₦airaland Forum

Caseless:
Domkat Bali was the head of the military that "court-martialled" Vatsa, they said they found no evidence, but the instruction was to have him killed.


IBB is a devil.

He's the architect of our modern day problems. He handed us to IMF and world bank. He demilitarized us to protect his regime.

He annulled the best election in our history - it's upon this election we'd have gotten it right with our electoral processes.

If he had allowed Buhari and Idiagbon at that time to stay for 4 years, we'd have gotten some discipline as a people and probably would have been more orderly by now.

He did well in terms of some infrastructure and relocating the FCT to Abuja though.

Komu1048:
Tor, he didn't make claim to end Abiola. He only said he owned up to annulment of election that was orchestrated by Abacha. He said if he didn't annul the election, they will kill Abiola and that can lead to civil war. Those are his words, Sir

Dshocker:
So what makes you feel or think he is lying, especially at this old age?

Besides, some of those officers are still alive today, don't you think some would counter his statement if they were lies.

Nazgul:
From what IBB said, there wasn't any strong evidence against him (Vasta) if Lt col musa said the money given to him was for a farm project, it was up to the tribunal to investigate further. Not draw conclusions because musa had been involved in various coup scandals.

Besides, the late General domkat Bali who was among the Supreme military council that convicted Vasta and others admitted years later they couldn't find any evidence against him.

Even General Gado Nasco who was mentioned by IBB in his book also said they couldn't find any evidence against Vasta. That what prompted them to arrest him was because he (Vasta) tried to escape.

IBB got rid of Vasta because he wanted to please the Jos mafia who made up the bulk of his senior officers. Vasta headed the tribunal that sentenced Lt col Dimka and others to death. So the Jos officers wanted to make Vasta pay for that.

Osiris12:
Ibb can never change. The maradona himself

Naso lies full the book.
History won’t be kind to these men.
He should just apologize now that he’s still alive. He has the opportunity now to purge his heart of the burden that weighs it.

I wonder the karmic burden on his soul if eventually he passes without restitution

shotuns:
IBB can lie for the universe, the book is full lies after 32 years, Wicked soul. Tinubu that said he advised him to make the record straight was no where to be found o, he ran into exile while the country was burning. That was when he said " I don't believe in one Nigeria" He now believe in the one Nigeria when the money is coming in left and right. To all the fake rulers at the gathering donating money to a killers purse disguising as Yoruba elders ( Gbogbo yin ma jera loju aye yin ni) Eyin alayebaje yi.

Melonsmasher:
THE TRUE STORY BEHIND MAMMAN VATSA'S DEATH IS LINKED TO A DRUG BUSINESS IBB TRIED TO HIDE FROM NIGERIANS...

ONLY WAY TO KEEP THE DEAL CONCEALED WAS THE FRAME AND EXECUTION OF MAMMAN VATSA, AND MURDER OF DELE GIWA.

READ STORY BELOW CAREFULLY..

Gloria Okon was caught in 1985 with heroin in Nigeria and died in very controversial circumstances.

FULL NAMES (alternate names): Miss Gloria Okon

BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS

She was born in 1950.

HER ARREST

On the 22nd April, 1985, a petite society lady, Gloria Okon, was about to board a Nigeria Airways aircraft WT840 (Lagos-Kano-London) at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano State when she was arrested with substances suspected to be heroin and other hard drugs (the National Security Organization, NSO or Nigeria’s secret intelligence agency is often mentioned in her arrest). Tucked in internally were 56.70 grammes of the substances. She was also caught with the sum of N20,000, 60 pounds sterling, $301 and 19,000 Italian lira. The customs officers and drug law enforcement agents were very excited to have nabbed her, not because they had caught her alone but because they would also be stars of the show for a while as all the arrests were being made by their counterparts at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. But their jowls of excitement were pangs of sheer agony for the 35-year-old Okon. Why?

The year was 1985 and anyone caught with drugs would face the death penalty, no stories. That was the provision of the Decree 20 put in place by the junta of General Muhammadu Buhari . She was going to die, and she knew it. Stunned and stupefied at her sudden stare at death, Okon became an unwilling and helpless star before the nation’s news-thirsty media. Newspapers and magazines contained her story and the radios gave the chilly broadcast. For many who read the story or heard the announcement, it was not a big deal they thought, she was going to be executed like others. But then, there would be a twist in Okon’s story that would turn her into the most mysterious drug pusher in Nigeria’s history. What happened next still remains very bizarre even 30 years after.

