Abacha ‘Coup’: 8 Colonels Write Tinubu For Compensation, Restoration of Rights

As the nation prepares for the celebration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12, 2025, eight military officers, convicted of plotting to overthrow the maximum dictator, General Sani Abacha, in 1995, have sent a passionate appeal to President Bola Tinubu to implement the recommendations of the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Truth and Reconciliation Commission, popularly known as Oputa Panel.

The General Sani Abacha’s regime had, in 1995, announced that it had uncovered a plot involving over 40 military officers and civilians.

The list included former Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, his Deputy while in office, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (who later died in prison), Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, then Chief of General Staff (and Abacha’s second-in-command to Abacha), and Major General Abdulkarim Adisa, then Works and Housing Minister. The oppressive regime claimed that the Generals and 36 others, had planned to invade the Aso Rock Presidential Palace and sweep the dictator and his gang off power.

The 40 officers and civilians were promptly arrested and tried by a military tribunal that dished death sentences and long prison terms to them like confetti.

But General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who took power after Abacha   died suddenly on June 8, 1998, set the convicted officers and civilians free.

However, 30 years on, some of the surviving officers are still fighting for their entitlements, compensations, restoration of their rights, privileges and dignity.

Like they did prior to previous Democracy Day celebrations, the eight Colonels, including Lawan Gwadabe, Bello Fadile and Olusegun Oloruntoba, have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to revisit their case and implement the report of the Oputa Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a.k.a Oputa Panel, which recommended, among others, the restoration of status and dignity.

Below is the full text of the appeal by the eight Colonels:

June 10, 2025

Dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,

His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we find great delight that you and several other democracy fighters in the mould of June 12, 1993 struggles are still alive, hale and hearty today. We hold you in high esteem as a dogged democrat and generous giver. Your unwavered conviction for the dignity of those who side with truth is well-documented. It is against this backdrop that we extend our warm regards to you and hope that this letter finds you in good health.

Another June 12 celebration is around the corner. Almost every box of that epic moment in the annal of Nigeria’s history has been ticked. We are of firm belief you will tick the remaining boxes this June 12, 2025. It has been 30 awful and agonising years for us. In our last open letter to you, dated March 12, 2025, we made humble appeals. As in that letter, we are in this letter, repeating the same urgent request, we can’t stop believing you will make it happen.

We, the victims of the alleged coups of 1995 and 1997, write to you with a mix of trepidation and hope. For 30 years, we have waited for justice, our hopes raised and dashed with each change of administration.

We are convinced that your presidency marks a new chapter in our quest for justice.

In 1993, Nigeria was on the cusp of democracy, but the military dictatorship crushed our hopes. Many of us were accused of coup plotting, tortured, and detained without trial.

The Oputa Panel, established by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, investigated human rights violations during the military rule and recommended compensation for victims like us. However, successive governments have ignored these recommendations, leaving us in a state of limbo.

While demanding justice, we are appealing to find favour from your gracious and generous presence, Mr President. We seek the implementation of the Oputa Panel’s recommendations, including promotion to our rightful ranks, a letter of apology, and comprehensive rehabilitation. We also request that you endorse the reliefs and compensation recommended by the Oputa Panel.

We are aware that time is running out, and many of our colleagues have passed away without seeing justice. We are aware that several of our colleagues are languishing in untold hardship and indignity. We appeal to you, one more time, Mr President, to act promptly and right the wrongs of the past.

We trust in your magnanimity, Mr President, and believe that you will bring an end to our long wait for justice. We cannot stop hoping and are convinced that your administration will bring us the reprieve we so desperately seek.

We are more buoyed than ever before that we can renew our strength and hope in your ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.

In the history of Nigeria, certain years stand as stark reminders of the nation’s aspirations and its darkest hours. The year 1993 is etched in the collective memory as a period of immense hope, a time when civilians dared to envision a future free from the shackles of military dictatorship. Within the ranks of the army, whispers of a return to democratic governance echoed with growing fervour.

Yet, as many would later realise, the boundary between hope and despair is perilously thin. For those who dared to dream, their aspirations were brutally extinguished when a new regime of tyranny seized power, plunging the nation into an abyss of uncertainty and fear. Accusations of coups and “phantom coup plotters” became the chilling refrain of the regime, leading to the imprisonment of countless civilian and military figures.

Mr President, while some, like ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, would later find their path to power paved by the very suffering they endured under the despot, others were left to languish in obscurity, their pleas for justice unanswered, their lives irrevocably scarred. Now, three decades later, since Your Excellency assumed the mantle of leadership, a flicker of hope ignites once more in our hearts.

The Weight of Unresolved Grievances

The wounds inflicted during the General Sani Abacha regime run deep, leaving scars that tortuous times have left open and untended that we only hope God, using you, Mr President can tenderly heal and close. For all of us “phantom coup” plotters, the years since our unjust imprisonment have been a relentless cycle of hope and disappointment, of promises made and broken. We have witnessed successive administrations come and go, each offering a glimmer of hope, only to ultimately fail to deliver the justice we desperately and rightly seek.

Mr President, we earnestly appeal to you to expedite action and order the immediate implementation of all reliefs.

Former President Buhari’s recognition of MKO Abiola as a national hero and the declaration of June 12 as a nationwide public holiday further fuelled these hopes. Yet, despite these promising signs, the wheels of justice turned slowly, leaving the Oputa recommendations unfulfilled.

Mr President, with your glorious ascension, a new chapter begins in the saga of our seeming helplessness and hopelessness. Your Excellency has always stood for justice and genuine and immediate recompense. It is with absolute trust that you will finally break the cycle of disappointment and provide us with the needed relief that we are writing you this open letter. Our beloved President, we do not want to be forgotten, to be written as a footnote in the story of reparation.

Mr President, with you, we do not hope with uncertainty, nor are we completely broken by the failure of past democratically elected presidents. You are different. You are Asiwaju. You always carry a badge of honour. We trust in your speedy resolution of our 30-year wait for justice and reparation.

Mr President, we are convinced that our hope in your magnanimity can set us free from the shackles of the unjust past.

Mr President, we are making a renewed plea for action. We urge you to review the findings of the Oputa panel, acknowledge our innocence, and provide us with the compensation and recognition we deserve.

The Oputa panel made several recommendations regarding the phantom coup plotters, including:

A formal apology from the government

Compensation for their suffering

Restoration of their ranks and benefits

Promotion to the ranks they would have attained

Comprehensive rehabilitation

Mr President, the time has come to right the wrongs of the past, to heal the wounds that have festered for far too long. By implementing the recommendations of the Oputa panel, you have the power to bring closure to our long-suffering souls, restore our faith in justice, and reaffirm your administration’s commitment to the rule of law.

Thank you for your attention to our plea.

Yours Sincerely,

Col Lawan Gwadabe,

Col Emmanuel Ndubueze

Col Gabriel Ajayi (late)

Col Roland Emokpae,

Col Edwin Jando,

Col Babatunde Bello-Fadile

*Col Olusegun Oloruntoba

Cdr Dennis Omesa