‘Abiola’s tea wasn’t poisoned’ – Almost three decades later, Abdulsalami Abubakar opens up on the real cause of MKO’s death

Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has challenged long-standing claims surrounding the death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, stating that post-mortem findings did not support allegations that the June 12 figure was poisoned.

Abdulsalami made the remarks in his autobiography, Call of Duty, unveiled in Abuja during activities marking his 84th birthday. In the book, he revisited the events surrounding Abiola’s death in detention on July 7, 1998, and addressed one of the most enduring controversies in Nigeria’s democratic history.

Abiola, widely recognised by supporters as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, died during a meeting with a visiting United States delegation that included then Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Tom Pickering, and then Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Susan Rice.

For years, public debate around Abiola’s death has included claims that he was poisoned during the meeting, including allegations tied to tea reportedly served at the venue.

In his account, Abdulsalami rejected that interpretation and said an internationally constituted medical review did not establish foul play.

“I do not believe Abiola was poisoned. The family requested an autopsy and we assembled American, British, Nigerian and Canadian pathologists to conduct it. The autopsy report attributed his death to natural causes,” he wrote.

According to the former military leader, Abiola had documented health conditions before his detention. Abdulsalami stated that medical records from 1994 indicated an enlarged heart associated with hypertensive heart disease, which he suggested may have contributed to the fatal incident.

Referencing Susan Rice’s memoir, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For, Abdulsalami wrote that Abiola began coughing during the meeting, later complained of feeling unusually hot and was attended to by medical personnel who reportedly suspected a heart attack.

He also cited Tom Pickering’s recollection, which stated that Abiola experienced breathing difficulties and was taken for emergency care but could not be revived.

Reflecting on the moment he received the news, Abdulsalami recalled being informed by his Chief Security Officer, Abdulrasheed Aliyu.

“Aliyu, my CSO, called me. As soon as I picked, he said, in a shaky voice, that there was a problem. I asked: ‘What problem again?’ He said Abiola was dead. My head went blank,” he wrote.

Beyond revisiting Abiola’s death, the memoir discusses other defining moments in Nigeria’s political transition period, including events following the death of General Sani Abacha and Abdulsalami’s emergence as Head of State.

Abiola’s death, coming weeks after Abacha’s passing, remains one of the most debated episodes in Nigeria’s democratic history. Abdulsalami’s latest account adds a renewed official perspective to a question that has remained part of national discourse for decades.