20 Facts About Abdulkareem Adisa

Abdulkareem Adisa was a Nigerian major general who was military governor of Oyo State during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.

Abdulkareem Adisa was convicted for involvement in an attempted coup against military head of state General Sani Abacha in 1997, and was on death row when Abacha died in June 1998.

Abdulkareem Adisa was born in Ilorin, now in Kwara State.

Abdulkareem Adisa got his secondary education at Nigerian Military School, Zaria from 1962 to 1965, and started his time in the Nigerian Army as an officer cadet in 1967 with the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna where he graduated from in 1970.

Abdulkareem Adisa was appointed military governor of Oyo State in August 1990 by the military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, holding office until January 1992.

Abdulkareem Adisa was a 'no nonsense' governor and was well respected generally by the citizens.

Abdulkareem Adisa investigated the conduct of his predecessor at the ministry, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, and absolved him of any wrongdoing.

Abdulkareem Adisa continued the National Housing Policy initiated by Lateef Jakande, which planned to build affordable units across Nigeria, but more than doubled the price of each type of house.

Abdulkareem Adisa directed that the Federal School of Surveying should channel the evolution from analogue to digital methods.

In December 1997, Abdulkareem Adisa was arrested on charges of participating in a coup attempt against General Sani Abacha, along with Lt-General Oladipo Diya, Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju and others.

Abdulkareem Adisa was tried and found guilty on 28 April 1998.

Abdulkareem Adisa appeared before The Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission of Nigeria confirming that he heard of the 4 point agenda, just 9 days before his arrest for participating in a coup, from Gen Oladipo Diya and was informed about the coup by nobody else apart from him.

Abdulkareem Adisa confessed that he begged for mercy to save his life from Major Hamza al-Mustapha.

In 2003, Abdulkareem Adisa said he would not accept a pardon from President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had himself participated in a coup attempt in 1995.

One PDP group suspended the Minister of State for Women Affairs, Miss Funke Adedoyin, but another group of PDP elders, led by Abdulkareem Adisa, voided Adedoyin's suspension.

Abdulkareem Adisa was leader of a movement to elect General Ibrahim Babangida as president in 2007.

Abdulkareem Adisa published an attack on the National Democratic Coalition in The Guardian of 28 April 2004, warning the group not to try to prevent the Babangida's presidential election.

Abdulkareem Adisa said the Yoruba would vote for Ibrahim Babangida despite his role in annulling the June 12,1993 presidential election won by the Chief MKO Abiola.

Abdulkareem Adisa died in a London hospital on February 25,2005 from injuries sustained in a car accident.

Abdulkareem Adisa's body was returned for burial in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on 27 February 2005, in a ceremony attended by many prominent people including three former state governors and General Ibrahim Babangida.