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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.

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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. SOURCE

 

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Nurse noticed something hidden in woman who was in a 14 year coma, ‘she alerted the doctor who made a troubling discovery’!

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According to the health officials, the difference between being in a coma and being in a vegetative state is that a patient in a coma is completely unresponsive, does not react to light or sound, cannot feel pain and whose eyes remain closed.

Comas normally last for a finite period of time – days, weeks or even months. A patient in a vegetative state is still unconscious, but such a condition can be characterized by involuntary eye movement, teeth-grinding and facial expressions. Some patients in a vegetative state can remain so for years or indefinitely.

Per reports, the young woman who has been in coma for 14 years, got pregnant and gave birth at the nursing facility. This has led to police launching an investigation into the possible se* abuse of the patient…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

The woman stunned workers when she went into labor because they didn’t even know she was pregnant. The woman has been in a vegetative state for at least 14 years after a near-drowning incident.

An employee at the facility, who didn’t want her name or face being used, said staff could not believe what was unfolding inside the victim’s room. “How could it happen? And just anger and sadness, and sick to my stomach,” the employee said.

“None of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

In a statement, the health care facility said it would also conduct an “internal review” to evaluate patient safety. “As an organization, HHC stands fully committed to getting to the truth of what, for us, represents an unprecedented matter,” spokeswoman Salmon said.

“We are already conducting a comprehensive internal review of our processes, protocols, and people to ensure that every single resident is as safe and well cared for as possible. Anything less than that is unacceptable to our team, our company’s leaders and the communities we serve.”

The woman, who gave birth to a boy, is a member of the local Apache Tribe and has long been in a vegetative state, the tribe’s chairman said. Outlets are not reporting the woman’s name because she is the victim of se-ual abuse.

“When you have a loved one committed to palliative care, when they are most vulnerable and dependent upon others, you trust their caretakers,” Chairman Rambler said. Police detectives served a search warrant seeking DNA from men who work there.

Shortly after, a 36-year-old nurse, Nathan, has been arrested on suspicion of impregnating the woman. Nathan, a licensed practical nurse who was caring for the woman at the facility, has been charged with one count of se-ual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse, according to CNN.

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This boy was neglected and was about to die, ‘then a miracle change his life’!

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They are the reason so many amazing people dedicate their lives to caring for orphans and children in foster care. They are also the reason we not only need adoption, but also we need it to be the best version of it possible.
The love and dedication from Priscilla and her husband David for a starving boy is going to make you shed some tears today- so keep a few tissues handy…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

When the amazing woman saw a photo of baby Ryan who weighed only 8-lbs at 7 years of age, but now, because of her love and sincerity, Ryan and his life has taken a positive turn. David and Priscilla have 2 biological sons of their own, but they decided to open their hearts and home to a little girl from Russia named McKenzie.

The 3-year-old had Down syndrome and a heart condition, but the Morses had no problem with that. They thought they were done adopting, but then, few years later, Priscilla saw a photo she couldn’t forget. The photo was of a starving boy so malnourished, he looked more like a baby than a 6-year-old.

The boy, they later named Ryan, was literally wasting away in an orphanage and wasn’t supposed to live long unless someone adopted him and Priscilla decided that she would be the one. She felt God calling her to bring Ryan home, “I don’t know how to describe it, but you look at them and you just know,” Priscilla said. “We had decided long ago that if we were going to adopt, it was going to be the kids no one was coming for – kids in Third World countries who are locked away in orphanages.”

Thankfully her husband David too was onboard with saving baby Ryan, and the couple began the process of another international adoption. Several months later, everything was set for Ryan to come live with the family, and Priscilla flew to Bulgaria, ready to bring her new son home.

Priscilla said. “We had decided long ago that if we were going to adopt, it was going to be the kids no one was coming for – kids in Third World countries who are locked away in orphanages.”

Thankfully her husband David too was onboard with saving baby Ryan, and the couple began the process of another international adoption. Several months later, everything was set for Ryan to come live with the family, and Priscilla flew to Bulgaria, ready to bring her new son home.

Ryan was 7 years old, and weighed only 8 pounds. “He was bones and skin,” Priscially recalled. “He literally looked like a skeleton. The first thing that went through my head was, ‘he’s going to die’.” Ryan had many medical problems, like cerebral palsy, club feet, scoliosis, and microcephaly — a birth defect that affects brain growth and head size. Getting him prompt medical attention was crucial for any hope in saving baby Ryan. Once they were back in the United States, Priscilla and David rushed Ryan to the Children’s Hospital.

“I had never in my life seen doctors look at a child and burst into tears,” Priscilla says. She said, “They all said there was no way that this kid should still have been alive.” Ryan spent a month in the hospital and Doctors weren’t sure he was going to make it, they found he suffered from refeeding syndrome, a condition making it difficult for his body to digest nutrients it wasn’t used to consuming.

