The Death of General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua

[Olusola A. Adeyeye]

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THE UNITED DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF NIGERIA
UDFN
"Restarting the Nation-Clock

PRESS RELEASE
The Death of General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua

December 10, 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND WIDE DISTRIBUTION
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It was with a deep sense of shock and profound sadness that we received
the news of the death on December 8, 1997 of General Musa Shehu Yar'Adua,
54, former Chief of General Staff and former second-in-command to jailed
Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo. Yar'Adua was a renowned Nigerian
soldier, politician, newspaper owner, businessman, and most recently a man
shackled in chains as a prisoner of General Sani Abacha's junta. He was
jailed in July 1995 along with several others ostensibly for an alleged
coup plot, but in fact it was for opposing the junta's plans to extend
itself in power. According to news reports, he died following an
undisclosed illness in prison in Enugu, Eastern Nigeria, and has now been
buried in his native Katsina, Northern Nigeria.

We offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and associates
that he left behind. May his soul rest in peace.

An abiding fear that one of Abacha's "famous" prisoners - his hostages -
would die in prison has now been finally realized. Nigerians and the
world at large must ask: when was Yar'Adua's illness known, and what did
the Nigerian government do about it in accordance with fundamental human
rights to which political hostages are entitled? Was this death natural
or, as some credible news sources would have it, another state murder?
The UDFN has it on good authority that General Yar'adua informed his
associates as far back as 1995 that he believed that he was injected with
an unknown substance by security agents while still at Ikoyi, Lagos prison
and had been unwell ever since that period.

Yar'Adua's death in prison is another blow to the reputation of our
country. Like the deaths of Alfred Rewane, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Kudirat Abiola
and hundreds of others before it, Yar'Adua's death serves as another
testament to the blood-thirstiness of a despot who continues to tyrannize
Nigeria at all costs, including bringing the country down on his own head.
Unfortunately, an apathetic international community perceives Abacha as
just another bloody African misruling another bloody African country.

The UDFN further wishes to point out two salient ironies: first, the
commutation of General Yar'Adua's sentence for plotting an alleged coup
from death to 25 years imprisonment was a sham after all: he did in fact
die in prison. Second, Abacha said in a nation-wide speech on
November 17, 1997 to mark his fourth year in power that he would release
prisoners who did not pose a threat to his security. However, he did not
tell us whether the prisoners would be released dead or alive. He has
indeed now "released" his first prisoner in the now dead Yar'Adua, who may
yet pose as much threat to Abacha's security in death as he would in life.
What ramifications do these ironies have on other hostages still held by
the Abacha junta?

The United Democratic Front of Nigeria demands the unconditional release
of all political prisoners and at the very minimum a rapid inspection by
neutral bodies of the health conditions under which they are currently
being held. It urges Nigerians and her friends not only to condemn this
bloody cabal of Abacha, but to work tirelessly for its removal, otherwise
the evil that currently grips the nation will finally strangle it. It puts
the world on notice that the blame for all the blood of Nigerians
prominent and not-so-prominent sacrificed during this dark period of our
nation is squarely on the shoulders of the various actors of this regime
and that they will ultimately be called into account.

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Released by the Steering Council of the UDFN
Contact Dr. Sola Adeyeye, 412/531-6599 or 202/270-UDFN

Website: http://www.udfn.com
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