Sani Abacha Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Seizure of power == {{main|2 = 1993 Nigerian coup d'état}} Abacha was the defence minister and most senior official within the military hierarchy during the [[Third Nigerian Republic|crisis of the Third Republic]]. He orchestrated the [[1993 Nigerian coup d'état|coup d'état of 1993]] which overthrew the [[Interim National Government]] of [[Ernest Shonekan]].<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=18 November 1993|title=Nigerian Military Leader Ousts Interim President|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/18/world/nigerian-military-leader-ousts-interim-president.html|access-date=24 May 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In his nationwide broadcast, Abacha portrayed the overthrow as an act of stability brought about through the socio-political uncertainties caused by the [[1993 Nigerian presidential election|1993 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Nigeria Coup Video, Abacha Coup |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhG3OU8FZZk |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/qhG3OU8FZZk |archive-date=17 November 2021 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page