Details have emerged of how the United States embassy provided sanctuary for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar at the peak of his crisis with President Olusegun Obasanjo after his office was declared vacant in 2006 following his defection to the now defunct Action Congress (AC).
Recall that following Atiku’s defection, the Obasanjo administration had declared vacancy in the office of Vice-President, which was promptly challenged by Atiku in the law courts.
On the eve of the judgment in 2007 with concerns over the possibility of Obasanjo picking him up in the event of the court deciding against him, Atiku went into hiding, according his erstwhile spokesman, Garba Shehu.
This followed an earlier disappearance when Atiku hid for three days in the Gboko country-home of George Akume who was governor of Benue State at that time in 2006.
Providing details of how Atiku was spirited into the United States embassy compound in Maitama, Garba Shehu in his book, “According to the President: Lessons From A Presidential Spokesman’s Experience”, wrote:
“For example on the eve of the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling, he made a call to me to come over to his residence at Asokoro.
“By now, the VP had already packed of his official residence. He said I would take him somewhee but did not say where.
“As soon as all his visitors left, he led his wife, Jamila, to the car id drove to his house.
“With him directing me, we drove in a zig-zag manner around town before he said we should go towards Maitama.
“At some point on Kubwa Expressway, he ordered me to stop and as soon as I did, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) in the lone escort vehicle behind came to take an instruction: the VP told him that they should stop following us and go home.
“To say that I was puzzled and amazed at the same time was an understatement: where were we going to: just I, VP and his wife? What for? Why me?
“Once the security escorts were out of view, he directed me to drive to the US Embassy Compound.
“I had been there before. He gave a house number and when we got there, I helped with the suitcase to the front door and was told to leave.
“It did not occur to me that the VP and wife were in sanctuary with the Embassy to avoid what could follow a possible, unwanted verdict on the case at the Supreme Court.
“A little after 9 O’clock, the following morning, the familiar voice of a US Embassy official called to say I should come over to the house saying “your laundry is ready.”
“It was on my arrival at the house that I learnt that the Supreme Court had decided that the VP was wrongly sacked and that the unilateral action of the president was unconstitutional.
“The uncertainty now over, I drove him and wife straight home and left without a conversation of any sort”.