DEATH

On the 28th April, six days after her arrest, the most unexpected happened: Gloria Okon died in custody. From an ordinary ‘heroin suspect’, the sudden demise of Okon led to what is now one of the most enduring narcodramas in Nigeria. She did not just die, she died in very questionable and mysterious circumstances. The Buhari regime would not bury the case and an investigation was launched into the matter, with a judicial commission of inquiry given the complicated task of unraveling all the circumstances surrounding the very suspicious death of Okon who gave up the ghost at the Aminu Kano Hospital, Kano.

INVESTIGATIONS

The judicial commission of enquiry working on the Okon case was headed by Justice CNO Ubbaonu of the Kano High Court. It began its sitting in Kano almost three months (precisely 5th Monday, August) after she died. Other members of the panel were:

Wing Commander PG Asemota
Tunde Oloko, a university don
JI Obianwu, who was the secretary
The case was so serious that the Inspector-General Etim Inyang was mandated to ensure there is a reasonable conclusion to the case and to make sure all the mysteries are solved. The commission was to carry out three main tasks:

Make proper inquiry as to the arrest and death of Gloria Okon
Determine whether during the period of her arrest and custody, if any person(s) contributed to her death through acts incidental to the case
Make suitable recommendations
But that would never happen: on the 27th of that same August, the military regime of Buhari was toppled by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and till date, no one knows how it all ended and the demise remains a mystery. However, it must be stated that before she died, Okon reportedly confessed and revealed a ‘big baron’, as a matter of fact, a customs official said of her revelation:

‘If carefully handled, she may lead us to the big brains behind the business.’

But before Okon could even mention the name of her mentor or sponsor, she was stone-dead. According to those who investigated her case and questioned her, the only clue she left was simply the name ‘Bassey’. Ibrahim Coomasie was the commissioner of police for Kano State and he stated that it was almost impossible to track her mentor because Okon did not give the second name of Bassey or even an address, so the investigation met a dead end. The address that was listed against her name, 21 Cole Street, Surulere, Lagos was found to be non-existent.

However, it must be pointed out that although Okon was just one of the many female carriers arrested, she was the only drug mule very willing to cooperate and say it all, revealing all information on her sponsors. But before she could utter anything, she was gone. An autopsy conducted stated the cause of death as food poisoning. There was no time Okon showed any sign of ill-health, she was quite healthy when she was arrested as the public inquiry found out but according to Misharck Okitiakpo, a customs officer who kept her in custody, Gloria Okon fell ill just a day after she was arrested. Okitiakpo also explained that on the day she was arrested (22nd), Okon made a request for rice and beans which she was given. But on the 23rd and 24th, she was rushed to the hospital after she complained.

But that is where Okitiakpo’s accounts stopped. He did not explain or was unable to explain what happened from the 25th to the 28th when Okon finally breathed her last. Okon had been in the custody of the Customs until the 25th when she was handed to the police. Therefore, it is not precisely clear whether she was poisoned while with the customs or under the police custody where she eventually died. In an interview with The Guardian in May 1985, Coomasie said Okon had changed saying:

‘…the late suspect was not talking when she was brought to the police and did not make any statement to the police, when the police took custody of Okon, she looked weird and neither ate nor talked. ’

But later, she was given some egusi soup by the police (egusi with what? Abi she drink the egusi ni, police no tell us that one). The police also said she took some bananas and tea after the egusi. Amazing food combination: egusi, banana and tea.

The mystery of Okon’s case was further deepened when no one showed up to claim her, not even one relative showed to identify her as a suspect or even her corpse. According to Babadisa Ciroma, an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) who was in charge of Okon’s interrogation said no one paid her a visit while in custody or even when she was admitted at the hospital. That was not all, 39 days after her death Okon’s corpse remained unclaimed at the Murtala Muhammed Hospital Mortuary where it was deposited. This prompted the police force Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to issue a notice that her remains might be treated as unknown if it not claimed after seven days of warning to the general public. Apparently embarrassed by the mysterious death of Okon in custody and to prevent a repeat, the government compelled state police commands to transfer suspects and exhibits in cases of hard drugs to the Force CID Headquarters in Lagos by ‘the most expedient means’.

