FLASHBACK: Accusation detained Shehu Mahdi made against US government

By Adeola Atanda

 

Shehu Mahdi, a businessman and medical practitioner, known for his somehow outlandish allegations and criticism against the former Muhammadu Buhari-led government and that of his successor, President Bola Tinubu, had in 2022 accused the United States Government of leading a bombing campaign in Nigeria during the troubled reign of iron-fisted military ruler, General Sani Abacha.

Cornet News reports that Mahdi is currently under detention by the Department of State Service for trumpeting the false claim made by Nigerien coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani of the existence of a French military base in Nigeria. He had posted a fake video to support his assertion of the said military base but deleted it soon after.

Tchiani had accused Nigeria of conspiring with his country’s former colonialist, France, to destabilize the poverty-ravaged, landlocked Niger. However, the Nigerian government has denied such a foreign military outpost exist in the country. Some dwellers in the border community have corroborated Federal Government’s rebuttal, as publish here by this medium.

Cornet News recollects that Mahdi, while appearing on Arise Television in September 2022, alleged that a high-ranking US embassy official, Russell Hanks, had attempted to recruit him in 1995 for a bombing campaign aimed at destabilizing Abacha’s regime. He identified the official, who he alleged offered him N1million (One Million Naira) if he could plant a bomb inside a bookshop at the Dubar Hotel.

Mahdi said, “Between the 7th and 9th of June, 1995, 27 years ago in Kaduna, when the bashing of Nigeria’s image was at its own highest peak. A then Governor, Lt. Col Lawal Jafaru Isa, he’s alive now, and he can confirm what I’m going to tell you now, put up a seminar between Kaduna State government, New Nigerian newspapers, and NTA. The seminar was titled “Not in Our Character.”

“… After my contribution, a tall, lanky, blue-eyed, blonde-haired American man approached me outside the hall at Hassan Chiroma Katsina House, venue of the seminar. He just handed over his card to me and left. What was the name on it? Russell J. Hanks, American Embassy, Political Officer. That was on the 9th of June, 1995.

“Not until the 11th of August I received a call on my landline, and on the caller ID, I saw the number. It was Russell’s number. He said, ‘Mahdi, I’m just calling as a follow-up to our meeting the last time and say hello to you. Bye-bye,’ he dropped (the call). Again, on September 9th, he called me again for the same courtesy call, then 11th of December, he called me and said that ‘Mahdi, I’ll be coming to Kaduna. Will you have a cup of tea with me?’ I said fine. He came in, he called, and I met him at Hamdala Hotel. We had a cup of tea. I think he was trying to size me up because he was busy asking me about the performance of Abacha’s government, and I was playing safe, but then came the big bang.

“On 21st December of the same year (1995), he came into Kaduna, and he called me. He said, ‘Mahdi, I have a business for you. And it’s very important. Meet me at Hamdala Hotel, on the last floor at Hamdala Hotel wing, which I did. On arrival, Russel Hanks told me, ‘Mahdi, we are worried. The American government is doing a bomb campaign against Abacha. We don’t want him. We are promoting a regime change. This parcel (holds out a phone in the description) is what I want you to do. See Durbar Hotel, just away there – 600 metres. Go into the bookshop and drop this parcel- small parcel. This is N500,000 for you and another N500,000 waiting for you. Once you drop the parcel, please come back to collect the second N500,000.”

“I said, ‘Russel, you have miscalculated. When I addressed Adamu Ciroma as the Minister for Agriculture in that seminar, you’re referring to, when I addressed (Abubakar) Rimi as the Communications Minister when I addressed Ismaila Isa Funtua as the Chairman of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, I did that as a citizen, not because I don’t like my country. I dressed him down. I abused him. ‘He said Mahdi Mahdi; now I know you’re a good citizen. I’m just trying to test you. You are nationalistic. We look forward to working with you to stabilise Nigeria, and that was another fault. I held him because I saw desperation in him. He wanted me to leave, but I refused to leave. Then I heard a knock on the door (gwamp-gwamp).”

“We went to the door together, and he wanted to see me off. At the door was Bagauda Kaltho, the journalist that was said to have been killed by Abacha. Bagauda was right at the door there. I think he gave him an hour before me, but I keyed into Bagauda’s hour. Bagauda went into the room, and I left. What happened? Not long after that, two hours later, bomb! Where? Durbar Hotel. Where? At the bookshop. When that happened, Lawal Jafaru Isa can confirm this. I drove straight to the government house to see the Governor. For what reason? Urgent security reason. I was ushered into Lawal Jafaru Isa’s office, and I told him what happened. The following day, I was brought to Abuja. I was able to see Abacha in his residence, and I narrated to him.”

READ ALSO: EXPOSED: Why Nigerien leader Gen. Tchiani alleged Nigeria harbors French military base

“Before they could say, Jack Robinson, four days later, Russel Hank flew out of Nigeria. Ten days later, security operatives came to Kaduna to interview me. When I gave them the narrative, one of them took to the side and said, ‘Mahdi, keep off. We are very jealous. Security agencies are very jealous institutions. You have done your own. Don’t ever give any public comments on it. Don’t give interviews, don’t give anything because if you begin to talk, our failure would have been seen very clearly.’

Credit: The transcription of Shehu Mahdi’s interview was originally produced by TheCable