Twenty-six years after his death, a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Shehu Yar’Adua, has been eulogised by one of his mentees and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar.
The Eagle Online recalls that he died in a prison in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State on December 8, 1997.
Abubakar, who took to his X handle to celebrate Yar’Adua, 26 years after his death, said: “The Nigerian political landscape lost a colossus on December 8, 1997.
“Twenty-six years later, we remember the Tafida, Shehu Yar’Adua, for his heroic role in dismantling the walls of sectional politics in Nigeria.
“You led us to believe in the ideals of democracy and transparency in leadership.
“It is to these ideals and for allowing me to cut my teeth in politics that I, especially, will continue to have fond memories of you.
“May your soul continue to rest in peace, Tafida.
“Amin.”
The Eagle Online recalls that Yar’Adua was jailed after his arrest in March 1995 by the military government of late General Sani Abacha alongside Olusegun Obasanjo and Lawan Gwadabe among others.
They were accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the Abacha regime.
He was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in 1995.
…
His real offence was believed to be his call on Abacha and his Provisional Ruling Council to return the country to civilian rule.
The death sentence passed on Yar’Adua was eventually commuted to life imprisonment following the intervention of dignitaries and bodies both locally and internationally.
However, he died in controversial circumstances in prison on December 8, 1997.
