The eldest son of the late military head of state Sani Abacha, Mohammed Sani Abacha yesterday said his father would have checked the uprising of the Boko Haram if he were at the helm of affairs of the country today.



Mr Abacha stated this yesterday shortly after prayers were offered for the repose of the soul of the late head of state.

The prayer session was part of activities to mark the 13th anniversary of the demise of the ruler.

He bemoaned the threat to security of lives and property across the country.

"I'm sure if you go through your archives, one of the things he (Abacha) said he wanted to be remembered for was security. When he was in charge of this country, we all knew there was security," Mr Abacha said. "When I say security, I mean it was very good security. There were no ethnic and religious violence. You could see security everywhere, on the highway and every aspect of our livelihood, we had good security. What is happening now is a very unfortunate thing but it is something we have to work on." Mr Abacha was speaking a day after Boko Haram detonated series of bombs in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, leading to the death of about ten persons.

He also explained the absence of key personalities like former heads of states, Muhammadu Buhari, Abdulsalam Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida at the event, saying the resolve by the Abacha family to celebrate it low key must have been responsible for their absence.

He expressed his gratitude to hundreds of well-wishers that came to the Gidado Road residence of the late military ruler to grace the prayer session.