Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), insisted that Chief Moshood Abiola was not poisoned.
According to him, an autopsy conducted by pathologists from four countries, concluded that his death was due to natural causes.
This was contained in Chapter 21 of Gen. Abubakar’s autobiography titled ‘Call of Duty,’ obtained by our correspondent on Saturday at the public presentation of the book and two others at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Writing on the events leading to Abiola’s death on July 7, 1998, Abubakar said Abiola collapsed during a meeting with a visiting American delegation comprising Mr Tom Pickering, then U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, and Ms Susan Rice, then Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
“I do not believe Abiola was poisoned. The family requested an autopsy and we assembled American, British, Nigerian and Canadian pathologists to conduct it. The autopsy report attributed his death to natural causes,” Abubakar wrote.
He disclosed that Abiola had been managing pre-existing medical conditions, including hypertension and a heart ailment, as far back as 1994 when he was first detained.
The former Head of State said, “As far back as 1994 when he was arrested by the Abacha Administration for declaring himself President, it was public knowledge that Abiola was managing certain medical conditions which could seriously affect the quality of life of any human being.”
According to Abubakar, a radiological report by Colonel (Dr) O. Awofeso, then Chief Consultant Radiologist at the Nigerian Army Defence Hospital, Sokoto, dated September 28, 1994, found that Abiola’s heart was enlarged with “right ventricular preponderance” consistent with hypertensive cardiac disease.
