Diya’s alleged plan: use military police to seize Abuja, kill Abacha and his security chiefs, and install a new military council to accelerate transition. Whether genuine or staged (Abacha used coup accusations to eliminate rivals), the arrests sent shockwaves. Diya and his co-accused were tried secretly by a military tribunal. All were sentenced to death on April 28, 1998 — just 42 days before Abacha’s own death. Their sentences were never carried out because Abacha died first.
On , the National Electoral Commission (NEC) released a timetable for local government elections (May) and state assembly elections (June), with presidential elections slated for August 1, 1998. However, Abacha had not publicly ruled out remaining in power. Foreign diplomats noted that his “unopposed” emergence as the consensus candidate of all five parties (a cynical, pre-arranged endorsement) seemed inevitable by April. March 21 – Arrest of Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya The most seismic event of the last 100 days occurred on March 21, 1998 , when Abacha ordered the arrest of his second-in-command, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, along with six other senior officers (including Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, Maj. Gen. Tunji Olanrewaju, and Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa). They were accused of orchestrating a coup plot to overthrow Abacha. last 100 days of abacha pdf 11
On (Sunday), Abacha appeared in public at the presidential villa mosque. Witnesses said he looked tired and short of breath. That night, he hosted a dinner for visiting Libyan diplomats. He retired late. June 8, 1998 – Death At approximately 10:15 a.m. on June 8, 1998, Abacha collapsed while meeting with aides in his office. Initial reports said he choked on an apple; later medical accounts (by Nigerian doctor Ihenacho) indicated sudden cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m. Diya’s alleged plan: use military police to seize
Key fact: The Diya affair consumed of Abacha’s last 100 days, forcing him to focus entirely on internal military loyalty. April 1998 – International Isolation Deepens Throughout April, Abacha faced intensified foreign pressure. The United States under President Bill Clinton had imposed sanctions after the Ken Saro-Wiwa execution in 1995. But in early April 1998, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice declared Nigeria under Abacha “a pariah state.” Britain’s Commonwealth Minister’s Action Group also met in London, threatening stronger travel bans and asset freezes. All were sentenced to death on April 28,
If you need the precise “pdf 11” of a specific document, I recommend searching the or Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) using the query: “Abacha AND Diya AND 1998 AND pdf.” Avoid anonymous file-sharing sites, as many so-called “Abacha secret files” circulating online are forgeries.