Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has rejected suggestions that Chief MKO Abiola was poisoned, insisting instead that medical findings from a multinational autopsy concluded he died of natural causes.
His account is contained in Chapter 21 of his 264-page, 27-chapter autobiography, Call of Duty, which was obtained on Saturday during the public presentation of the book and two others at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The Punch reported that the event was held in celebration of his 84th birthday and was attended by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima as Special Guest of Honour.
In the book, Abubakar revisited the circumstances surrounding Abiola’s death on July 7, 1998, noting that the late politician collapsed during a meeting with a visiting United States delegation that included Mr Tom Pickering, then U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, and Ms Susan Rice, then Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
“I do not believe Abiola was poisoned. The family requested an autopsy and we assembled American, British, Nigerian and Canadian pathologists to conduct it. The autopsy report attributed his death to natural causes,” Abubakar wrote.
He added that Abiola had long been managing underlying health conditions, including hypertension and a heart-related ailment, dating back to 1994 when he was first detained.
“As far back as 1994 when he was arrested by the Abacha Administration for declaring himself President, it was public knowledge that Abiola was managing certain medical conditions which could seriously affect the quality of life of any human being,” the former military leader stated.
Abubakar also referenced a radiological report authored by Colonel (Dr) O. Awofeso, then Chief Consultant Radiologist at the Nigerian Army Defence Hospital, Sokoto, dated September 28, 1994, which indicated that Abiola’s heart was enlarged with “right ventricular preponderance” consistent with hypertensive cardiac disease.
Describing the final moments before Abiola’s death, Abubakar drew on accounts later published by Susan Rice in her 2019 memoir, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For, where she recalled that Abiola initially showed mild symptoms during the meeting before his condition worsened.
“Rice said she noticed Abiola’s ankles were swollen. About five minutes into their conversation, according to her, ‘Abiola started to cough, at first mildly and intermittently, and then wrackingly with consistency,’” Abubakar wrote, quoting the memoir.
He further noted that Abiola reportedly complained of heat and requested increased air conditioning, after which a doctor was called and diagnosed a heart attack.
Quoting Pickering’s BBC interview shortly after the incident, Abubakar recounted the sequence of events leading to the politician’s collapse.
“A doctor arrived within 10 minutes and called for immediate hospital attention.
“We all helped to put him in a car, there was no ambulance immediately available. We followed him to the clinic of the Head of State of Nigeria, where doctors immediately began to work on him…but unfortunately at the end of their efforts it was not possible and he died,” Abubakar quoted Pickering as saying.
Abubakar said he received the news through his Chief Security Officer, Abdulrasheed Aliyu, who had been overseeing arrangements for the visiting delegation.
“Aliyu, my CSO, called me. As soon as I picked, he said, in a shaky voice, that there was a problem. I asked: ‘What problem again?’ He said Abiola was dead. My head went blank,” he wrote.
He added that informing the family was one of the most difficult moments, recalling that one of Abiola’s daughters broke down in tears and had to be comforted by Susan Rice.
“If we had not allowed the American delegation to see him and he had died in custody, it would have been a different story. It would have been insinuated that he had long died and we were trying to cover it up,” he stated.
The former Head of State also dismissed allegations that he received $500 million in cash after the death of General Sani Abacha, describing the claim as baseless.
“I want to put it on record that nobody gave me $500 million or any amount, bigger or smaller.
“Is it possible to collect half a billion dollars in cash and only one person in the world would know about it?”
Chief MKO Abiola, widely regarded as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, had been detained since 1994 after declaring himself President.
His death in 1998 came shortly after the passing of General Sani Abacha, sparking long-standing suspicions that he may have been eliminated to prevent his release and possible inauguration.
Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.) later succeeded Abacha as Head of State, overseeing Nigeria’s transition to civilian rule and handing over power to President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999.
