Abiola dies in detention

Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the presumed winner of Nigeria's 1993 presidential election, died on July 7, 1998, while in detention at a government facility in Abuja. He had been imprisoned for four years by the military government of General Sani Abacha after declaring himself president in 1994. Abiola's death occurred just one month after Abacha's own sudden death and during a period when the new military leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, was meeting with international delegations about Nigeria's political future.

Abiola, a wealthy Yoruba businessman and publisher, had won the June 12, 1993 presidential election in what was widely regarded as Nigeria's freest and fairest election. However, military ruler Ibrahim Babangida annulled the results before they were officially declared, triggering a political crisis. When Abiola publicly claimed his mandate as president in June 1994, Abacha's government arrested him for treason and held him in detention for the remainder of Abacha's rule, despite domestic protests and international pressure for his release.