In the weeks following the sudden death of General Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998, strange discoveries were made inside Aso Rock, the official residence of Nigeria’s head of state.
Soldiers under the new military junta led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar reportedly dug up carcasses of goats and cows buried within the compound, according to an August 4, 1998, publication of P.M. News which EKO HOT BLOG obtained from Archivi.ng.
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The animals, according to reports at the time, had been buried alive on the orders of marabouts and juju men who worked for Abacha during his rule. They were said to be part of rituals meant to protect the late dictator from harm and to strengthen his hold on power.
Abacha, who ruled Nigeria with a firm and often brutal hand from November 1993 until his death, was known to rely heavily on spiritual advisers. He placed strong belief in the power of marabouts, babalawos, and Islamic spiritualists, who constantly warned him about threats to his life.
Because of their advice, Abacha rarely left Aso Rock. In almost five years in power, he visited fewer than three states and travelled abroad only on rare occasions. The marabouts reportedly told him which places were safe and which were dangerous.
Sources also claimed that some of his most significant decisions were influenced by these advisers. The arrests of former military ruler and eventual democratically elected president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua in 1995 over a phantom coup plot were said to have been made based on the marabouts’ warnings.
After Abacha’s death, Abubakar ordered a thorough cleansing of Aso Rock before moving in. Reports from Abuja at the time said the new head of state did not immediately take up residence there until the place was “sanitised” of the spiritual remnants of the previous regime.
Abacha’s sudden death at the presidential villa remains one of Nigeria’s most discussed mysteries. Officially, he was said to have died of a heart attack. But there were widespread rumours that he had been poisoned, with several conflicting accounts about what happened in his final hours.
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The discovery of the buried animals added another layer to the stories surrounding Abacha’s rule. It reflected the extreme lengths to which the late head of state went in his quest for power and protection, and how deeply fear and superstition had shaped his time in office.
Philip Ibitoye is a Special Correspondent with EKO HOT BLOG. Click here to find daily analysis and critical insight on trending issues in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
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