Abubakar made the disclosure in his autobiography, Call of Duty, where he recounted how he and the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, were unknowingly locked inside a waiting room at the Presidential Villa for about an hour on June 8, 1998, before learning that Abacha had died.
The account is contained in Chapter 19 of the 264-page book, which was unveiled on Saturday during activities marking Abubakar’s 84th birthday in Abuja. The event was attended by top political and military figures, with President Bola Tinubu represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
According to Abubakar, the dramatic sequence of events began early that Monday morning while he was awaiting information about a possible retirement after 35 years of military service.
He wrote, “On Monday, 8 June, I was waiting for him concerning the assignment he said he had for me. I received a call very early in the morning that he was going to be retired. There was no other way to interpret that.
“I quietly prayed that he would not send me to Togo where there was going to be an ECOWAS summit. I was tired of going everywhere.
“I was effectively in detention, I didn’t want to travel to Togo. I told my wife I was not happy with the call because I was still hoping I wouldn’t have to travel to Togo.”
Shortly afterward, he received another message informing him that the Head of State wanted to see him immediately.
“As I entered the bathroom, there was another call. I was told that the Head of State wanted to see me.
“Out of frustration, I asked if it was travelling to Togo and the caller replied that it was on a different issue.
“Because of the urgency, I didn’t wear my uniform. I wore a tracksuit and slippers and proceeded to the Presidential Villa. On getting to his residence, I was told he was not in the office,” he stated.
Upon arriving at the Villa, Abubakar said the situation became increasingly unusual. Despite his close access to Abacha, he was instructed to remain in a waiting room.
He narrated, “One of the guards informed me that anytime I went to see him, regardless of who was with him, I would still go in. After waiting for about half an hour, I wondered why he would be that early in the office.
“As I was climbing the stairs, (One of the guards informed me) that Abacha said I should stay in the waiting room. What struck me was that Abacha said I should stay in the waiting room.
“Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi joined me shortly after. We waited for about an hour. I decided to go and see Abacha by any means because I could not understand why we should be kept that long.”
He later discovered that the room had been locked from the outside without their knowledge.
“I asked Bamaiyi if he was aware that we had been locked inside.
“Something kept telling me that something was wrong but I could not place a finger on it,” he stated.
Abubakar said the door was eventually opened by the then Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, who delivered the shocking news.
“After some time, the door was opened and the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, came in.