How Abacha's death saved my dad's life 24hrs before execution - Diya's son [The Punch]
Dr Babatunde Diya, a son of a former Chief of Defence Staff, the late Lt-Gen. Oladipo Diya has recalled how the death of the late General Sani Abacha saved his father from the jaws of death.
Diya, the de facto second in command to the former Head of State, died on Sunday, March 26, 2023 - a few days before his 79th birthday and indeed, well over two decades after he had a close shave with death.
Appointed Chief of General Staff in 1993 and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1994, the late Lt-Gen. was one of the most influential officers in the Abacha government, and his popularity had begun to spread among the elite and opposition parties of the time due to his moderate views on the situation in Nigeria
However, Diya alongside some dissident soldiers in the military was accused of planning a coup to overthrow the Abacha regime in 1997. He was subsequently arrested and tried by a military tribunal sitting in Jos.
After months of trial, the military tribunal, headed by General Victor Malu, found him and five others guilty of the allegation and sentenced them to death by firing squad.
But, the unbelievable happened just some 24 hours before Diya and co were meant to be executed on June 9, 1998, and the incident extended his life by 25 more years.
Recounting this experience, Diya's son in an interview with The Punch said his father "had nine lives like a cat because he got involved in two near-death experiences."
He said there had been previous attempts to kill his father, but providence had always been very kind to him.
Speaking on what happened the night before Diya was meant to be executed, Babatunde recalled how the people of his hometown in Odogbolu, Ogun State, were full of prayers and hopes that their son would make it out alive.
Diya's son's words: "This was somebody that had nine lives like a cat because he got involved in two near-death experiences. The first one, I think he went to use the restroom and there was a bomb blast.
"The second one was when Victor Malu passed the verdict of the death sentence and the night before the Abacha regime was supposed to carry it out, Abacha passed away.
"People in Odogbolu, my local government, didn’t take it lightly because they were prayerful and stood solidly behind the man, saying ‘no, you cannot take our son from us’."
