Obasanjo Recounts Rejecting US Asylum Offer Before Arrest Under Abacha

10th November, 2026 | News

Olusegun Obasanjo Recounts Rejecting US Asylum and Arrest Under Abacha Regime

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has shared how he turned down a political asylum offer from the United States and chose to return to Nigeria, leading to his detention and imprisonment under the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha.

In a recent interview with BBC News Pidgin, Obasanjo reflected on his transition into farming following his retirement from the military at age 42, having attained the rank of a four-star general and previously served as military Head of State from 1976 to 1979.

According to Obasanjo, his farming venture was progressing smoothly until the Abacha government targeted him. While traveling abroad, he received a warning from the American ambassador about an impending arrest and an offer for political asylum. However, the former president declined, stating that he had committed no offense and had no desire for asylum.

Return, Arrest, and Jimmy Carter’s Intervention

Upon returning to Nigeria, Obasanjo’s passport was seized. Security operatives subsequently surrounded his farm, and he was later taken into custody following a confrontation with police officials.

He noted that former United States President Jimmy Carter later intervened, successfully appealing to the Abacha regime to commute his detention to house arrest before he was eventually moved to prison.

Following Abacha’s death in June 1998, Obasanjo was released. He went on to win the 1999 presidential election, serving two terms as Nigeria’s first democratically elected president of the Fourth Republic until May 2007.