Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed why he turned down an offer of political asylum from the United States during the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha, despite being warned that he risked arrest if he returned to Nigeria.Track Exec Orders
Obasanjo said he rejected the offer because he believed he had committed no offence that warranted fleeing his country.
The former president made the revelation in an interview with BBC News Pidgin published on Tuesday, where he recounted his experiences during the Abacha administration, including his arrest and eventual imprisonment.Track Exec Orders
Reflecting on his retirement from the Nigerian Army, Obasanjo said he had not envisaged leaving the military at the age of 42, having risen to the rank of a four-star general and served as military Head of State.
He explained that after leaving the military, he ventured into agriculture, a business he said was flourishing before the Abacha government began targeting him.
Obasanjo recalled that while he was travelling, the American ambassador to Nigeria contacted him and disclosed that the US government was prepared to grant him political asylum over fears that he would be arrested upon returning home.Follow Politics
However, he said he declined the offer, questioning why he should seek refuge abroad when he had committed no wrongdoing.
“This was difficult for me. I haven’t done anything. What do they want to arrest me for? Um, I don’t want political asylum,” he recalled saying.
The former president further alleged that Abacha had ordered his elimination, although he said he was initially unaware of the alleged plan.
He disclosed that upon his return to Nigeria, his passport was confiscated before he proceeded to his farm.
According to him, one of his security personnel informed him on arrival that government security operatives had surrounded the property.
Obasanjo said a police officer in plain clothes subsequently approached him, claiming that an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) wanted to see him.
He rejected the officer’s approach, insisting that if the AIG needed his assistance, he should personally come to the farm.
Obasanjo recounted that he eventually drove himself to the police station, where the AIG informed him that he had received instructions to arrest him.
He also disclosed that former United States President Jimmy Carter intervened in his situation by appealing directly to Abacha.
According to Obasanjo, Carter’s intervention initially secured his release into house arrest after he had been detained at an undisclosed location.
However, he said the situation took another turn when security operatives arrived at his residence at about 1am while he was playing squash and announced that they were taking him away.
“They came and said they were taking me away. And they took me away, and from there, I went to prison,” he said.
