“How Tinubu’s Secret Recording Exposed Abacha’s Loot,” Buhari’s Former Aide Speaks
- An author and former senator, Babafemi Ojudu, has recounted how Asiwaju Bola Tinubu used a hidden tape recorder to expose General Sani Abacha’s looting
- In an exclusive interview, Ojudu who was a journalist, said he risked his life to publish the story
- Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 to 1998, reportedly stole $5 billion and hid it in international banks in countries like the United States, Switzerland, and the UK
TheTalk.NG journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Senator Babafemi Ojudu, a former special adviser on political matters to ex-Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cleverly recorded evidence of corruption during Nigeria’s military rule in the 1990s.
Ojudu recounts how Tinubu secretly recorded lawyer exposing Abacha’s loot.
Photo credit: Babafemi Ojudu, @OneJoblessBoy, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed TinubuSource: Twitter
Ojudu narrated this story while discussing his new book, “Adventures of a Guerrilla Journalist,” in an interview with Edmund Obilo.
As reported by BusinessDay, the story involves Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 to 1998 and reportedly stole about $5 billion during his time in power.
This money was hidden in banks in various countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The Nigerian government is still working to recover it.
How Tinubu exposed Abacha’s looting
According to Babafemi Ojudu, Tinubu secretly recorded evidence of corruption during Nigeria’s military rule under Sani Abacha in the 1990s, while living in exile in the United Kingdom.
Tinubu strategically used a hidden tape recorder during a meeting with a Jewish lawyer to document Abacha’s financial crimes, which involved stealing billions of dollars and hiding them in banks around the world.
Abacha’s loot: Ojudu’s bold move
Despite Tinubu’s warning, Ojudu went on to publish the information he obtained from the tape, which he claimed led to a controversy in the polity and a major shake-up in Abacha’s regime.
Ojudu explained:
“I was excited as a newsman. We went there and sat before the lawyer. He (the lawyer) kept reeling out how Abacha was stealing, and who was helping him,” he recounted.
“The name that was constantly mentioned was the Chagoury brothers. I was so excited but I felt so bad that because I couldn’t write. I needed to take notes. I kept trying to memorise whatever I could.”
“Tinubu had hidden a tape recorder and pretended to go to the bathroom to flip the tape over.
“He said to me (Ojudu): Don’t worry yourself. I had a tape recorder with me. That time I went to the bathroom, I went to change the recording from side one to side two. That is why I flushed the toilet so that the man would not know that I was changing the tape.”
How Ojudu obtained the tape from Tinubu
Later, when they returned home, Ojudu took the tape while Tinubu was sleeping. When Tinubu discovered this, he wasn’t happy.
According to Ojudu:
“He (Tinubu) called me at 8pm and said: Femi where are you, I can’t find that tape. I said it was with me. He said: what are you doing with it? I said I am going home tomorrow to publish it. He said if you publish it; you are dead. I said I would publish it and let them kill me.”
Ojudu went ahead and published the story, which he says “shook Abacha.”
While Ojudu praised Tinubu’s strategic thinking.
Read more about Babafemi Ojudu’s article here:
Abacha family’s property seized by El-Rufai recovered
Meanwhile, TheTalk.NG earlier reported that Governor Uba Sani reversed the revocation of two Kaduna properties seized from Gen. Sani Abacha’s family in 2022 under Nasir El-Rufai’s administration.
The Abacha family, through their lawyer Reuben Atabo (SAN), welcomed the decision, calling it a gesture of fairness and justice after a period of embarrassment.
The properties were reinstated through KADGIS, with conditions requiring the family to settle all outstanding fees before finalizing ownership.
Source: TheTalk.NG
