Not many Lagos residents remember what transpired in the state on June 11, 1994, one year after the controversial June 12, presidential election in 1993 which was won by late chief M.K.O. Abiola.
Perhaps because June 12, Nigeria’s Democracy Day, is a national public holiday, a lot of residents tend to forget the significance of June 11, and how it is connected to Lagos.
MKO Abiola’s declaration
Following the results of the June 12 presidential election, Abiola on June 11, 1994, declared himself as Nigeria’s president.
It is vital to note that Abiola made this famous declaration in Epetedo, an area mostly populated by the Yorubas. Of course, this was partly why June 12 was initially a Lagos public holiday until it was made national by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.
Abiola’s arrest
After declaring himself president Abiola was declared wanted, accused of treason and arrested on the orders of the then military head of state, late General Sani Abacha, who sent 200 police vehicles to bring him into custody.
Upon his arrest the same year, Abiola was detained for four years in solitary confinement with a Bible, Qur’an, and 14 guards as companions.
On June 22, 1994, M.K.O Abiola was arrested by the Nigerian Police Force in his Ikeja residence.
Global outcry
Abiola’s arrest triggered reactions from around the world.. Global figures such as Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and top human rights activists from all over the world called for his immediate release.
The sole condition attached to Chief Abiola’s release was that he renounce his mandate, a demand he repeatedly turned down, despite the military government offering to compensate him and refund his election expenses.
Abiola’s death
Chief Abiola, the man arguably referred to as Nigeria’s greatest statesman, died in detention on July 7, 1998, the same day he was supposed to be released.
During a meeting in Abuja with some American diplomats like Thomas Pickering and Susan Rice, Abiola fell ill and died.
His second wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, was assassinated in Lagos in 1996 after she publicly declared support for her husband.