Untold story of MKO Abiola’s sudden death, by Abdulsalami Abubakar

Former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar has revealed fresh details about MKO Abiola’s final moments, insisting the June 12 winner was not poisoned and died from longstanding heart-related health conditions.

Former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar has provided a detailed account of the events surrounding the death of Chief MKO Abiola, winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, dismissing long-standing claims that he was poisoned.

According to TheCable, Abdulsalami made the revelations in his autobiography, scheduled for public presentation in Abuja on Saturday.

Abiola died on July 7, 1998, during a meeting in Abuja with a United States delegation led by former US Ambassador to Nigeria Tom Pickering and then Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Susan Rice.

In the book, Abdulsalami disclosed that the American delegation had initially been denied access to Abiola and raised the issue during a meeting with him.

“A U.S. delegation had visited Nigeria in July 1998 to assess the political situation after the death of General Abacha,” he wrote. “When they visited me, they complained that they requested to see Abiola but were denied access to him.”

The former military leader said he immediately instructed his Chief Security Officer, Abdulrasheed Aliyu, to arrange the meeting.

However, the meeting ended in tragedy.

“Aliyu, my CSO, called me. As soon as I picked, he said, in a shaky voice, that there was a problem,” Abdulsalami recalled. “He said Abiola was dead. My head went blank.”

According to him, Abiola became restless, started coughing and sweating during the discussion before being rushed to the State House Clinic, where he died.

The incident triggered widespread speculation, including allegations that Abiola had been poisoned after reportedly drinking tea offered during the meeting.

But Abdulsalami firmly rejected the claims.

“I do not believe Abiola was poisoned,” he stated.

He explained that an international team of pathologists from Nigeria, the United States, Britain and Canada conducted an autopsy at the request of Abiola’s family.

According to the findings, publicly presented on July 11, 1998, Abiola suffered from severe coronary artery disease and long-standing hypertension, conditions that experts said could cause sudden death.

The report ruled out poisoning, while American pathologist Dr. John Pless reportedly concluded that the ailment responsible for Abiola’s death had existed “for as long as 10 to 14 years.”

Abdulsalami said Abiola’s death came at a delicate moment in Nigeria’s transition to democracy and threatened efforts to resolve the political crisis that followed the annulled June 12 election.