LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Nigeria’s former Head of State, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has recounted the tense moments leading up to the announcement of General Sani Abacha’s death, revealing how he was locked inside a waiting room at the Presidential Villa.
Abubakar, who is celebrating his 84th birthday in Abuja on Saturday, June 13, with the unveiling of his autobiography, Call of Duty, made the revelation in the book, where he detailed the events surrounding the final hours before Abacha’s death was announced.
He revealed that he and Major General Ishaya Bamaiyi were unknowingly locked inside a waiting room at the Presidential Villa before receiving the shocking news.
According to the former military leader, the events began on the morning of June 8, 1998, when he received an urgent call informing him that Abacha wanted to see him.
At the time, Abubakar said he feared he was about to be sent to an ECOWAS summit in Togo, a responsibility he had frequently handled because then-Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya, was in detention over an alleged coup plot.
“On Monday, 8 June, I received a call very early in the morning that he 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,” he wrote.
Abubakar explained that the urgency of the summons made him leave for the Presidential Villa without wearing his military uniform.
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Dressed in a tracksuit and slippers, what happened next immediately struck him as unusual.
After arriving at the Villa, he was told Abacha was in his office but was directed to wait in a reception room.
He noted that throughout his years of working with the late ruler, he had never been made to wait outside regardless of who was meeting with Abacha.
The situation became even more puzzling when retired Major General Ishaya Bamaiyi later joined him in the room.
“Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi joined me shortly after. We waited for about an hour,” Abubakar recalled.
Growing suspicious, the former military leader decided to leave the room and see Abacha personally but discovered the door had been locked from outside.
“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,” he added.
The mystery was eventually cleared up when then Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, entered the room and instructed the two men to follow him.
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While walking toward the residence, Abdulsalami questioned why he had earlier been told that Abacha was in his office.
It was at that moment that he received the news.
“He informed me that Abacha was dead. I was shocked,” Abubakar wrote.
Abubakar stated that he immediately demanded to know what had happened, but Coomassie declined to provide further details until they reached the residence.
Upon arrival, the former Head of State requested to see Abacha’s body for himself. Upon confirming his death, Abubakar revealed that he said a quick prayer for his soul.
“I entered the room and removed the covering. I was in shock at the sudden development. I prayed for him and left the room,” he revealed.
The account offers one of the most personal insights into the confusion and silent chaos that surrounded the final hours of General Abacha’s administration, a turning point that would eventually lead to Abdulsalami assuming leadership and overseeing Nigeria’s transition to democratic rule.
