Lt. General Oladipo Diya served as the Chief of the General Staff (Deputy Head of State) during the military regime of late General Sani Abacha from till when he was arrested for treason after an alleged failed coup. In this interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Lt. Gen. Diya talked about the other side of General Abacha, his experiences in the Nigerian military, the bomb planted to kill him and the phantom coup widely believed to have been targeted at him.
The alleged coup of was reportedly targeted at you as the second in command to the late General Sani Abacha. Can you recall how it all happened?
We thank God that it was a phantom coup, but then whether phantom or real or imagined, in the army, a coup has always been taken very seriously. But there had never been a coup where you start taking the video or film of it even before it happened. But then, a lot of activities had happened before.
There is the story of how a plane which I was to take to Makurdi was planned to be bombed, but by the stroke of fortune, I was 10 minutes late, which was really not in my character. That lateness was what God actually used to save my life. Within those 10 minutes, those who were p
A former Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lt- General Oladipo Diya (Rtd) GCON, LLB, BL, PSC, FSS, mni is dead.
He died in the early hours of Sunday, according to a statement on behalf of the family by Barrister Prince Oyesinmilola Diya.
The former Ogun Military Administrator was born on April 3,
Diya joined the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna and fought during the Civil War.
He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (–) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.
While serving in the military, Diya studied law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree before proceeding to Law School, where he was called to bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He was arrested for allegedly planning a trumped-up coup to unseat Abacha.
He was condemned to death by firing squad with men like Maj.-Gen Abdulkarim Adisa on April 28,
Read Full Family Statement Announcing General Diya&#;s Death Below..
On behalf of the entire Diya family home and abroad; We announce the passing on to Glory of our dear Husband,Father, Grandfather,brother, Lt- General Donaldso
Former Chief of General Staff and de facto second-in-command to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, Lt. General Oladipo Diya, on Sunday died at the age of 78 amid glowing tributes, Daily Trust reports.
Lt. General Donaldson Oladipo Diya, the de facto Vice President of Nigeria under military Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, cheated death at least three times.
Diya was sentenced to death by firing squad over an alleged coup against the Abacha regime in , but miraculously escaped after the late military junta’s death. Reports say some Abacha’s loyalists allegedly attempted to assassinate Diya, twice, once at the airport and then in the streets, using bombs.
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Again, last year, Diya was rumoured dead, but he was quick to refute the report, saying he was hale and hearty.
However, in the early hours of Sunday, the general finally laid down his guards, the angel of death sneaked in and took him away, barely 26 years after escaping the guillotine.
“Our dear Daddy passed onto glory in the early hours of 26th March ,” his son, Oyesinmilola Diya, confirmed the former Chief of General Staff’s death in a terse statement.
His life history
Oladipo Diya was born o
First, it was General Sani Abacha whom he deputised, next was General Victor Malu who headed the tribunal that sentenced him to death but Donaldson Oladipupo Diya outlived the men who thought they had the power to determine whether he could live or not.
The story of Diya, who drew his last breath on Sunday, is incomplete without his days under Abacha. He served as second in command under that regime that sealed his fate and condemned him to death but while Abacha died around the time Diya and those charged along with him were being taken for execution, Malu passed on in October
Diya was arrested for plotting to topple the regime of Abacha but the General insisted it was a setup.
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“All the soldiers guarding us, including Adisa and Olanrewaju (who were charged along with him), were from Abacha. So, how do you plan a coup when the soldiers guarding you are from the Head of State? It is not done. That was enough to show that it was a phantom coup. And, in any case, which other coup have we seen that people would be recording even before the coup was executed? It was obvious that all those that were planning the coup were there in government, not those that were susp
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