How Abdulsalami Abacha Coerced Me into His Coup

Former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, rtd, revealed startling details about how late General Sani Abacha drew him into the 1993 coup in Chapter 17 of his 264‑page, 27‑chapter autobiography, Call of Duty.

Abdulsalami explained that he had been appointed Commandant of the National War College as the political crisis surrounding the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election intensified.

He stated that he rejected twice the offer to become Chief of Army Staff from Abacha after the coup that toppled the Interim National Government, telling the former head of state that he did not want to be used as a tool by civilians who sought to manipulate the military.

According to Abdulsalami, Abacha—then Minister of Defence under the Interim National Government—remained the most senior military officer in active service and in government, having been left in charge by the Babangida administration to stabilise the armed forces.

The former Army General said his first hint of the brewing plot came from Rear Admiral Suleiman Saidu, then Chief of Naval Staff, who visited him at home on a Monday evening in November 1993 with an urgent warning.

“He asked if I was aware that Abacha and Gusau had travelled to Abuja. I was surprised and asked why they should travel to Abuja, because Abacha himself asked me to see him the next day,” Abdulsalami wrote. “He said, ‘These Army guys are thinking of a coup. Let me tell you that the Navy would not be a part of it.’ I immediately told him to count me out, as I was not in the know. I was surprised that Abacha knew he would be travelling to Abuja and still asked me to see him on Tuesday. If there was any rumour of a coup, this was the first time I heard it,” he added.

He added that on November 17, 1993, he was approached again, this time by retired Major‑General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who phoned and asked what was happening in Abuja.

“I replied, ‘Like what?’ He said, ‘You people are trying to remove Chief Ernest Shonekan.’ I said I had no idea, but that he should let me find out. That was the second time I was hearing the rumour,” Abdulsalami wrote.