It was I, Aminu, not Dasuki, that arrested
Buhari in 1985
Contrary to the popular belief that Sambo
Dasuki, former national security adviser, was in the team that arrested
Muhammadu Buhari during the 1985 coup, Abdulmumini Aminu has revealed the identities
of the three majors.
Speaking to the media today, Aminu, who retired
as a colonel in 1993, said it was a three-man team which he led that arrested
the then head of state, with the others being Lawan Gwadabe and John Madaki.
This revelation runs contrary to reports that
the team was made up of Dasuki, Aminu, Gwadabe and Abubakar Umar. Most recently
when the DSS searched the residences of the former NSA during the id-al-fitr
celebrations, there were insinuations that it was in revenge for what he “did”
to Buhari during the Muslim holidays on August 27, 1985 when the coup was
executed. But Aminu told Daily Trust: “I must confess that I led that
operation. I went to Dodan Barracks that time in company of two other officers
– then Major John Madaki and Lawan Gwadabe. Three of us went, but specifically
I was the one that went upstairs to bring Buhari. With due respect, I have been
reading in the papers and listening to radio, people saying that we manhandled
him, we disrespected him. That was not true. I and General Buhari are the only
two who knew what transpired upstairs and there was nothing like that. “We gave
him his absolute respect as a superior, because even before that time, we had
absolute respect for him, because of whom and what he was. We respected him a
lot till today and there is no animosity between us and he knew it was a
military assignment that we were carrying out from our superior. He even told
me at one time. So for us, it is just like the other way round of when he came
to power during the anti-Shagari coup. I was among those who played a major
role in getting him to power (in 1993). “So, he knew the role I played. And
even Buhari knew in 2003, I was arrested because of him. That time, I supported
him (in the presidential election against President Olusegun Obasanjo). I
worked for him at that time, without even him knowing anyway, but he later
knew. You see, once you believe in somebody and you know he has the capability,
you can do anything for him without even him knowing.”
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