A video has emerged showing former President Olusegun Obasanjo just after his release from prison in 1998...READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Dressed in a blue agbada, Obasanjo expressed his gratitude to God and his family for their support during his incarceration.
He said, “I feel fine, as I always have. It’s nice to be back home, everyone knows that, so I feel good. I am grateful to them; they have always made me proud. This is not the first time, and I hope it will not be the last.”
The release was met with massive merriment as family, friends, and well-wishers welcomed him back with drums and celebrations.
Recall that in 1995, the government of General Sani Abacha, after initially dismissing reports of a coup, arrested hundreds of people for alleged involvement in the plot.
Government sources claimed that the coup was planned to start on March 1, 1995, during the Eid al-Fitr festival. Among those arrested were former second-in-command Retired General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, former Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo, an editor who had published news about the coup, and several others. Three army officers sought in connection with the coup had sought asylum in Ghana.The Video Here
The government was accused of using the plot as a pretext to purge the military of officers who did not support the regime or were not trusted by it.
Christiana Anyanwu, a well-known journalist with a Sunday magazine, was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for reporting on the alleged coup, although her sentence was later reduced to 15 years.
Before her arrest, the Director of Defence Information had denied any coup attempt. However, three days later, Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Chief of Defence Staff, announced that a coup had been attempted and thwarted.
Discussing Obasanjo’s case, Farida Waziri stated that he was a superior military officer to all those at the helm of the government. Moreover, most of the officers with whom he allegedly conspired were not commissioned into the Nigerian army when he was a ranking officer, making it unlikely that Obasanjo could have colluded with junior officers who had no reason to be loyal to him, especially against Abacha.
When the prosecution failed to find evidence to convict Obasanjo of treason, he was charged with concealment of treason. Ironically, Obasanjo had created the crime of concealment of treason in 1976 as a means to punish those who were aware of Dimka’s coup against Murtala but did not participate or report it.
On July 4, 1995, the tribunal announced that of the 51 people charged, eight were acquitted and 40 were convicted of various crimes.
Rumors circulated of death sentences for General Olusegun Obasanjo and Yar’Adua after they were tried by a military court on fabricated charges of felony and conspiracy to overthrow the Abacha government, allegations that the former president refuted with evidence.
In a broadcast, General Sani Abacha declared that no one would be executed but instead sentenced to 15-20 years in prison…Also Read: [ CLICK THE LINK, THE FULL VIDEO IS HERE ]
After four years in Kirikiri, Jos, and Yola prisons, Obasanjo was released on June 8, 1998, following Abacha’s death, by Abdulsalami Abubakar, who had succeeded the late General.…Continue The Full Reading.>’.
