Abubakar tried to secure M.K.O. Abiola’s release before his death
Former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar has revealed that he actively tried to secure the release of pro-democracy leader M.K.O. Abiola before Abiola's sudden death in detention on July 7, 1998. Abiola was the apparent winner of Nigeria's June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was later annulled by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He was arrested and held in detention for more than four years by the military government of General Sani Abacha. According to a new book by Abdulsalami Abubakar, American officials who were with Abiola when he died were initially denied access to him before being allowed to meet with him. On July 7, 1998, just days before Abiola's scheduled release from prison, he collapsed during a meeting with a U.S. delegation and died in a medical center. Various theories emerged after Abiola's death, including claims that […]