I Have known Major Hamza El-Mustapha for 17 years. We have been together since our cadet days.
He was with the former Head of State, General Sani Abacha. But in 1985, he had some problems with him. And was posted to Calabar. I was also posted to Calabar. I was there till the end of 1990 when I travelled to England.
By the time I came back in 1994, Mustapha and Abacha had made up. It was Mustapha who told me that I was needed in the Villa (Aso Rock) by Abacha in 1994 and I went.
Security at the Villa
The security at the Villa was made up of three main arms (a) the Brigade of Guards (b) the Strike Force (c ) the Military Police.
But the two main arms are the Bridge of Guards (BG) and the Strike Force (SF). Mustapha was in charge of the security. And even though I am senior to him in rank, because he is (was) my friend, I never minded working under him, kind of. We really worked together. I am a medical doctor, but I doubled as a security officer. Each time the C-in-C was to go out, I either went in the advance party or in the last party. You could say that I was Mustapha’s second in command but that could be wrong too because even though Mustapha was in charge of the Strike Force, there was a commander, Lt Ikilana. He was the commanding officer. The BG was made up of 300 soldiers while the strike force was made up of 80. I was trained in security matters, on the orders of the C-in-C in 1994. But even then, I was in charge mainly of the health of members of the outfit. (BG and SF).
Members of the outfit were trained in Libya and North Korea. Usually, it was Mustapha, Gwarzo and I who recommended those to be recruited into the outfit. But I examined them medically. Then we had an embarrassment in Libya. Four of the soldiers we sent for training there tested HIV positive. That was when an embarrassed Abacha now insisted that I must have all those recommended for training undergo an HIV test before they are sent to either Libya or North Korea. Anybody sent is usually given the sum of I I ,000 US dollars. So it was like a competition. Of all that were recommended for training, about 10 tested positive. Usually, to make sure there is no mistake during the test for HIV, I first test them at Aso Rock Clinic. If it is positive, to make assurance doubly sure, I sent the sample to Dr. Njoku at Military Hospital, Lagos and then again to Edo Hospital, Abuja where a course mate of mine, Dr. Gammani, is in charge and then to a laboratory in England. All the steps were to make sure nobody was cheated. These can easily be cross-checked from Dr. Njoku and Dr. Gammani. Also, even those that tested positive, I used my money to have them treated at Edo Hospital, Abuja. But I had a problem here because of Mustapha. Anybody he did not want to be a member of the security outfit, because he had the final say, he would tell them: “Yakassai said you are not medically fit.” And this was a lie. Like I said, only 10 people, after the Libya embarrassment, were diagnosed by me as having the HIV virus.
Even though Mustapha was in charge of the security, all the money went to Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo, who was the National Security Adviser. Gwarzo was always reluctant to release money for the outfit. He was in the habit of delaying it. Nobody knew what he was doing with the money. He could delay releasing money for between one to two months. The boys were angry and restless. At times, I would go to Kano and borrow money to give out to the boys. I borrowed from somebody like Alhaji Dan Kabo.
Then, in April 1997, things were very bad. Mustapha and I decided to go and meet Major General Edward Unimna who was in charge of the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF (military). We told him of the problems we were having funding the security outfit. General Unimna asked us to put it in writing. We wanted the sum of N500 million. So we put it in writing. And he released the sum to us in two installments of N300 million and N200 million.
What we had planned to do with the money were:
(I ) Buy houses for the boys
(2) Buy vehicles for the boys
(3) General welfare.
I was the Liason Officer. The first N300 million, we used to buy vehicles and houses. We bought 23 houses at Gwarimpa Housing Estate, Abuja from Major General Adisa, former Minister for Works and Housing. The houses were for 23 officers, including Mustapha and 1.
Then we bought 26 Peugeot Station Wagon cars and eight Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps, all from ASD, Kaduna. The 23 Peugeot cars we gave to some members of the outfit but the jeeps were for Mustapha, myself, ADC, Aminu, Mohammed, Isiaku Doba, Lawal Arugungu and Lawal Rabo, O/C Mobile Ploice.
All the money was in my account. It was like this: The cheque was made out in the name of the Security Department. But Mustapha asked me to lodge it into my account. That means another cheque was made out in my name. Mustapha also told me to pay Major Muhammed and Mr. Ahmed Sabi of the SSS some money.
When Mustapha asked me to pay the cheque into my account and I asked why, he said we would use it to help ourselves. All through, I continued to give him an update on the state of the account.
The remaining N200 million was spent by Mustapha on miscellaneous. He bought a house at the cost of N25 million in Kano but he paid only N10 million. The remaining N15 million was written off for him as Public Relations. Mustapha gave out some on welfare, like the sum of N80 million.
