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How and Why Kudirat Abiola Was Brutally Assassinated in 1996

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Alhaja Kudirat Abiola

Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, a politically and socially active woman during her days, was the beautiful wife of late business mogul and respected politician, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Her struggles, efforts and the tireless support she gave her husband, M.K.O Abiola, when he was incarcerated led to her untimely death.

On the 4th of June, 1996, Kudirat Abiola was assassinated by some gunmen in Lagos who allegedly acted on the orders of the Sani Abacha’s military junta.

Background

After President Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12, 1993 election which had M.K.O Abiola as the winner, several riots ensued across the country, especially in the southwest. This led to the demise of President Babangida’s military regime and the birth of the Shonekan-led Interim National Government on the 26th of August, 1993…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Before Babangida stepped down from power, he set up an Interim Government which was to oversee the transition of power to a democratically elected government. M.K.O Abiola did not support the Interim Government as it had no plan of restoring him as the president of Nigeria. The Interim National Government was later sacked by Gen. Sani Abacha in November 1993.

At first, M.K.O Abiola supported Sani Abacha’s military regime hoping Abacha would return the mandate to him, but when the Abacha refused to do so, M.K.O Abiola went ahead to declare himself as the President on the 11th of June, 1994. Twelve days later, he was arrested and charged with treasonable felony.

Kudirat Abiola spearheaded oil workers’ strike against the government which lasted 12 months. She also gathered market women, students and civil servants to fight for their electoral right which was denied on June 12, 1993. Her efforts to get her husband out of jail and restore his mandate brought her across the line of Abacha’s military government. Unknowing to Kudirat Abiola, she had been marked for assassination by an unknown cabal.

The car in which Kudirat Abiola was assassinated
The car in which Kudirat Abiola was assassinated

Kudirat Abiola’s Assassination

On the 4th of June, 1996, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was in a white Mercedes Benz driven by her driver, Dauda Atanda, and accompanied by her special assistant, Lateef Shofolahan. It was around 9.30 am on the streets of Lagos, she was going for an appointment at the Canadian High Commission.

As her car slowed down on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway past the 7-Up bus stop on Oregun Road in Ikeja, two cars double-crossed them and six heavily armed men opened fire on Kudirat Abiola’s car. The gunmen shot at close range and Kudirat’s driver got his mouth and shoulder pierced by a bullet while Kudirat, their main target, was hit in the forehead and instantly lost consciousness.

She was rushed to the Eko Hospital on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja, Lagos where she eventually died between 12.15 and 12.30 pm. However, Kudirat’s personal assistant, Lateef Shofolahan, escaped the attack unhurt. He was later accused of being involved in the murder plot of Kudirat Abiola.

OldNaija gathered that prior to Alhaja Kudirat Abiola’s murder, there were two attempts to take her life before the plotters allegedly penetrated her network through Lateef Shofolahan. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Major Hamza al-Mustapha
Major Hamza al-Mustapha freed from prison

Aftermath

The Abacha military government offered the sum of $45,000 to anyone who could give information leading to the arrest of the assassins. Later, Hamza Al-Mustapha, the chief security officer of General Sani Abacha, was accused and convicted. Investigations into the killing traced the killers’ bullets to his (Hamza Al-Mustapha) personal armoury.

In October 1988, Hamza Al-Mustapha and Mohammed Abacha, Gen. Abacha’s son, appeared before the court, both charged with the death of Kudirat Abiola. In the court, Mohammed Abdul, one of the assassins, narrated how the Abiola’s network was penetrated through Lateef Shofolahan, and how Mohammed Abacha gave him and other gunmen $10,000 to flee the country when Obasanjo’s government began an investigation on Kudirat Abiola’s assassination.

He said,

“I was then given a car key to a 504 saloon car. Sumaila Shuaibu was driving the 505 car while I drove the 504. We went to the National Theatre where we met Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan (Kudirat Abiola’s P.A) who took us to Festac town where he pointed at one house. From there, we went to Surulere and then to Mr James Danbaba’s house.

Rabo Lawal asked the security men if the CP was in before he went inside and spent some time there. We then went back to Dodan Barracks. In the evening Alhaji Lateef came to meet us at Dodan Barracks and together we went to Victoria Island where Alhaji Lateef pointed a house to Rabo Lawal who was in the same car with him. From V.I. we went to Surulere and then to Igbosere Road. Alhaji Lateef then went inside one storey building on a street near Igbosere close to Sura market”.

Barnabas Jabila’s confession

OldNaija gathered that another member of the killer squad, Barnabas Jabila aka Seargent Rogers, confessed that he was acting on the orders of Hamza Al-Mustapha and that he (Hamza Al-Mustapha) gave the contract to kill Kudirat Abiola to Rabo Lawal, the head of the mobile police force at the presidential villa. He also said that they were provided weapons for the operation in the presence of Mohammed Abacha.

Mohammed Abacha
Mohammed Abacha

In May 2001, a Federal High Court in Abuja freed Mohammed Abacha on the ground that he was simply roped in on circumstantial evidence. Also, Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan who were sentenced to death by hanging on January 30 2012 were later freed on Friday, July 12, 2013, on the ground that there was not enough evidence to prove them guilty.

Alhaja Kudirat Abiola’s assassination remains one of the top assassinations in Nigeria.

 

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METRO

Racist Cops Handcuff Black Female General, Her Call to Pentagon Destroyed Their Careers –

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The handcuffs clicked shut with a sound like a gunshot in the quiet street.

“You’re resisting arrest,” the cop snarled, twisting the Black woman’s arm behind her back.

Bystanders gasped as she was forced onto the hood of the cruiser, her military-sharp posture never faltering.

Then, in a voice like steel, she said, “You have no idea who you just handcuffed. But in 20 minutes, these two officers would beg for their careers back.”

