Gen Diya told me if Abacha had gone to Enugu he would have been abducted there and forced to resign and there would have been change of government -Seun Fadipe
Major Seun Fadipe (Rtd), who served as the Chief Security Officer to General Oladipo Diya, has shared how General Sani Abacha narrowly escaped a military coup planned by Diya and other top officers.
In a video shared by Channels TV, Fadipe disclosed that during a period when the Chief of Army Staff training conference was scheduled to take place in Enugu, Abacha was expected to attend and declare the event open. He revealed that Abacha had already left the Presidential Villa for the airport but unexpectedly returned, aborting the trip.
Fadipe mentioned that after the canceled trip, General Diya confided in him that if Abacha had traveled to Enugu, he would have been arrested and forced to step down, leading to a change of government. He said Diya further informed him that the plot involved top military officers, including General Officers Commanding (GOCs) and service chiefs, who were prepared to carry out the plan in Enugu. According to him, the sudden change in Abacha’s travel plan saved him from being overthrown.
In Fadipe’s words: “My boss told me you know if Oga had traveled yesterday he would have been arrested and there would have been change of government. Honestly I won’t lie to you, I knew right there that I was in trouble. Then I said sir by who and he said by the GOCs and the chiefs. He said if Abacha had gone to Enugu he would have been abducted there and forced to resign and there would have been change of government”
