ON THIS DAY — June 4, 1996They Killed Her Eight Days Before June 12.That Was Not A Coincidence.

ON THIS DAY — June 4, 1996
They Killed Her Eight Days Before June 12.
That Was Not A Coincidence.

ON THIS DAY — June 4, 1996
They Killed Her Eight Days Before June 12.
That Was Not A Coincidence.

Today marks 30 years since Nigeria lost one of its most fearless voices.
Her name was Alhaja Kudirat Olayinka Abiola.
And they shot her dead in broad daylight on the streets of Lagos.
Who Was Kudirat Abiola?
Born Kudirat Olayinka Adeyemi in 1951 in Zaria, Nigeria. She married Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola — the man who won Nigeria’s freest election on June 12, 1993.

When Babangida annulled that election, when MKO was thrown into prison on treason charges, when every powerful man in Nigeria went quiet
Kudirat stepped forward.
She spearheaded an oil workers strike against Abacha’s government that lasted 12 months. She gathered market women, students and civil servants to fight for the electoral right that was stolen on June 12, 1993.
She became the face of the pro-democracy movement.
She became MKO’s voice while he sat in a prison cell.
She became, in the words of those who feared her —Abacha’s biggest enemy.
They Tried To Stop Her Before June 4.
There were two previous attempts on her life before the plotters finally succeeded.

In May 1996, just one month before her murder she was briefly detained for allegedly possessing publications critical of Abacha’s military government.
She was released.
She kept fighting.
They had already marked her for death.

The Morning of June 4, 1996.
It was a Tuesday morning. Kudirat was in a white Mercedes-Benz driven by her driver Dauda Atanda and accompanied by her personal assistant Lateef Shofolahan. She was on her way to an appointment at the Canadian High Commission in Lagos.
A routine morning.
An ordinary journey.
Around 9:30 AM at the 7-Up bus stop on Oregun Road in Ikeja, two cars double-crossed them. Six heavily armed men opened fire on Kudirat Abiola’s car. She was shot at point-blank range.
Kudirat was rushed to Eko Hospital on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja — where she died.
She had a gaping bullet wound on her forehead. She was 44 years old.

What Happened After.
Her personal assistant Lateef Shofolahan, who was in the car and escaped unhurt and was later accused of being involved in the murder plot.
The Abacha military government, in a breathtaking act of theatre — offered $45,000 to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest of the assassins.

The same government widely believed to have ordered the killing offered a reward for the killers.
Investigations eventually traced the killers’ bullets to the personal armoury of Hamza Al-Mustapha, Abacha’s own Chief Security Officer. Al-Mustapha was accused and convicted.

Eight Days Before June 12.
This is the detail that must never be forgotten.
Kudirat Abiola was murdered eight days before the third anniversary of the election her husband won.
The election Nigeria was not allowed to celebrate.
The mandate Nigeria was not allowed to honour.
The woman who refused to let Nigeria forget — silenced eight days before the anniversary.
That was not a coincidence.
That was a message.
Alhaja Kudirat Olayinka Abiola.
1951 — June 4, 1996.
She did not have to fight.
She chose to.
She fought when powerful men went silent.
She marched when others stayed home.
She kept speaking when they told her to stop.
And they killed her for it.

Nigeria Untold will never stop saying her name.
What does Kudirat Abiola’s story mean to you? Drop your tribute below. Let her name fill this comment section today.

Share this. Today — June 4 — belongs to her memory.