Thread by @HistoryVille

Kudirat Abiola, the wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential elections, Moshood Abiola, was assassinated by unknown gunmen in Lagos, #OnThisDay June 4, 1996.

Born in 1951 in Zaria, present-day Kaduna State, Kudirat Abiola attended Muslim Girls High School, Ijebu Ode, and married Moshood Abiola at the age of 18. She was the second of his four wives.

Although Kudirat never attended university, she used her bride price to help to pay for the education of her two sisters.

Her journey into politics began when her husband declared his intentions to contest as the president of Nigeria. She supported him via advocacy and activism.

Shortly after her husband won the 1993 election, which was annulled by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, he was detained by the Nigerian Government the next year.

Abiola led the fight for her husband’s release and the restoration of his mandate.

She mobilised market women, students, activists, and other human rights communities to fight the struggle for democracy.

On June 4, 1996, Kudirat Abiola was attacked in her car by some unknown gunmen, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, allegedly, on the orders of Sani Abacha.

Sadly, prior to her death, she had complained of receiving death threats from some unknown people.

Radio Democracy which was launched to campaign against military rule and fight for democracy was renamed Radio Kudirat in her honour.

The radio was said to have been backed by the American, British, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian governments.

Kudirat Abiola’s murder case is said to be one of the longest criminal trials in Nigeria’s history, the duration in the prison calendar is equivalent to 20 years.

While the killers of the late matriarch of the Abiola family still remain at large, the agitation and noise for justice increase in decibels over the years.

As for the friends and well-wishers of the Kudirat Abiola family, the struggle and fight for justice continue. #HistoryVille

Credit: Nigerian Women in History