P.M. News (Lagos)
6 December 2000
Lagos — Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) arrived Lagos yesterday to attend today's session of the Oputa Panel, but he suddenly changed his mind, and so will not attend the panel today.
This morning, General Abubakar returned to Minna, Niger State, leaving Senator Abraham Adesanya and a team of lawyers to state his case.
Abubakar has been variously accused by Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to the hateful tyrant, late General Sani Abacha, of various offences.
Abubakar, Mustapha alleged, knew about the death of Chief M.K.O. Abiola. He was alleged to have called for the execution of Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Musa Yar'Adua over the 1995 phantom coup which indicted them. Former Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Bamaiyi too told the Oputa Panel earlier this week that Abubakar was once convicted for stealing by a military panel in 1971.
Today, Abubakar would have had the opportunity to respond to all these stories by Mustapha and Bamaiyi if he had agreed to face the panel . He was also expected to be a key witness when General Oladipo Diya and General Ishaya Bamaiyi engage in what is expected to be a fierce exchange of words at the panel today.
But sources told P.M.News today that Abubakar decided to stay away, having given all his brief to his team of lawyers, led by the Afenifere leader, Senator Adesanya.
"Abubakar feels this is not an auspicious time to give any testimony. He will be ready to do so during the criminal trials of Mustapha and Co.," said the source.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2000 P.M. News. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
