Sani Abacha

Sani Abacha was a Nigerian Army General and politician who ruled as the military head of state after seizing power in 1993 until his death in 1998. Abacha's seizure of power was the last successful coup d'état in Nigerian military history. He served as Chief of Army Staff from 1985 to 1990, as Chief of Defence Staff from 1990 to 1993, and as Minister of Defence. Abacha is noted for having been the first Nigerian Army officer to attain the rank of a full military general without skipping a single rank. His rule saw the achievement of several economic feats, such as increasing the foreign exchange reserves, reducing the external debt, stabilizing the currency, and creating the Petroleum Trust Fund. However, his rule also recorded abuses and several political assassinations, such as those of Kudirat Abiola, Alfred Rewane, and Ken Saro-Wiwa. He also suppressed the pro-democracy movement and annulled the 1993 presidential election, which was widely regarded as free and fair. He faced international sanctions and isolation for his human rights violations and his nuclear weapons program. He died of a heart attack on June 8, 1998, at the age of 54, a few hours after his wife's death. He was buried in Abuja, the federal capital of Nigeria.