didn’t want to travel to Togo. I told my orderly to pack my travelling bag and other personal effects.

“As I entered the bathroom, there was another call. I was told again that the Head of State wanted to see me. Out of frustration, I asked if I was travelling to Togo and the caller replied that it was on another 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 in the office. 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 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 reasoned that it was odd. 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 I should be kept that long. To my greatest surprise, the door of the waiting room had been locked. 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.

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

“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.”

General Abubakar did not, however,  disclose who ordered the door of the waiting room to be locked. He only hinted that some military officers had “other plans” as events unfolded.

Immediately Abacha died, his Chief Security Officer, CSO, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was effectively in-charge, and was, allegedly, the one who summoned all the Senior Military Officers and the IGP to Aso Rock.

One senior Military Officer at the time, now retired, had remarked: “If Major Al-Mustapha so desired, he had the opportunity to shoot all of us and taken over the Government. But he had no such ambition.”