How Abacha’s ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ Tried to Oust Me, Pushed for Babangida’s Arrest — Abdulsalami

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has disclosed how a powerful clique of military officers operating around late military ruler General Sani Abacha repeatedly sought to remove him and other senior officers from the military hierarchy, prompting him to advise Abacha to dismantle the group.

The revelations are contained in Abdulsalami’s autobiography, “Call of Duty,” unveiled on Saturday in Abuja during events marking his 84th birthday. The book launch also featured two other publications — Nigeria’s Grand Patriot and Mediating for Peace in Africa.

The event attracted several prominent Nigerian leaders, including President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and other dignitaries.

In the memoir, Abdulsalami paints a picture of an influential “kitchen cabinet” within the Abacha administration, describing it as a group of officers that wielded enormous influence over government decisions and frequently sought the retirement of officers they perceived as obstacles.

According to him, the group repeatedly pressured Abacha to retire four senior military officers — himself, Lt.-Gen. Jeremiah Useni, Lt.-Gen. Garba Duba and Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Balarabe Haladu.

“To be fair, General Abacha was loyal to his friends. A caucus that sprang up when he became Head of State didn’t want to see some faces around, and they often insisted that some officers be retired,” Abdulsalami wrote.

He explained that despite repeated attempts by the group to push them out, Abacha refused because of his loyalty to long-standing associates.

READ ALSO:

• Grand Chief Imam of Oyo Land Celebrates Ambassador Victor Adeleke, Praises His Service, Humility
• Defamation: Ex-Imo Governor Gives Kenneth Okonkwo 7-Day Ultimatum to Apologise
• Lagos Police Declares War on Covered Number Plates – Enforcement Begins Monday

“All the time, four of us who were slated for retirement survived because Abacha was devoted to friendship. Ironically, all those hawks were retired before us. They became a pain in Abacha’s neck and he had to get rid of them,” he stated.

Abdulsalami revealed that he became increasingly uncomfortable with the influence of the clique and eventually advised Abacha to dissolve it. According to him, the officers had become a negative force within the administration and were increasingly involved in decisions that undermined the normal chain of command.

“In one of our conversations, I told him that he needed to disband the group of officers that formed the clique around him,” he recalled.

Abdulsalami said Abacha initially suggested that he personally caution the officers, but he declined and insisted that only the Head of State could effectively address the situation. He noted that Abacha eventually retired many members of the group one after another, although a few escaped retirement because they were less outspoken.

One of the most striking revelations in the book concerns former military president General Ibrahim Babangida. Abdulsalami disclosed that members of Abacha’s inner circle once urged the late military ruler to arrest Babangida.

According to him, when Abacha demanded to know the offence Babangida had committed, members of the group reportedly argued that charges could be formulated after his arrest.

“This same group of people urged him to arrest General Babangida. He asked them what his offence was and they said charges could always be found after his arrest,” Abdulsalami wrote.

He said Abacha rejected the suggestion and refused to act against Babangida.

The former Head of State also revealed that some senior officials within the military government appealed to Abacha to release Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

According to Abdulsalami, they advised Abacha to engage Abiola in direct dialogue and seek a political solution to the crisis triggered by the annulled election.

“We asked him to release Bashorun MKO Abiola from detention and discuss with him one-on-one the way forward after he was arrested for proclaiming himself President based on the June 12 election. However, Abacha did not give our advice any positive consideration,” he said.

He added that the continued detention of Abiola contributed to international pressure and sanctions imposed on Nigeria during the period.

Abdulsalami also disclosed that despite serving as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), he was often excluded from sensitive investigations and major decisions. Reflecting on the controversial 1995 coup allegations involving former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, he admitted that he had limited knowledge of what transpired.

“I was often in the dark, apparently by design,” he wrote.

He said he repeatedly appealed to Abacha to show leniency towards Yar’Adua, who had served as their commander during the Nigerian Civil War. While Obasanjo’s original 25-year prison sentence was later reduced to 15 years, Yar’Adua’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Abdulsalami further claimed that some members of Abacha’s inner circle attempted to implicate him in the alleged 1997 coup plot involving Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya and other senior officers. According to him, interrogators repeatedly sought evidence linking him to the conspiracy but failed.

“They were looking for anything to hang on my neck. Thankfully, they did not succeed,” he said.

He maintained that he never participated in any coup plot throughout his military career and remained loyal to Abacha.

Addressing the controversy surrounding billions of dollars allegedly looted during the Abacha era, Abdulsalami said reports linking the late ruler to massive financial misconduct initially came as a surprise to him. He described Abacha as a leader who was meticulous about government spending and personally scrutinized military expenditures.

“When I was Chief of Defence Staff, Abacha would sometimes call me to his office for us to sit down and do proper costing before releasing money for the military. He hated waste,” he recalled.

However, Abdulsalami acknowledged that towards the end of the military administration, documents surfaced showing transfers of funds to accounts linked to members of Abacha’s family and associates.

He said he later heard explanations that the funds were moved abroad to shield Nigeria from possible sanctions and asset freezes, allegedly based on advice from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Nevertheless, Abdulsalami said he could neither confirm nor deny those claims.

The memoir offers one of the most detailed insider accounts yet of the internal power struggles, political intrigues, alleged coup plots and decision-making processes that shaped the Abacha administration. The book also sheds fresh light on the relationships among Nigeria’s top military figures during one of the most controversial periods in the country’s political history, providing new perspectives on events that continue to generate debate decades after they occurred.

How Abacha’s ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ Tried to Oust Me, Pushed for Babangida’s Arrest — Abdulsalami