Gen. Sani Abacha

General Sani Abacha (1943–1998), a Kanuri officer from Kano who had announced the 1983 coup, removed Shonekan and dissolved every elected institution in the country — the National Assembly, the state houses of assembly, the local government councils. The Provisional Ruling Council, the Special Tribunals on civil disturbances, the State Security Service detention regime under Decree 2, and the Hamza al-Mustapha-led praetorian Strike Force were the instruments of the period.

His 1994 detention of Chief M.K.O. Abiola for treason after the Epetedo Declaration; the 10 November 1995 hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine in Port Harcourt against worldwide protest (and the consequent suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth); the parcel-bomb killing of Pa Alfred Rewane (October 1995); the assassination of Kudirat Abiola (4 June 1996) and the Bagauda Kaltho disappearance (March 1996) are the defining crimes of the regime.

Abacha was found dead in his bedroom at Aso Rock at the age of 54 on 8 June 1998. The cause was officially attributed to heart attack. Chief M.K.O. Abiola died in detention on 7 July 1998. Over $1.2 billion of looted funds has since been repatriated under agreements with Switzerland (2005), Liechtenstein (2014), Jersey (2017) and the United States (2020).