ABACHA, Sani
Born in Kano on 20 September 1943, Sani Abacha joined the Nigerian Army and rose all the way to the rank of brigadier by 1980 after having been trained in American, British and Nigerian military schools. He participated in three consecutive military coups d°etat before himself taking charge of the Nigerian state as well as the army in 1993. Despite his pledge to restore democracy as soon as possible, he muzzled the press, eliminated all elected institutions and assemblies, dismissed the majority of old army leaders, established a personal body guard of some 2,000 soldiers and ruled Nigeria tyrannically He embezzled huge sums of public money while executing and imprisoning his most dangerous rivals and opponents. Abacha died of an apparent heart attack at Abuja on 9june 1998.