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How I Transited From Abacha’s Friend To prisoner — Lamido

Published

6 months ago

May 22, 2025

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has recounted his dramatic journey from being a close ally of the late General Sani Abacha to becoming one of his political detainees. The story, detailed in Chapter 8 of his recently launched autobiography “Being True To Myself,” was made public on May 13, 2025.

In the chapter titled “The Abacha Years,” Lamido described his early acquaintance with Abacha, dating back to 1980 during Nigeria’s Second Republic. At the time, Lamido was a member of the House of Representatives, and Abacha, a military officer, frequently visited a mutual friend, Sarki Adamu, at the 1004 Legislative Quarters in Lagos.

“Our relationship was friendly and filled with light-hearted banter,” Lamido wrote. He recalled jokingly telling Abacha he looked destined to lead a coup — a comment Abacha brushed off, insisting he had no interest in politics.

Years later, after Abacha seized power, Lamido was nominated as a federal government delegate to the National Constitutional Conference. Lamido, who was then in Saudi Arabia, returned to Nigeria and sought clarity on the assignment directly from the Head of State.

According to him, Abacha assured: “I intend to hand over power. Go there and give us a good national conference, a workable one, so that I can hand over to civilians and happily retire.”

Initially hopeful, Lamido soon became skeptical of Abacha’s true intentions. Amid rising tension and mistrust at the conference—especially from southern delegates still reeling from the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election—Lamido confronted Abacha again to reaffirm his commitment to civilian rule.

“I told him plainly, if he changed his mind about handing over, I would not support him. In fact, I would oppose him,” Lamido recounted. “He laughed, and we parted on that note—but it seemed that was when the rift began.”

Lamido revealed that as the conference progressed, various political groups were formed. However, while Abacha’s allies successfully registered their parties—including the UNCP, CNC, DPN, GDM, and NCPN—Lamido and others were denied registration. Feeling sidelined, they decided to opt out of the transition programme and notified the regime in writing.

“On the night of our meeting, I was arrested along with Abubakar Rimi. Unknown to us, the State Security Service had been trailing us. As soon as I got home around 10:30 pm, they picked me up,” Lamido wrote.

Despite the ordeal, Lamido’s account offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Abacha’s regime and the courage it took to oppose a powerful military government from within its own circle.

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UPDATED: INEC Declares Soludo Winner Of Anambra Guber Poll

Published

2 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has been declared the winner of the Saturday, November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Edoba Omoregie.

Soludo, who polled a total of 422,664 votes, defeated his closest rival, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes, while the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Sir Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.

According to INEC, a total of 16 candidates from various political parties participated in the election.

The state had 2,788,864 registered voters, out of which 598,229 were accredited. A total of 595,298 votes were cast, while 11,244 votes were rejected across the 21 local government areas.

From the results announced, Soludo of APGA won in all 21 local government areas of the state in a landslide victory.

Announcing the results at the INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, Omoregie said, “The number of registered voters was 2,788,864, while accredited voters were 598,229. The total valid votes stood at 584,054, rejected votes were 11,244, and the total votes cast amounted to 595,298.”

He added, “After collating the results as tallied into Form EC8E, it is now my privilege to declare the figures each candidate scored according to their political parties.

“There were a few areas affected by incidents, leading to cancellations in some wards across Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka South, and Onitsha South LGAs, amounting to 10,481 affected votes. However, the margin of lead between the top candidates did not affect the overall outcome of the election.

“I, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Returning Officer for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship Election, hereby declare that the election was peaceful. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, having scored 422,664 votes — the highest number of valid votes cast and having satisfied the requirements of the law — is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”

Breakdown of results:

Total registered voters: 2,788,864

Total accredited voters: 598,229

Total valid votes: 584,054

Rejected votes: 11,244

Total votes cast: 595,298

Votes by political parties:
A – 224
AA – 1,145
AAC – 292
ADC – 8,208
APC – 99,445
APGA – 422,664
APM – 892
APP – 73
BP – 126
LP – 10,576
NNPP – 525
NRM – 36
PDP – 1,401
SDP – 241
YPP – 37,753
ZLP – 453

News

BREAKING: Soludo Sweeps Anambra Guber Election

Published

6 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra governorship election, Prof. Charles Soludo has been declared winner of the poll.

Returning Officer of the election, Prof. Edoba declared Soludo winner having polled
422,664 votes to defeat his closest opponent.

More details coming

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AnambraDecides: CTA Frowns at Logistic Challenge, Ill-treatment Meted On Security Personnel

Published

6 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The Center for Transparency and Advocacy on Saturday frowned at the logistic challenges faced during the Anambra governorship election despite INEC claimed preparedness.

The organisation also chided authorities concerned over ill- treatment meted on security personnel who were deployed from different on special special duty during the election.

In an mid-election briefing in Awka, Prof Alex Asigbo, an expert observer with the CTA said the election was held in a relatively atmosphere of peace, amidst heavy deployment of security personnel.

Asigbo, who emphasized the need for INEC to carry out more voters education, disclosed that it was observed that while voting was ongoing, a church programme was being held in a part of Akwa.

He said, “The Anambra State Gubernatorial Election, one of the off-season elections in today’s Nigeria’s electoral calendar held across 21 Local Governments on the 8th November 2025.

“The election held as scheduled in a relatively peaceful atmosphere, amid heavy deployment of police and other security agencies. We had noted the general climate of peace in the build up to the elections. CTA deployed 50 trained election observers across the 21 local government areas to observe the election.

“Recall that in our pre-election assessment, we raised concerns on the preparedness of INEC, logistics, security, and the role of political actors in delivering a free, fair, credible, inclusive and conclusive elections.The following are the preliminary findings from our field observers deployed across the state: Time of arrival of INEC Officials and materials/ Commencement of voting

“Reports from our field observers indicate that INEC officials and materials arrived late in many polling units, resulting in late opening of polls in many polling units. In about 68 percent of polling units, INEC officials and material arrived between 8:25 to 9am, while in about 31 percent of the polling units, voting commenced much later – between 8:30 and 10:00am.CTA notes that INEC is yet to resolve its logistics challenge, as earlier highlighted in our pre-election press briefing.”

He said that despite assurances from the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), CTA observers reported that logistics arrangements, including vehicles deployment, were inadequate, adding that In some instances, hired vehicles for the election refused to pick up other INEC officials to polling units after making their initial drop-off, which further contributed to delays.

Continuing, he said.
“Our observers report that due to security reasons, INEC was forced to relocate voting in five communities of Azia, Orsumoghu, Mbosi, Ubuluisiuzo, Issekke and Lilu to the headquarters of Ihiala LGA . Voter Turnout/ Conduct of Voters Voter turnout was generally low. Many have been influenced by voter apathy, security concerns, and doubts about the credibility of the electoral process. Some of the citizens showed lack of interest in the election, one of such experience was at Demonstration Primary School at Agu Awka in Awka South where our observers reported a Church programme going on simultaneously with voting.

“We charged citizens to take civic duty very serious. INEC and Political parties must also take civil and voter education very serious to educate citizens. However, CTA commends the citizens for conducting themselves peacefully and in accordance with voting guidelines. “