The Nigerian nation was supposed to hear from the judicial commission of inquiry by the end of August and shed light on the case but by the end of August, a new leader was in place and he was a military president: IBB. The late lawyer Gani Fawehinmi attempted to resurrect the case but this put him on a path of direct clash with Haliru Akilu and Kunle Togun, two of IBB’s most dreaded security agents. No one was ever charged over the death of Gloria Okon.

THE CONTROVERSIES

In the absence of a conclusive investigation, so many tales have been spun by many so as to fill in the gaps. According to some, Okon never died, the corpse presented was all a ruse and part of a grand conspiracy. In June 2009, Professor Taiyemiwo Ogunade, in an interview with THE NATION said of the Okon case:
‘Gloria Okon is actually Chinyere, that’s her real name. She married Charles “Jeff” Chandler, the fellow who killed Nzeogwu and was killed a day later. Chinyere, Maryam and Princess Atta were young friends who hung out together. They all married into the military, because the military was a proud and respectable profession then. Charles Chandler, who was Tiv, married Chinyere who I think is from Imo State. IBB married Maryam from Asaba and Mamman Vatsa married the princess. So Chinyere became a widow and resorted to trading between UK and Nigeria. And then she was caught with drugs; Mamman Vatsa was the person who put Chinyere on the next available flight from Kano to London – and then claimed that she was dead by parading a dead woman picked out of the mortuary. Dele Giwa later found out that she was in London having delivered a baby by another man. He sent a French photographer to the place and they saw Maryam Babangida at the event. Kayode Soyinka brought back the photographs. Dele was sitting across the table from Kayode examining the photos taken of “Gloria Okon” (Chinyere, Richard Chandler’s wife) at the naming ceremony in London. Maryam Babangida was there.
And then a letter parcel was delivered to him and he said excitedly that it must be from “Mr. President” referring to the discussions he had with IBB days earlier. The bomb exploded and severed his lower abdomen; he died a few hours later.’

Some others say Dele Giwa knew that Okon was Maryam Babangida (or even IBB)’s drug mule and wanted to blackmail IBB, which is why he was killed. Newswatch has denied any link between their late founder who was killed by a parcel bomb in 1986.
Tom Mbeke-Ekanem in his book, Beyond the Execution: Understanding the Ethnic and Military Politics in Nigeria insisted the corpse sent to Calabar to Okon’s family was a fake corpse and that the family returned it saying it was not the corpse of their daughter, but that the authorities insisted the corpse was that of Okon. The claim was that the real Okon was freed to go live overseas and replaced with an unclaimed corpse brought in from the mortuary. The crazy controversies around the case prompted the Federal Government to make attempts to unearth everything thus launching the public commission.
According to others, she was a drug mule for the former Nigerian First Lady Maryam Babangida shuttling between the USA and Britain and she was killed so she would not squeal. As it is now, the truth is hanging somewhere, and the only way I think Nigerians will eventually get to know the truth is when a government comes and re-opens the case and declassifying all the documents relating to the case. Whether that will take 10 or 100 years, no one knows. But before then, the story of Gloria Okon is one eerie chapter that will continue to haunt the world’s largest black nation.

epainos:
Just imagine, IBB unjustly murdered his childhood friend because of power. Did he bring any evidence to really show Vasta plotted a coup against him? Nope. All these people he mentioned are dead na. Mehn. This man is evil. There is no repentance in him. He called dead people in his book that cannot counter him. This man is evil. Just imagine, he executed someone who was his best man when he married Mariam. Na so this man evil reach ooo. Kids, you don't know IBB. He is evil. He didn't give him the opportunity to appeal na. Piam.....he executed him, and everyone was shocked when they heard Vasta was dead cos we expected him to appeal cos the man pleaded for his life and was crying that his best friend should save him. If he is telling the truth, why did he wait for almost everyone involved to die before publishing his "lie lie" historical book? I remember that Vasta said if it was against someone else, he wouldn't cry, but against Ibrahim his closest and best friend....never. Mariam, IBB's wife was confused because Vasta's wife was on her neck crying. The two families wer3 5 and 6. You couldn't even know the boss between them. It even seemed Vasta was deadlier, but cos he wasn't too much involved in the coup that removed Buhari, so he couldn't be the leader. But IBB made him one of the top bosses cos they were close. I remember that time na. The issue was that...Vasta wasn't that interested in planning coups from history, so, how come he would plan one against his blossom friend who even rewarded him well? The theory was that Abacha and his boys felt Vasta was a stumbling block to their plan. And I somehow think IBB was right by saying Abacha led the group of those who annulled June 12, but that only Abacha did it is a NO for me. They were in the same evil group. Abacha, IBB, Oseni, and some others. Abacha was to rule too after IBB, and that was what happened exactly. They removed the stumbling block. Period.