But I had a problem over this account because I did not know Mustapha is a devil. He was the one who asked me to put the money in my account. He was the person who told me how much to withdraw each time. He was the one who disbursed the money. Just like he was the one who had the final say on the security outfit. But each time he does not want to give anybody money he tells them it is Yakassai. And he says: “Go and look at his account. He has all the money.”
The 1995 Coup
The truth is that Abacha really wanted about six people to be killed. The six included Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Musa Yar’Adua, Col. Gwadabe, Col. Fadile and Major Akinyemi (rtd). It was God that saved them.
When they were eventualIy jailed, Abacha ordered that I must confirm the state of health of all the main prisoners each time the prison authorities sent a distress call on their state of health. When I confirm, I have to get clearance from him through Mustapha and/or Gwarzo or directly from him at times before I go in company of other doctors and treat the person.
Yar’Adua
One of the greatest pains, one of the worst periods of my life was when I read that I might have injected YarAdua with poison. The truth about Yar’Adua and I is that he was the one who came between Abacha, Gwarzo, Mustapha on one side and I. The Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Coomassie, is alive and can bear me witness.
I saw Yar’Adua on Decemher 1 or 2, I997. Mustapha called me because of the report he said he got from Abakaliki prisons that Yar’Adua was ill. In fact, the C-in—C called me too. I left for Abakaliki to see Yar’Adua. There, I met the prison doctor and a physician from UNTH Enugu. I have forgetten his name now but he limps a little. There also was CSP Obuah and I went with my nurse too. The physician from UNTH had been seeing Yar’Adua. He did not look like somebody who was going to die. But he was ill. ‘The then Militarv Administrator of Ebonyi State, Commander Feghagbo, too was there. He had an enlarged liver. Yar‘Adua was a chain smoker. We suspected cancer of the lungs or liver. I made my note in the prison exercise book. The physician from UNTH took Yar’Adua’s blood sample, not me. We split the blood sample into two. He took half to UNTH to run tests and I took half too to run tests. But results confirmed a severely damaged liver which was almost failing. He had hepatitis too. We comfirmed Alfa Feetal protein. We took this result on Thursday and confirmed on Friday. It was then that the UNTH doctor told us to appoint him as Yar’Adua's doctor. I phoned Abuja and got permission. When both of us got the result, there was no change in Yar’Adua‘s condition. On Saturday he was better. Infact, on Sunday he was strong enough to play a game of lawn tennis. I went back to Abuja. But on Monday morning, Mustapha phoned me to tell me that he had a call from Abakaliki which told him Yar’Adua was very ill. He said the physician said he developed jaundice suddenly over-night
I rushed to Mustapha’s office to get permission to go, but Mustapha told me that the C-in-C had not come down, the prison authorities were waiting for permission to allow them transfer Yar’Adua to UNTH. But Mustapha said the C-in-C had not come down.
He did not say transfer. By I .00 p.m. when I had become frantic, I went to see Gwarzo to get permission from him. I met the IG of Police there. He too had come to see oga. When I told Gwarzo how urgent ‘it was, he said oga had not come down. I now said that it is better to pardon Yar’Adua so he can go and. take care of his health. But Gwarzo flared up.
I finally saw the.C-in-C by 3.00 p.m. and he gave permission. And we started organising the security. 1 phoned the Enugu and Ebonyi State Military Administrators to inform them that Yar’Adua was going to be transferredto UNTH Enugu. I then phoned the physician who told me Yar’Adua was slipping into a coma. This was 3.00p.m.
He was transferred to UNTH .1 arrived Enugu airport by 6.00p.m and by 700p.m. I was at UNTH where I met both the Enugu and Ebonyi State Military Administrators. They told me Yar’Adua was dead. They said he was in coma when he was brought to the hospital. And that he died in the hospital.
That was where my problem started with Abacha, Mustapha and Gwarzo I phoned Abuja-Mustapha and the ADC to the C-in-C and informed them of Yar’Adua's death, I asked them what to do. Because by this time, the prison-authorities had refused the body. The hospital too refused the body saying their mortuary was bad. Abuja ignored me completely. The Chief of Army Staff’s conference was going on in Enugu. Military officers were there. The (Chief of Defence Staff, then Major-General Abdulsalami Abubakar (present C-in~C), was in Enugu and so was the Chief of Army Staff. Still, nobody informed Abubakar. They did not want him to know. I waited for Abuja to call us back, time was 300a.m. They did not. It was then I told the Military Administrator of Enugu State that:
“Look, Yar’Adua is a moslem, he is a prominent figure. He has died since 6.00 p.m. and this is 300a.m. and nobody from Abuja has cared to call us. I am willing to take a risk if you are willing. I want to take his body back to Katsina, to his people. He agreed to take the risk. It was then I phoned the IG of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie and briefed him on the situation and what I wanted to do. The IG responded at once: “If you do, I will be there to receive him.”
