Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has revealed how he pleaded with the late Gen. Sani Abacha not to execute former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the alleged coup plot in 1995.
Gowon shared this during the first edition of the Interdenominational Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival organized by the Plateau Government.
Obasanjo was arrested in 1995 by Gen. Sani Abacha and convicted of being part of a planned coup to overthrow Abacha’s government. He spent three years in prison before being released in 1998 following Abacha’s death on June 8 of that year.
Gowon recounted, “I wrote a letter to Abacha, I pleaded with him that God made him a leader to do good and not evil. I sent my wife with the letter in the middle of the night to Abacha in Abuja; I pleaded with him that such a thing should not happen.”
He expressed his relief and gratitude that things changed soon after, leading to Obasanjo’s release from prison and his eventual presidency in 1999.
“This is something that only prayers and sincerity can do; I’m happy that today myself and Obasanjo are here to celebrate the unity of Plateau,” Gowon added.