I was one of the first that scolded NL kids making positive comments about IBB. Many of you think Buhari or Tinubu are evil....lol. You dont know IBB. Ha. This man is a devil. The fact is that these kids don't even understand what Nigerians passed through in 80s and 90s in the hands of Buhari (military rule), IBB, and Abacha. You don't understand the dark ages of students where schools were closed anyhow. You think closing of schools during Jonathan and Buhari's return were disasters? Lol. Go and ask your parents how IBB made them sleep at home for years without options. Una kuku get options now. Many of you can move abroad now, hmmmm....go ask your parents what students suffered in those days. And I still read some comments above. One is even asking what if he was right? Lol. This is why I always keep quiet when they start insulting Sowore. Though, Sowore can over do it, but mehn! I still remember Mayegun in those days. Mehn. You kids are "very extremely" lucky.

I have written that IBB will not die well, and I will repeat it here as Yoruba people would say - ko ni ku ree. Oloriburuku, oloshi. Kids, go ask your parents that someone said IBB is a bastard, and I bet you...they will add 10 more curses. This man is evil.

Go read my past posts where I wrote that he is trying to write a good legacy for himself and the mistake he has made is that he passed the blame on a dead man. Lol. Abacha isn't alive to fire him and reveal the evil they both did.

Do you guys notice that he also waited for Jeremiah Oseni to pass to glory?. He knows Jerry would defend Abacha na. I bet you that he has had this book on his table maybe over 15 years, but he waited for those people to die. And if he was not alive, I feel he might have paid for the book to be published after these people were dead.

But IBB has made the greatest mistake of his life. I predict that this book will give birth to about more 5 books. Listen, Minimum of 5 people will counter IBB with books so they can all go into history. Kids, just watch it.

My God that said IBB will see messes and humiliation before his death is the reason he spared his life to publish this book after the death of people who could counter him because they did the evil together.. But he will be shocked that one of those people would have kept proofs somewhere, and they will burst out all the evil they all did together. Mark my words, a real proof that he killed Dele Giwa might be revealed before his death. Cos only those that planned it with him can reveal it. And I feel, some will very soon. My spirit is telling me so.

Maradona IBB thinks he can still dribble us. Children, this is his nickname. He is mischievous. Also, he is called the "evil genius". Lol. This man is evil. You guys don't know him at all. This man? Hahahahahah! Don't believe this demon. He is smart. Ha. IBB. Don't you hear his name? Maradona. I kuku know you watch football and you know how Maradona dribbled a complete team from the center of the pitch to score a superb goal. That's why he is called Maradona. There is a song about him. "Maradon....don do oooo....Maradona". I still remember that track.

Anyway, I await more criticism, and I know that books will be published soon to counter him so that generations after us will have his book and others. Then, they will know that this man is evil. Instead of him to go to his grave silently, and let the issues remain unsolved, he wants to play smart again to put all blames on those who are dead who cannot defend themselves. Lol.

IBB removed moral instructions from the heart of Nigerians. If you wonder why Nigerians are called 419 everywhere, this is the man that started it. He turned faithful people to rogues. This man is evil. He legalised corruption in Nigeria. He legalised looting. In those days, you would be afraid to loot, but this man rewarded looters as long as they did his bidding.

He destroyed good people's legacy. Children, Google "Tai Solarin". Hahahhaha. The way he messed up that baba and his legacy. Hahahaha.

I even pity Igbos cos this man destroyed them. Lol. IBB finished the eastern region. Kids, you don't understand. And codedly, some people say he destroyed the great Awo too. Na story for another day. Wetin this man no destroy for Nigeria? IBB!

Just wait and see. More people will tell you that IBB is werey and oloriburuku.

Mynd44:
This is IBB's final card. And he used it well.

