Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has recounted how the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, allegedly plotted to eliminate him, detailing the circumstances surrounding his arrest, detention and eventual imprisonment during the military regime.
Obasanjo, who narrated his experience in a video interview with the BBC, said he was warned by the American ambassador to Nigeria that he would be arrested if he returned to the country, but rejected an offer of political asylum in the United States.
He said his decision to remain in Nigeria was informed by his conviction that he had committed no offence that warranted his arrest or forced departure from the country.
The former president also recalled how security operatives surrounded his farm in Ota, Ogun State, before he was eventually taken into custody.
His account provides a personal recollection of one of the most turbulent periods in Nigeria’s political history, when Abacha’s government arrested and detained several prominent figures over an alleged coup plot.
Recounting his transition from military service to agriculture, Obasanjo said he retired from the Nigerian Army at the age of 42 after attaining the rank of a four-star general and serving as military Head of State.
He said there was little else he could aspire to achieve in the military after attaining the highest rank and occupying the country’s highest political office under military rule.
“I did not join the army to retire at the age of 42. But I had to retire at the age of 42. At the age of 42, I had become a four-star general.
“There was nothing else I could achieve in the army. I had also become the military Head of State. That was the highest political office I could rise to. So, what else could I do?” he asked.
Obasanjo said he subsequently turned to agriculture, adding that his farming activities were progressing well before his arrest under Abacha.
“I decided that I would go into farming. It was going very well, and everything was progressing well until I was arrested,” he recalled.
He alleged that Abacha had resolved to eliminate him, insisting that his continued freedom was considered a threat to the military ruler.
“Abacha had already decided that I had to be eliminated. Otherwise, he would not be able to have his way,” Obasanjo said.
The former president said the American ambassador contacted him while he was returning to Nigeria and informed him that the United States government had offered him political asylum because of the likelihood of his arrest.
According to him, the ambassador warned that he would be detained if he returned home, but he declined the offer because he believed he had done nothing wrong.
“When I was returning, the American ambassador to Nigeria called me and said, ‘My country has offered you political asylum because they know that you will be arrested if you return home’,” he said.
Obasanjo said he found the offer difficult to accept because he had no reason to seek refuge outside Nigeria.
“It was difficult for me because I had done nothing wrong. What did they want to arrest me for? I did not want political asylum,” he added.
He said his international passport was subsequently seized upon his return, after which he proceeded to his farm.
Recounting the circumstances that preceded his arrest, Obasanjo said his security personnel alerted him that security operatives had surrounded the farm.
He said that within about 15 minutes, a man dressed in civilian clothes arrived and informed him that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police wanted him to come and assist with an investigation.
Obasanjo said he rejected the manner in which the invitation was conveyed, insisting that the senior police officer should personally approach him if his assistance was required.
“He said that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police had invited me to come and assist him. I told him he was a fool. If the AIG wanted my assistance, he would not send an invitation through somebody else; he would come here himself,” he recounted.
He said he subsequently drove himself to the police station in his own vehicle.
According to him, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police informed him upon their meeting that he had been instructed to arrest him.
Obasanjo said he initially did not know the extent of the government’s plan against him, adding that he later understood that Abacha considered the continued freedom of some prominent Nigerians a threat to his hold on power.
The former president also recalled the intervention of former United States President Jimmy Carter, who, according to him, visited Nigeria and pleaded on his behalf.
Obasanjo said the intervention resulted in his being placed under house arrest before the authorities eventually moved him to prison. He recalled that security operatives arrived at about 1 a.m. one day and informed him that he was being taken away.
“Then, one day, while I was playing squash, about 1 a.m., they came and said they were taking me away. And they took me from there to prison,” he said.
Obasanjo was arrested on March 13, 1995, following allegations that he was involved in a coup plot against Abacha’s government.
He was subsequently tried before a secret military tribunal, convicted and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment. The trial and conviction attracted widespread criticism from international human rights organisations, which questioned the fairness of the proceedings
His sentence was later reduced to 15 years. He was released in June 1998 following Abacha’s death and the assumption of power by General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Obasanjo later returned to electoral politics and was elected president in 1999, becoming Nigeria’s first civilian president under the Fourth Republic after 16 years of uninterrupted military rule. He served two terms, leaving office in May 2007.
- Media Report