Instead, he’d just throw his food back up. “It was intense for a long time,” Priscilla says, “and I think you kind of guard yourself against just how serious it is so you can push through every day and do what you have to do.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Ryan had many medical problems, like cerebral palsy, club feet, scoliosis, and microcephaly — a birth defect that affects brain growth and head size. Getting him prompt medical attention was crucial for any hope in saving baby Ryan. Once they were back in the United States, Priscilla and David rushed Ryan to the Children’s Hospital.

“I had never in my life seen doctors look at a child and burst into tears,” Priscilla says. She said, “They all said there was no way that this kid should still have been alive.” Ryan spent a month in the hospital and Doctors weren’t sure he was going to make it, they found he suffered from refeeding syndrome, a condition making it difficult for his body to digest nutrients it wasn’t used to consuming.

Instead, he’d just throw his food back up. “It was intense for a long time,” Priscilla says, “and I think you kind of guard yourself against just how serious it is so you can push through every day and do what you have to do.”

Even with all the challenges and special medical needs, the Morse never gave up on saving baby Ryan. Doctors fitted Ryan with a feeding tube, which helped him get the nutrition he so desperately needed. Soon he grew stronger, and the doctors were able to address other conditions of Ryan’s and after some years, his complete transformation was amazing! Ryan’s clubbed feet and spinal rod placement were rectified and proper nutrition helped him come out of his newborn clothing to a child’s size 5/6.

He also made significant gains with speech and communication and now has a full range of motion in his hands. Priscilla says Ryan’s doctors and therapists are hopeful the boy will continue to thrive and reach his full potential. It’s going to be a long process,” she says. “Seven years of neglect can’t be undone in a day.”

Although Ryan still has a long road ahead of him, his progress is proof enough to never give up. “Everyone deserves a family,” Priscilla says. “No one should be written off if they have special needs just because it’s going to be hard. Life is hard anyway, so you adjust and you learn, because these kids – they are so worthy.”

Soon he grew stronger, and the doctors were able to address other conditions of Ryan’s and after some years, his complete transformation was amazing! Ryan’s clubbed feet and spinal rod placement were rectified and proper nutrition helped him come out of his newborn clothing to a child’s size 5/6.

He also made significant gains with speech and communication and now has a full range of motion in his hands. Priscilla says Ryan’s doctors and therapists are hopeful the boy will continue to thrive and reach his full potential. It’s going to be a long process,” she says. “Seven years of neglect can’t be undone in a day.”

Although Ryan still has a long road ahead of him, his progress is proof enough to never give up. “Everyone deserves a family,” Priscilla says. “No one should be written off if they have special needs just because it’s going to be hard. Life is hard anyway, so you adjust and you learn, because these kids – they are so worthy.”

 

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When mother heard moaning from her baby’s monitor, ‘she rushed in and saved her life’!

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Every parent strives to protect their baby, nourishing them, buying the appropriate gear, and yes, monitoring them around the clock. Today’s baby monitors make it easy to hover. Some devices detect heart rate, oxygen levels and fever.

Others alert you if your child’s cry reaches a certain decibel level. Navigating life with an infant can be stressful and exhausting. In fact, most parents are still sleep deprived when their baby begins sleeping through the night.

Roy and Bernita never wanted anything more than to have a baby. The couple couldn’t conceive for a long time – Bernita had 3 premature babies and decided to just give up…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

It wasn’t an easy decision, but she thought it’s impossible for her to have a child. After her third premature baby, Bernita and Roy found a tiny kitten on their doorstep.

They took the kitten in and washed him, then fed him and weren’t sure if they want to keep it. They slept on it and decided to take the kitty with them, naming him Midnight.

Midnight wanted nothing more than to cuddle with his parents. Even though the kitty was black, it didn’t bring them bad luck at all.

As a matter of fact, it brought them luck. Bernita was finally able to deliver a healthy daughter they named Stacey, and believes it was a miracle. Midnight fell in love with the new family member.

He watched Stacey getting taken from room to room and kept the baby company all the time. After six weeks, however, Stacey came down with something. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Bernita took her baby daughter to a doctor who said it was nothing more than a cold. Bernita took Stacey home and put her down for a nap. She couldn’t have imagined what would follow.

As soon as the baby was in the crib, Midnight started jumping in and out of Bernita’s lap. The woman was tired at that point until Midnight rushed away to Stacey’s room.

Strangely, the cat started making disturbing screeching sounds over the baby monitor. Bernita was scared and ran upstairs, seeing Midnight leaning over the crib.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing – Stacey was struggling to breathe and blue in the face, moments away from dying! She immediately took Stacey to the doctor where her life was saved.

As it turns out, the baby went into respiratory failure that could have ended fatally if it wasn’t for Midnight. Bernita thanked Midnight for what he did all the time.

 

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