How Abacha arrested, jailed me after I rejected US asylum – Obasanjo
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has recounted how he rejected a political asylum offer from the United States, chose to return to Nigeria, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned during the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Obasanjo shared the reflections in a video published by BBC News Pidgin, detailing his transition from the military into agriculture and the political turmoil that followed decades later.
Having served as military Head of State from February 1976 until October 1979, after taking office following the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed, Obasanjo retired from the military at age 42 as a four-star general.
Believing he had reached the highest possible rank and political office in the armed forces, he decided to venture into farming.
“When I was leaving government as military head of state, I was leaving too early. I didn’t join the army to retire at the age of 42,” Obasanjo said.
“So what can I do? I decided I would go into farming. It really was going well, and it went well until I was arrested,” he added.
Tensions escalated under the regime of General Sani Abacha, who seized power in November 1993. Obasanjo noted that he was unaware at the time that the military government viewed him as a threat requiring neutralization.
While traveling abroad, Obasanjo was summoned by the U.S. ambassador in Nigeria, who warned him that returning home would lead to his arrest and offered him political asylum.
“This was difficult for me. I haven’t done anything. What do they want to arrest me for? I don’t want political asylum,” Obasanjo stated.
Upon returning to Nigeria and heading to his farm, he said security personnel informed him that government operatives had surrounded the property.
He explained that a plainclothes police officer later approached him, claiming he had been invited by an Assistant Inspector-General of Police.
Refusing to be treated with passive pretenses, Obasanjo said he drove himself in his own car to the police station, where he was formally informed of his arrest.
Obasanjo recalled that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter later intervened on his behalf, prompting the regime to move him from an undisclosed detention location to house arrest. However, he said the reprieve was temporary, explaining that in the dead of night, while playing squash at around 1:00 AM, security agents took him away and transferred him to prison.
Following Abacha’s death in June 1998, Obasanjo was released from prison. He subsequently won the 1999 presidential election and was inaugurated on May 29, 1999, serving two terms as president of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic until 2007.