Former Chief Security Officer to the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday blamed Youruba leaders for the death of Chief Bashorun MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the famous June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He accused them of betraying their brother. He also declared that he will soon reveal in his about to be published memoirs how both Abiola and his former boss, Abacha died. In the meantime, he only said that their deaths were from the same source.
Al-Mustapha, who addressed journalists in Lagos yesterday, on some issues relating to his 15-years ordeal in detention, said Abiola and Abacha were very good friends before some fifth columnists caused bad blood between them. He said: “For instance, when Chief MKO Abiola was in prison, many notable Nigerians visited him. They will visit him in the morning, and when they come back to the Villa in the evening to see Abacha, they would say a different thing entirely.
“Unknown to these notable Nigerians, particularly notable Yoruba personalities, who visited Abiola, their visits were recorded on video. I did the video recording without their knowledge.
“These people would visit Abiola and come back to tell government a different thing about him.
“These same people would still go and tell Abiola a different thing about government. They are on video. The agencies of government have these videos evidence.
“These same people told MKO Abiola never to accept any compromise or negotiations. They advised him never to come back home without his mandate. All these things are on video.
“Of all the Yoruba leaders, only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola the truth: to accept the conditional bail and go home. “Only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola that Abacha was his friend, urging him to reconcile with Abacha who was ready for reconciliation. It was Oba Tejuosho who told MKO Abiola that he still had the goodwill and would win if he re-contests after Abacha.
“What killed Abacha is what killed MKO Abiola. But I would reveal that after my court case, still at the Supreme Court. I would publish a book which has three volumes— the Mustapha’s Memoirs, which will tell what happened under Abacha and how he died.”
On the allegation levelled against him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the Jonathan government had contracted him to train a sniper squad for the 2015 elections, he said: “Nobody contracted me to catch 1,000 mosquitoes under the Jonathan administration, let alone human beings. I am Al-Mustapha. I have my background away from the propaganda peddled by the likes of Obasanjo. “Obasanjo has had his day. I am doing my investigation and I have discovered so many things as to what made him (Obasanjo) make such allegation. I have it. I will release it very soon and that is why I have challenged him to an open debate.
“Obasanjo is my senior in the force; he was a former Military Head of State, but when issues of law and rights of man are being discussed, definitely equality comes to the fore.
“You cannot put an allegation against your junior because you are a senior, and you believe the junior would keep quiet. No, I would not. That would amount to ignorance. I am not ignorant about our laws.
“I challenge Obasanjo to an open debate so that he can substantiate his allegations before the whole world; but he is yet to oblige the challenge.
“Thank God a new government is here today, where he (Obasanjo) can bring up the issue, requesting it to investigate and, if there is any contract between Jonathan and I to catch one single mosquito, I want to say that I am guilty and want to be tried.”
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