Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has firmly rejected claims that Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola was poisoned in detention, saying an international autopsy concluded that the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election died from natural causes.
The revelation is contained in Abdulsalami’s memoir, Call of Duty, unveiled in Abuja during events marking his 84th birthday.
For nearly three decades, questions have continued to surround Abiola’s death in detention on July 7, 1998, with many Nigerians believing foul play was involved. However, the former military leader said available medical evidence points to a fatal heart attack rather than poisoning.
“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,” Abdulsalami wrote.
According to him, Abiola had been battling serious health conditions years before his death.
“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,” he stated.
Abdulsalami disclosed that Abiola collapsed during a meeting with a visiting United States delegation led by former secretary of State for Political Affairs, Tom Pickering, and former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Susan Rice.
Drawing from Rice’s memoir, he said the businessman and politician developed a severe coughing episode shortly after discussions began.
“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,’” he wrote.
The former Head of State said Abiola later complained about feeling unusually hot and requested that the air-conditioning be increased before doctors were called in.
He also referenced Pickering’s account of the final moments.
“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,” Pickering said.
Recalling how he received the devastating news, Abdulsalami wrote:
“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.”
The former military ruler argued that permitting the American delegation access to Abiola ultimately helped eliminate suspicions of a cover-up.
“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 said.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, speaking at the book launch, disclosed that efforts to secure Abiola’s freedom were nearing completion before his sudden death.
“Your next move was how to get MKO Abiola released and you kept me regularly informed. Kola was already in Abuja to pick up his father when the unexpected happened,” Obasanjo said.
He recalled the phone call that ended those efforts.
“I remember you telling me on the telephone, ‘our man is dead,’” the former president added.
Abdulsalami’s account offers one of the most detailed insider narratives yet on the final hours of the man whose annulled electoral victory became a defining chapter in Nigeria’s democratic struggle.
Credit: The Sun