And in an hour, the Pentagon would make sure they never wore a badge again.

General Naomi Carter was used to command, not compliance.

A decorated war strategist, she had just returned from a classified overseas mission and was on her way to debrief at the Pentagon when she stopped for coffee…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

She had spent her life fighting battles—just not the kind where the enemy wore a blue uniform.

The cops had been watching her since she stepped out of her car.

“Suspicious vehicle,” one muttered, eyeing her luxury sedan.

When she questioned their unnecessary stop, they escalated.

“You fit a description.”

Then came the cuffs, the shove, the condescending smirk.

That’s when Naomi stopped being just a citizen.

“Let me make a call,” she demanded.

The taller cop laughed. “You ain’t calling nobody.”

But Naomi had memorized emergency protocols better than they’d memorized their own badges.

With her hands restrained, she recited a series of numbers to a horrified bystander. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“Dial it now.”

The phone rang twice before a voice answered: “Pentagon secure line.”

The cops froze. Then came the words that turned their blood to ice.

“This is General Carter. Badge numbers 4,872 and 5,193 just detained me unlawfully. I need immediate confirmation of their authority.”

For the first time, doubt flickered in the officer’s eyes.

The dispatcher’s radio erupted with panic.

“All units, stand down. Stand down.”

Backup arrived, but not for them.

The chief’s voice cracked over the comms. “You just cuffed a Pentagon-level officer. God help you.”

Naomi stood straight as her cuffs were removed.

The cops stammered apologies, but she simply picked up the phone.

“Secretary, I want their records audited. Every stop. Every complaint.”

Then to the officers: “You targeted the wrong woman today.”

By sundown, the officers were suspended. By week’s end, charged.

And as Naomi walked into the Pentagon the next morning, the news played footage of their perp walk.

Proof that even generals in street clothes outrank prejudice.

 

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One of death row’s oldest inmates gave scathing final words before execution by lethal injection –

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Oscar Franklin Smith, a 75-year-old man who had been on death row for decades, was executed in Tennessee by lethal injection. He was found guilty of murdering his wife, Judith Robirds Smith, and her two teenage sons, Chad and Jason Burnett, back in 1989.

But even as he was about to die, Oscar kept saying he didn’t do it. He claimed he was innocent, and he never changed his story in all the years he spent in prison. Just before the execution, he spoke out strongly, criticizing the justice system and the governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee.

He said the system is broken and doesn’t always get it right. He believed that not only was he innocent, but that there are other men like him still sitting in prison, waiting to die for crimes they didn’t commit. He said the governor is foolish if he doesn’t see that. Oscar’s last words included the phrase “I didn’t kill her,” which he reportedly said several times before he died. He was declared dead at 10:47 a.m…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

Oscar had been given a temporary delay in 2022, when the governor called off the execution at the last minute. But that decision was reversed later, and the execution went ahead. Even though he had lived over three decades after the crime while maintaining his innocence, the courts and the state stood by the original conviction. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

After Oscar’s death, the family of the victims spoke to reporters. Judith’s sister, Terri Osborne, said losing her sister and two nephews had left a permanent wound. She said the pain of that loss will always stay with their family. No matter how much time passes, it still hurts deeply.

Terri also used the moment to talk about the issue of domestic violence. She said the murders are a tragic reminder of what can happen in abusive relationships. She wanted people who are in danger at home to know that they are not alone. She understood how hard it is to leave someone who is abusive, but she hoped this tragedy would push others to find safety and support. She also said she hopes more help and resources can be made available to people who are living in fear or dealing with abuse.

Her brother, Mike Robirds, also spoke. He said that no one should have to live the way their sister did — in fear. And no family should have to go through the heartbreak that they have endured. Their words were full of sadness, but also a message of hope for others who might still be suffering in silence.

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People in shock after hearing bizarre leaked audio from Trump’s new head of Social Security reacting to job offer –

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Frank Bisignano, a former executive from Wall Street, has just taken on a major role leading the Social Security Administration—a huge federal agency that handles benefits for over 70 million Americans. But it turns out he was just as surprised by the job offer as everyone else.

In a meeting with Social Security managers from across the country, held on May 21, Bisignano openly admitted that he hadn’t been looking for a new job and had no idea he was being considered for such a major government role. A recording of this meeting was leaked, and it’s left a lot of people both amused and concerned.

In the audio, Bisignano talks about how he got a phone call out of the blue about the Social Security job. He said he wasn’t job hunting at all, and once he heard about the position, he had to start Googling to figure out what exactly the commissioner of Social Security does. He even joked that he’s one of the best Googlers on the East Coast. At one point, he said something like, “What the heck is the commissioner of Social Security?” showing just how unexpected the appointment was for him…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Ironically, during that same meeting, he complained about people leaking information to the media—while the very meeting itself ended up getting leaked. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Despite the jokes and the lighthearted way he presented himself, many people online didn’t take it well. On social media, some users mocked him for appearing clueless about the job and accused the Trump administration of giving important positions to people who aren’t qualified. One person sarcastically said he must be relying on the “fake it till you make it” approach. Another commented that having actual experience seems to be a disqualifier when it comes to getting hired in the Trump team.

Others, however, defended Bisignano. Some argued that you don’t need a PhD or deep government experience to run the Social Security Administration. Instead, they pointed out that what the agency really needs is someone with real leadership experience—someone who knows how to run big organizations and get results. They said Bisignano fits that bill, having led billion-dollar companies and managed large teams.

All in all, Bisignano’s surprise and honesty about not knowing much about the job have drawn mixed reactions. While some people think it’s refreshing or even funny, others are worried that such an important agency is being led by someone who admits he had to Google what the job even is.

 

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