Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, a political and social activist back in her days, she’s the amazing wife of late business mogul and respected politician, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
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She struggle effortlessly and tireless to give her husband, M.K.O Abiola an outstanding support, when he was incarcerated which led to her untimely death.
On the 4th of June, 1996, Kudirat Abiola was assassinated by some gunmen in Lagos who allegedly acted on the orders of the Sani Abacha’s military junta. Who was once friends with her husband.
Backend Story:

Following the President Ibrahim Babangida annulled on the 12 of June, 1993 election, which had M.K.O Abiola as the winner, several chaos ensued across the country, especially in the southwest.
This led to the demise of President Babangida’s military regime and the birth of the Shonekan-led Interim National Government on the 26th of August, 1993.
Before Babangida stepped down from power, he set up an Interim Government which was to oversee the transition of power to a democratically elected government.
M.K.O Abiola did not support the Interim Government as it had no plan of restoring him as the president of Nigeria. The Interim National Government was later sacked by Gen. Sani Abacha in November 1993.
At first, M.K.O Abiola supported Sani Abacha’s military regime hoping Abacha would return the mandate to him, but when the Abacha refused to do so, M.K.O Abiola went ahead to declare himself as the President on the 11th of June, 1994. Twelve days later, he was arrested and charged with treasonable felony.
Kudirat Abiola spearheaded oil workers’ strike against the government which lasted 12 months. She also gathered market women, students and civil servants to fight for their electoral right which was denied on June 12, 1993.
Her efforts to get her husband out of jail and restore his mandate brought her across the line of Abacha’s military government. Unknowingly to Kudirat Abiola, she had been marked for assassination by an unknown cabal.
Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was in a white Mercedes Benz driven by her driver, Dauda Atanda, and accompanied by her special assistant, Lateef Shofolahan. It was around 9:30 am on the streets of Lagos, she was going for an appointment at the Canadian High Commission.
As her car slowed down on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway past the 7-Up bus stop on Oregun Road in Ikeja, two cars double-crossed them and six heavily armed men opened fire on Kudirat Abiola’s car.
The gunmen shot at close range and Kudirat’s driver got his mouth and shoulder pierced by a bullet while Kudirat, their main target, was hit in the forehead and instantly lost consciousness.
She was rushed to the Eko Hospital on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja, Lagos where she eventually died between 12:15 and 12:30 pm. However, Kudirat’s personal assistant, Lateef Shofolahan, escaped the attack unhurt. He was later accused of being involved in the murder plot of Kudirat Abiola.
After the assassination, The Abacha military government offered the sum of $45,000 to anyone who could give information leading to the arrest of the assassins.
Later, Hamza Al-Mustapha, the chief security officer of General Sani Abacha, was accused and convicted. Investigations into the killing traced the killers’ bullets to his (Hamza Al-Mustapha) personal armoury.
In October 1988, Hamza Al-Mustapha and Mohammed Abacha, Gen. Abacha’s son, appeared before the court, both charged with the death of Kudirat Abiola.
Mohammed Abdul, one of the assassins, narrated how the Abiola’s network was penetrated through Lateef Shofolahan, and how Mohammed Abacha gave him and other gunmen $10,000 to flee the country when Obasanjo’s government began an investigation on Kudirat Abiola’s assassination.