MKO Abiola’s Death: Pickering Contradicts Accounts of Al Mustapha, Zadok in New Publication

Segun Atanda/

 

Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. envoy and member of the American delegation that witnessed the last moments of the winner of the June 12, 1993 election, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, during a meeting in Abuja has given his own version of how the politician died in their presence.

According to a report from the U.S. based publishers of Naija Standard Newspaper quoting what they called ‘The Witness Reports of British Broadcasting Corporation’, Pickering allegedly argued that Abiola’s tea was not poisoned as he told how he struggled with his team to save the life of the elected president.

But, Pickering’s claims in the said report were not in tandem with earlier accounts given at the Oputa Panel by Abiola’s security detail, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Theodore Bethuel Zadok and Major Hamza al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State General Sani Abacha.

Exonerating America from the conspiracy theory of Abiola’s alleged murder in the said report, Pickering reportedly said that the politician “did not die of Tea Poison, but of Cardiac Arrest”.

Contrary to the claims credited to Pickering that his team struggled to save Abiola when he was dying, Zadok had told the Oputa panel that he met the politician lying face down on the floor with nobody lifting a finger to help him.

Zadok who was withdrawn from Abiola when it was time for the meeting, said that he was the one who turned Abiola up when he returned to the venue and asked the politician questions which he tried to answer before he died.

Another controversial account of Abiola’s last moment given by al-Mustapha says that the politician was beaten to death. He claimed that there were video and audiotapes showing how Abiola was beaten to death.

The final autopsy report, which was produced by a group of international coroners, has never been publicly released.

Pickering had said in a BBC interview then that Abiola fell ill during the meeting and probably died of a heart attack.

NewsmakersNG had once published the accounts of Mustapha and Zadok as well as what Pickering said then.

Here’s an excerpt of the claims freshly credited to Pickering by the Naija Standard Newspaper, followed by the earlier accounts of al-Mustapha and Zadok that was published by NewsmakersNG.

Pickering was quoted saying: “Abiola looked robust and healthy. He did not seem to have lost much of weight. He recognized me immediately. He greeted both Susan Rice, myself and our Ambassador. We sat in a small square of chairs of sofas in the living room of the guest house where he was jailed. We were all offered tea, both Susan and our Ambassador from what was clear was tea from the same pot. It is important I say this because some people had alleged that the tea was poisoned.

“Before Abiola even braised the cup to his lips, he began to talk incoherently. Almost immediately he asked if he could use the lavatory – the men’s restroom. He was there in a space of few minutes or more. When he eventually came out from the bathroom, Abiola only made it halfway to the group. He was asking for painkillers, he sat down on the edge of the couch. He complained of being too hot. He then took off his shirt, which I found odd and quite shocking because he was a Muslim and having a shirt off in the presence of a woman in a small gathering sent a message to me that something was really wrong.

“Before he raised the cup close to his lips, Abiola began to throw up and slide unto the floor. I ran to him, I checked his pulse which I found strong. Susan called for a doctor and we did what we could to make him comfortable but communication was hard with him. Dr Suleiman Walli (Aso Rock doctor) came within minutes from the Presidential clinic and examined him with his stethoscope.”

While testifying at Oputa Panel, Zadok had recounted what happened on the day Abiola died thus: “At about 12:30 hours, the Chief Security Officer to General Abubakar, Major A.A. Aliyu came to the base. To the best of my knowledge, that was the first time he knew that place, wanting to know if we are ready… And I replied to him almost ready.

“As we opened the door, the Chief was already waiting for our arrival. Together we went out and headed to Aguda House, the venue of the interview. Before we landed at the base, Chief Abiola was in sound and healthy condition. He did not complain to me of any illness.

“About 100 metres to the door of the Aguda House, the controller from the Control Room called me on the radio set and I quote: “30 BRAVO, your LOG. I answered ALPHA GOLF UNIFORM DELTA ALFA HOTEL. And he said MIKE, SIERRA GOLF from the OSCAR FOXTROT, FOXTROT OF CHARL1E OSCAR SIERRA.

“You should ROMEO PAPA TANGO to see the subject INDIAN MIKE MIKE. I answered RECEIVED. Meaning, 2i/c Prescott, your present location; I answered Aguda House. And he said, “Message from Office of Chief of General Staff,” and that you should see the Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe immediately please; and I answered, ‘noted please’.”

When Zadok returned, he met Major Aliyu, who told him that Abiola fell down after taking a cup of tea.

“I quietly went inside,” said Zadok, “and I saw Chief M.K.O Abiola lying on the floor facing down.

“I called him for the first time; he answered and I lifted him up, and turned him upside, and called him again for the second time; he did not answer.”

Aliyu informed Abdulsalami minutes after Abiola was confirmed dead.

Fifteen years after that chain of events, Akhigbe died on October 28, 2013, without revealing all that he knew about Abiola’s death.

It is on record that Akhigbe was the only highly-placed member of the Abubakar junta that openly admitted that Abiola was indeed murdered. Even though he insisted that his convenient presence in Aso Rock on the day Abiola was murdered was an “unfortunate coincidence”.

The fact, however, remains that whatever made Akhigbe, who was at the time the number two man in government, use the word murder in relation to Abiola’s death, could only mean there was more to the events of that day than any of the main actors, most especially Akhigbe, ever admitted.

It is also unlikely that Akhigbe, as he claimed, would be ignorant of such a high profile meeting as the one that took place that day between Abiola and the Americans, given his position in government.

Questions may forever remain on the roles played by Rice and Pickering in the Abiola murder conspiracy. Zadok’s testimony at the Oputa Panel suggested that neither of them nor any of the others present in the room made any effort to assist Abiola after he slumped and was on the floor dying.

Zadok said it was not until he returned from Akhigbe’s assignment and met Abiola “face down on the floor,” that he “lifted him up and turned him upside”.

0