A Principal actor in the failed coup to remove late General Sanni Abacha in 1995, Colonel Ralph Bello-Fadile has disclosed that he drafted the speech to be read on the proposed coup day, before his arrest on 26 February 1995
Penpushing reports that the retired colonel of the Nigerian Army, made the revelation in a book titled, ‘Nine Lives: The Bello-Fadile Memoirs, memoirs’, declared that there was a coup, explaining that it was not a conspiracy, rather, he and other military officers dreamed of a democratic Nigeria so they planned to displace the government of the day in 1995.
The coupist who was later sentenced to death alongside others stated that the incident which occurred twenty-nine years which was widely regarded as the 1995 “phantom coup” against Abacha, stated that the coup was ‘The Enterprise’.
Penpushing further reports that in the book he said the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God heard prayers his prayers, and the draft speech was never seen after three different searches were conducted in his house, stressing that mobilising fellow officers to advocate and work for the return of Nigeria to civilian rule was both exhilarating and terrifying
“Knowing the immense danger that lay ahead of daring to dream of a democratic Nigeria during my time in the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I did it all the same’, the retired colonel of the Nigerian Army disclosed
Penpushing also reports that Bello-Fadile in the memoir chronicled how he was arrested, tried and sentenced to death in the 1995 tragic saga that implicated dozens of prominent Nigerians, including former Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo(rtd), Major General Shehu Yar’Adua(rtd) who died in Abakaliki prison and Brigadier General Lawan Gwadabe(rtd).
The memoir equally stated that Bello-Fadile, however, recounted how he was handcuffed and chained to a steel cabinet while standing and how his fellow officer, Gwadabe, was tortured almost to the point of death.
“I conquered every fear of failure with high spirits and earnest belief in the opportunities that come with true democracy. The journey towards realising this dream was fraught with perilous twists and turns, leading to a destination I never foresaw. I felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders, knowing that the path I chose could alter the course of our nation’s history’, he said
Penpushing reports that Bello-Fadile who was one of the political prisoners released by former Head of State Abdulsalam Abubakar in 1999, after the death of Abacha stated that the intrigue, treachery, and false accusations he faced during that period were enormous
The retired army boss said some of the people who played negative roles in that episode include Major General Felix Mujakperuo (rtd), who is now the Chairman of Delta State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom, and Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to Abacha, who regularly invited top traditional rulers in the country to watch ‘coup videos’ with hefty envelopes as ‘pop corns’.
Penpushing further reports that he acknowledged the late Beko Ransome-Kuti whose fax message to London, received by then British Prime Minister, John Major, may have saved him and other convicts from being executed by Abacha.
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