He might be lying through his teeth but he will retire to his chair and watch you all lose your minds over him once again.

Denalarian:
They all defended how they excuted fellow military officers by saying "it was for the process of the country". Where is this progress because we can neither see nor feel it! The only progress we experience daily in this country is progressing backwards.

JAWBONE:
Tinubu who his slaves always hail as a NADECO Democrat was the one who led the fund raising and book launch for IBB.

IBB is the man who cancelled the election that NADECO was fighting to restore the mandate.

While Abacha was busy putting true NADECO Democrats in prison, Tinubu had ran abroad.

His clown zombie slaves will disturb you with noise how Tinubu fought for June 12

It is obvious how dubious in character the person called Tinubu is.

Zero integrity, just full of propaganda

JAWBONE:
Tinubu who his slaves always hail as a NADECO Democrat was the one who led the fund raising and book launch for IBB.

IBB is the man who cancelled the election that NADECO was fighting to restore the mandate.

While Abacha was busy putting true NADECO Democrats in prison, Tinubu had ran abroad.

His clown zombie slaves will disturb you with noise how Tinubu fought for June 12

It is obvious how dubious in character the person called Tinubu is.

Zero integrity, just full of propaganda

kay29000:
So it's okay for that his same friend to plan to kill him?? I'm not a fan of Babangida, but it's kill or be killed. And in the military era back then, coup plotters were executed. It wasn't only Vasta that was killed...the 9 other coup platters that worked with him in the planned coup were also killed.

Someone tried to kill you after you gave him a juicy position in your government, even over people that got Buhari out of office, and you're saying he killed a friend. That man was no longer his friend.

BraniacX:
vasta was a well known military officer known to stay out of coup plotting and power plays, so you want us to believe that he stayed out of every other coup conspiracy only to plot one against his best friend barely a year after his friend successfully carried out a coup and took power then rewarded him with a ministerial post? Just for emphasis on mamman vasta's abhorrence to plotting coups, the coup that brought IBB his best friend to power didn't involve him

fredoooooo:
Oga , life is not a movie scene..
People move on in life...
We all love MKO but we move on and find a strategy..
Yoruba love amd cherish mko but we have to move on .
It's like you have personal issue with Tinubu , well that can not stop the work of God
Who among the Politicians in Nigeria has no dubious character?

Nazgul:
Why did IBB fail to mention the other evidences in his book then. Cos even the officers that convicted and executed him admitted that they didn't have any concrete evidence against him.

https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2019/08/15/ibb-killed-vatsa-out-of-malice-domkat-bali-tells-thenews/

Lithiumite:
How many of ekpa's brothers and children have died in SE while he is hiding abroad propagating a failed deluded Biafra agenda.....why Finland,why not agulu or orlu or ohafia.

MaziObinnaokija:
I participated in JUNE 12 Protest.Mushin olosha,Ojuelegba was a theatre of War.I think only Oshodi,Agege,Alimosho ,Vi was a restful. Protest in ondo,Ogun,ibadan..


May MKO soul RIP WELL

Osiris12:
Ibb can never change. The maradona himself

Naso lies full the book.
History won’t be kind to these men.
He should just apologize now that he’s still alive. He has the opportunity now to purge his heart of the burden that weighs it.

I wonder the karmic burden on his soul if eventually he passes without restitution

eldoradoxx:
The evidence against Vasta was too weak, IBB rushed to execute him even when by military law, he had the right to appeal the decision of the military tribunal that sentenced him to death. Even one of the generals who sat in the Tribunal later regretted the decision saying that there was no strong or direct evidence against General Vasta to have led to his execution that IBB was just jealous of him because he was amongst the brightest soldiers then and commanded loyalty and respect amongst officers that IBB felt uncomfortable with. IBB executed his best friend, a man that was his best man during his wedding .

JAWBONE:
First of all, respect God and don't bring His name into anything that involves Tinubu.

Secondly, if you people have moved on, good for you.
We are saying this things for historical purposes so that in the future, nobody would say Tinubu is a hero of democracy.

Lastly, because Tinubu is corrupt doesn't mean all Nigerian politicians are corrupt. Tinubu is not and will never be the standard of Nigerian politics.

Dshocker:
So what makes you feel or think he is lying, especially at this old age?

Besides, some of those officers are still alive today, don't you think some would counter his statement if they were lies.