Politics
How my wife smuggled me out of Abuja in an ambulance — Senate leader Bamidele
Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has shared a dramatic account of how his wife, Yemisi Bamidele, helped him escape from the clutches of General Sani Abacha’s security operatives during Nigeria’s military era – by sneaking him out of Abuja in a hospital ambulance.
Bamidele, a lawyer and pro-democracy activist during the struggle following the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, recounted the close shave with death during an event to commemorate Democracy Day in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the escape, which took place during the height of Abacha’s crackdown on opposition voices, ultimately led to his seeking political asylum in the United States due to the continuous threat to his life and that of his family.
“I was in court at Wuse II that day, representing 11 student leaders expelled by the University of Abuja, when I got information that my law office had been invaded by security agents who claimed they were searching for arms,” Bamidele said.
According to him, there were no mobile phones at the time, and communication was mostly through landlines. A lawyer from his office had reached out to his wife at Garki General Hospital, where she worked as a pharmacist, using the NUJ secretariat’s phone to inform her about the security presence at his office.
“My wife then contacted a court registrar she knew and asked her to come to the courtroom and quietly inform me. Thankfully, my case hadn’t been called yet, so I was able to ask a colleague to take over and stepped out,” he recalled.
From there, Bamidele said he sneaked into a nearby law office and reached out to his wife again.
“She came with an ambulance from Garki General Hospital. I got into it and was driven to a safer location where a friend was waiting to pick me up. We spent almost three days on the road, moving discreetly before reaching a secure location,” he said.
Bamidele described the incident as one of the most harrowing experiences of his life and praised his wife’s bravery and quick thinking, which he said saved him from what could have been a fatal encounter with the military regime.
His story was part of his broader reflection on Nigeria’s journey to democracy and the personal sacrifices made by many during the struggle for civil rule.