As soon as the IG told me this, I took an aircraft and put Yar’Adua’s body. I first flew him to Abuja to refuel. Neither Abacha, Gwarzo, ADC nor Mustapha knew I was in Abuja with his body. From the Abuja airport I called Mustapha. He thought I was still in Enugu and asked me to still wait. I did not tell him and this was how I took’ Yar’Adua’s body to Katsina. That was how the IG received his body. It was not a Federal Government’s delegation. The IG took off on his own. And thank God he did because he was the one who saved my life. In Katsina, they almost lynched me. The IG shielded me.
The truth is that Abacha, Gwarzo and Mustapha wanted Yar’ Adua to be buried in Abakaliki prisons like a common prisoner, a common criminal. And Yar’Adua was not a criminal, He did not do anything.
When I got hack to Abuja after Yar’Adua's burial, Abacha, Gwarzo and Mustapha refused to speak to me. But none of them had the courage to ask me, “Why did you take Yar’Adua’s body back to Katsina?” They knew what happened. First, they delayed to give permission early to transfer him to UNTH when the prison authorities notified them about his state of health. Second, they ignored him even in death. And people think there was a Federal Government delegation, that Abacha gave permission for’ his body to be taken home. He did not.
I am pained by the accusation that I injected Yar’Adua with poison. Allah knows the truth. The truth is that all through the period Yar’Adua was in jail, I never gave him any injection. I never took his blood sample. The only time I had anything to do with his blood sample was when his physician got his blood while he was ill, gave me half and took half. Anybody can cross-check this with the physician and prison authorities.
• The medical reports are available. Nobody injected him with anything. The death certificate specifies the cause of death - primary liver cell carcimo.
Chief MKO Abiola
Abiola’s case is as traumatic to me as Yar’Adua’s case. I never saw Abiola alone. Many doctors were seeing him. Falomo, his doctor, was seeing him too. In my particular case, I never, ever saw him alone. I was always in company of other doctors - Charles Ogboma, Opong; Miner (from Aso Rock Clinic), two mobile policemen. I always saw him in company of about five to six people. At a point, Dr. Bako was withdrawn. I was not told why.
Of course, there was always a delay before we were allowed to see him. The delay was from Abacha and Mustapha. They have to give us permission to see him. He was their prisoner. Between two of them, they kept him in solitary detention. Not me. Each time we were allowed to see him we saw him promptly. Abiola had his own B/P apparatus. 1 remember once when Abiola complained that he had radiculopathy. It took three months before his doctor, or us were allowed to see him. When we saw him, however, we confirmed from tests that Abiola had no radiculopathy. there was no urgency to transter him to any hospital abroad.
Let me say here that the last time I saw Abiola was in September 1997. Abiola died in July I998. Again, let me say for the sake of Allah that at no time did Abiola complain all through the period I was seeing him, that he had a problem with his left side heart, never. Usually he complained of diarrhoea and headache. Then in early 1997, he complained of abdominal pains, but we found out he had what is commonly known as pile. So, we gave him suppositories and I reported his condition to Mustapha. When he complained of the state of his mattress, I used my money to buy him a new one. Like in Yar’Adua’s case, I never ever gave Abiola any injection nor did I ever take his blood for any test. Unfortunately, Abiola is not here to confirm this, but the authorities know. All the doctors and personnel that were seeing Abiola with me know this.
Diya: The Airport Explosion
The explosion that almost killed Lt General Oladipo Diya took place on December 13, 1997 as he was on his way to the burial ceremony of the mother of Major-General Lawrence Onoja. It was at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The truth is that the government lied when it said, through the Commissioner of Police, Abuja, that the explosion was an accident from a hand grenade. It was a bomb. The target was General Diya, Abacha and Mustapha wanted to finish him off. Others would have died with him. They used two boys. Both of them are dead. Both of them had the same names– Samaila.
As a medical doctor, when the explosion happened, I was the first person to rush to the airport. But for my job 1 would have collapsed because of what I saw. One of the boys was blown to pieces. I was the one who meticulously packed his body in a paper bag. The other boy was half burnt. I was the one who took him to Gwagwalada General Hospital and told them it was an accident. I told them it was a car accident. He died two or three days later. But before he died, he spoke to me, almost in whispers, because he was very bad. He told me it was Mustapha who asked them to bomb Diya. I did not tell anybody this. The only person I told was Mustapha because he was my friend.
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