Major Seun Fadipe (retd), a former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Lt-Gen Oladipo Diya, has disclosed how General Sani Abacha narrowly escaped a planned coup in 1997.

The late Head of State was reportedly the target of a plot by Diya and others to abduct him in Enugu and force his resignation.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, Fadipe revealed that the coup plan was foiled after Abacha, apparently tipped off about the plot, cancelled his trip to Enugu at the last minute.

According to Fadipe, who served as CSO to Diya, the Chief of General Staff at the time, the plan was for Abacha to be captured during the Chief of Army Training Conference in Enugu.

“If he had gone to Enugu on December 9, 1997, he would have been arrested and forced to resign, leading to a change of government,” Fadipe said.

He recounted that Abacha’s advance team had already left for the airport when the Head of State unexpectedly returned to the presidential villa, a move that alarmed Diya and his associates.

Fadipe noted that later that evening, General Ishaya Bamaiyi, then Chief of Army Staff, visited Diya’s office, raising further suspicion.

Fadipe disclosed that the following morning, Diya informed him and a few other security officials about the failed plot, stating, “If Oga had travelled yesterday, there would have been a change of government.”

Fadipe and Diya, along with over 200 others, were later arrested and tried for treason following the failed coup.

Diya, who was sentenced to death by a military tribunal, was eventually pardoned by General Abdulsalami Abubakar after Abacha’s sudden death in 1998.

Fadipe denied betraying Diya during the ordeal, insisting, “There was no way I would have betrayed my boss. My loyalty to him was steadfast, despite the fallout after our release from detention.”

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