Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has dismissed longstanding claims that Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola was poisoned. 

He maintained that an autopsy conducted by a team of international pathologists concluded that the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election died of natural causes.

The revelation is contained in Chapter 21 of General Abubakar’s autobiography, Call of Duty, a 264-page memoir unveiled on Saturday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during activities marking his 84th birthday.

According to the former military leader, the autopsy was conducted at the request of Abiola’s family and involved pathologists from Nigeria, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

“I do not believe Abiola was poisoned. The family requested an autopsy and we assembled American, British, Nigerian and Canadian pathologists to conduct it. The autopsy report attributed his death to natural causes,” Abubakar wrote.

He noted that Abiola had been managing serious health challenges long before his death on July 7, 1998.

These, he said, included hypertension and a heart-related condition, which were documented during his detention following his declaration as President after the annulled June 12 election.

Citing a radiological report prepared in September 1994 by Colonel (Dr.) O. Awofeso, then Chief Consultant Radiologist at the Nigerian Army Defence Hospital, Sokoto, Abubakar stated that medical examinations revealed an enlarged heart with signs consistent with hypertensive cardiac disease.

The former Head of State recounted that Abiola collapsed during a meeting with a visiting United States delegation led by then Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Tom Pickering, and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Susan Rice.

Drawing from Rice’s 2019 memoir, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For, Abubakar said Abiola began coughing shortly after the meeting commenced, with the coughing becoming increasingly severe. 

Rice reportedly observed that his ankles were swollen, while Abiola later complained of feeling excessively hot and requested that the air-conditioning be increased.

According to Abubakar, a doctor who was summoned to the scene diagnosed a heart attack.

He also quoted Pickering’s account of the incident, in which the American diplomat recalled that Abiola experienced breathing difficulties, appeared visibly distressed, and was rushed to a medical facility after a doctor recommended immediate hospital attention. 

Despite efforts by medical personnel, he was pronounced dead.

Abubakar described receiving the devastating news from his Chief Security Officer, Abdulrasheed Aliyu, who accompanied the American delegation to the meeting.

“My head went blank,” he wrote, recalling the moment he was informed of Abiola’s death.

The former Head of State further narrated the emotional task of informing Abiola’s family, noting that one of his daughters broke down in tears and was comforted by Susan Rice.

Addressing suspicions that surrounded the circumstances of Abiola’s death, Abubakar argued that permitting the American delegation to meet with the detained politician helped dispel allegations of a cover-up.

“If we had not allowed the American delegation to see him and he had died in custody, it would have been a different story. It would have been insinuated that he had long died and we were trying to cover it up,” he stated.

In the memoir, Abubakar also rejected allegations that he received $500 million in cash following the death of General Sani Abacha, describing the claim as baseless and entirely fictitious.

“I want to put it on record that nobody gave me $500 million or any amount, bigger or smaller,” he wrote, questioning the plausibility of such a transaction occurring without public knowledge.

Chief MKO Abiola, widely regarded as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, was detained in 1994 after declaring himself President. 

His death, which occurred barely a month after the death of General Sani Abacha, sparked widespread speculation and conspiracy theories that have persisted for decades.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar succeeded Abacha as Head of State and subsequently supervised Nigeria’s transition to democratic governance, handing over power to President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999.