Abdulmumini Aminu
Abdulmumini Aminu, one of the officers who participated in the arrest of President Muhammadu when he was the country’s Head of State during a military coup on August 27, 1985 has explained how he arrested Buhari without handcuffing him.
Aminu in an interview with a popular daily stated that he was the one who led a team of three soldiers to arrest Buhari.
He denied maltreating Buhari, adding that the President was given absolute respect during the operation.
Aminu said: “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 respect 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. So, he knew the role I played. And even Buhari knew in 2003, I was arrested because of him. That time, I supported him. 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”.
Speaking on allegations that he handcuffed Buhari, Aminu said: “It is a blatant lie. In an operation of that nature, we don’t carry handcuffs.
He further stated that, “I did not salute him because according to military tradition and norms when the flag is lowered, you can only pay compliments the way you deem fit, not salutation.
“We met at 2 a.m. and at that time, we don’t salute because the flag is down, until 6 am again when the flag is up. To insinuate that he was handcuffed, that is far from the truth. We only accorded him all the respects he deserved. I still hold him in very high esteem”.
The ex-military administrator also gave insight into the ongoing insurgency in the north east which began in Borno state where he was a Military Governor.
He blamed authorities for not tackling the incident at its preliminary stage and allowed it to fester, hence the difficulty in arresting the situation.
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