Thread by @SalmanDuke

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕌𝕞𝕒𝕣 𝔻𝕚𝕜𝕜𝕠 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪

Umaru Abdulrahman Dikko (31 Dec. 1936- 1 July 2014), was a Nigerian politician who won the nepotism lottery, with the emergence of his brother-in-law Shehu Shagari as president in 1979.

Under his tenure, he served as the Minister of Transport and headed a presidential task force on rice.

For most people, these would have been key roles to provide a much- needed service to the nation; overseeing the diversification and improvement of national transport systems as well as tending to the growing rice shortage in the land. But not Dikko.

Unlocking his third eye; he saw the posts for what they really were a thoroughfare to the national coffers and an invitation to transfer as much money as possible to eponymous bank accounts. He has a taste of good cars, someone like Senator Dino Melaye, you can see the similarity

Claims made the rounds btw 1979 and 1983 of his having embezzled millions and millions of dollars in oil profits. But he wasn’t the only one, if you had a relative that served in the 1979-1983 government of Shagari, then chances are, they cashed the hell out at Nigeria’s expense.

Embezzlement totalling figures close to $416 billion were made known during that period. Numbers which one Major General Muhammadu Buhari (yes, same @MBuhari) silently watched and tightened to his chest for the right moment.

With governmental corruption being what it was in the 80s and Nigeria’s economy remaining on a downward trajectory, a military incursion became an almost welcome palliative.

Major General Buhari became head of state in a bloodless coup in 1983, and one of his first orders of business? Rounding up alleged corrupt politicians, like Umar Dikko to answer for their actions.

Now if you were a politician back them, with a ton of stolen money to spare and a Nigerian military bounty on your head, getting the hell out of dodge, to live to see another day, wouldn’t have been the most illogical step. Which was what Umaru Dikko actually did.

Which is why, very shortly after the announcement by Buhari, Dikko and a host of other Nigerian politicians, fled the country to become vocal, yet safely far-off critics of the military government. A move which didn’t sit too nicely with Buhari.

While most corrupt leaders would leave revenge to God, karma or just life to handle, most people aren’t Major General Muhammadu Buhari; who, allegedly so bent on flaying Dikko’s behind.

He had a super team of Nigerian secret service assembled covertly, all to repatriate Dikko to Nigeria by any means necessary. What followed is the stuff Hollywood wet dreams are made of. It's only an illiterate or political bigots that won't understand this move.

But first, the team had to find Dikko. If you think the shepherd who left 100 sheep, to go in search of a single lost one, was on to something, then you have to appreciate the effort these guys put in to find just one corrupt politician, who had wickedly and selfishly robbed us.

Following useful tips and intel, they zeroed in his location to London. Prompting the team to fly to Mommy Charles’ city and rent out two apartments to find him.

A whole six months after their search began, they found him your hero Umaru Dikko. Living la vida loca in a luxurious area of West London Bayswater to be precise, was our main man Umar Dikko.

Here was the plan: they were going to jump Dikko outside of his apartment, with Shapiro quickly administering anesthesia to knock him out. They would then drive straight to the airport, where all parties would get into crates to be shipped straight to Nigeria. What went go wrong?

This might seem like a harebrained idea on first listen, but here’s why it was actually brilliant, Under the Vienna diplomatic laws, the cargo of a foreign envoy tagged ‘diplomatic baggage’, was not to be subjected to searches.

Which is why plan to have a crate, loaded with whole human beings to be shipped across nations actually was a some what genius idea. As an added diplomatic perk, cargo could be requested to go unmanifested i.e loaded without any evidence of its having been transported

So the ballsy quartet put their plan in motion. On July third, Al-Shapiro, Barak and Abithol, set out in a van driven by Yusufu to Dikko’s residence to coerce his return to Nigeria.

They got to Bayswater, waited patiently until Dikko set out on a walk. Spotting him, he was quickly accosted by 2 guys, dragged into the van and then drugged by Al-Shapiro, to ensure he was unproblematic and sleepy when he arrived Nigeria to face the nightmare awaiting him.

Until that point, their plan had gone mostly hitch-free, and Dikko probably would have come to Nigeria to stare into the unsmiling eyes of Buhari’s justice system; had his secretary – Elizabeth Hayes, not witnessed the full event from an upstairs window and alerted authorities.

Elizabeth Hayes call to the police greatly complicated things for the team and proved to be the wretch that ruined their plans, yet well laid out scheme. While the crew was being successfully loaded into crates, Al-Shapiro and Dikko in one, with Barak and Abithola in the other.

A missing person’s report for the kidnapped, a high profile Nigerian national,desperately wanted by the Nigerian government, had gotten to customs officials present in the airport, putting them on alert to any kind of suspicious activity.

Now picture this, two crates already loaded and on the airport tarmac. Just one step away from having six months of planning finally come to fruition, and the dark skylines of Lagos would receive their triumphant return. Unfortunately for them, their happy ending never came

With word of a high profile Nigerian diplomat being taken, on the very likely possibility of being smuggled out of the country to face the repercussions of his corrupt actions.

The two large crates, large enough to house grown men, started looking a lot less like convoys for environmentally-problematic diplomatic documents, and a lot more like get-away pods for the assailants and the kidnapped.

The officials present at the airport tarmac where the crates were situated, were so wary, they chose to ignore the entreaties of a Nigerian diplomat- Emmanuel Edet, present.

His alleged role was ensuring the smooth sailing of the plan and making sure the crates were loaded to the plane, unmanifested.

The officials, bent on allaying their suspicions, used the absence of an accredited courier as well as appropriate documentation valid legal requirements — as just cause to open the crates.

You can imagine what happened next. Still in the wide airport tarmac, just moments from being loaded onto the plane, the discovery of 3 humans, and an alarmingly shirtless and unconscious Dikko, who had a heart monitor strapped to his chest.

As soon as the crates were opened, Edet made a run for it. Hitting a quick sprint along the tarmac, before realising no one was chasing him, at least 4.5m into his race.

The fall out of this event was far-reaching. The four parties involved, received prison sentences in the United Kingdom. The CEO of Nigeria Airways was almost arrested by the British Government at some point.

The Nigeria and Israel diplomatically denied any involvement in the matter, diplomatic relations between the West African country and the UK broke down and were only restored, two years after the event.

Despite it all, Nigeria, ever the gutsy nation, attempted to have Dikko repatriated to Nigeria via legal means, but the British; done with our drama, refused to grant the request.

Umar Dikko continued to live in the UK, and always denied the allegations made against him. Following an invitation by the Government, he moved back to Nigeria.

but not after letting 10 years pass to soothe murky waters. He went on to hold the post of Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the PDP. That is why you see them capitalize on that lie against Muhammad Buhari. They will never tell you Umaru Dikko was a criminal.

This is derived, through personal research, from the research files and archives of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia, New York Times, Tell Magazines, Telegraph. A counter opinion is welcomed. 🙏🏽

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