Two decades earlier Ibori had come to the attention of military ruler General Sani Abacha who had been determined to crack down hard on militant groups in the Niger Delta...

Once convicted in Geneva for laundering money stolen by military leader Sani Abacha and in the United States for illegal political contributions these days Chagoury is feted by France's President Emmanuel Macron and ex-US President Bill Clinton and most of all by Nigeria's Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a philanthropist (AC Vol 65 No 13 Tinubu summons the ghosts of Abacha's kleptocracy)...

' TINUBU'S FRENCH CONNECTION President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's relationship with Gilbert Chagoury started on a chilly note after the demise of General Sani Abacha in June 1998...

And it is clear that Tinubu has long dropped his concerns about working with associates of the country's last military ruler General Sani Abacha...

One of the most brazen was Nigerian former junta leader General Sani Abacha who ruled from 1993 to 1998 stealing an estimated $4bn from the country...

Malami legal advisor to the family of the hyper-corrupt military ruler General Sani Abacha declined to answer claims by P&ID that he had lied about his conduct to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who was then acting as Nigeria's president while Muhammadu Buhari was recovering from a long illness...

Among the most controversial is former Kebbi State governor Atiku Bagudu an ex-senator who was accused by the US Justice Department of being part of a group headed by former military leader General Sani Abacha that 'embezzled misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria'...

After Abiola was detained by General Sani Abacha's regime Alake and Tinubu joined the pro-democracy campaign...

Bagudu was close to former military leader General Sani Abacha and Lalong's security policy was criticised for targeting Muslim communities...

Shell's reputation was hugely damaged after being accused of complicity which it denies in the persecution of the leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) Ken Saro-Wiwa and the execution of Saro-Wiwa and eight others in 1995 by General Sani Abacha's regime...

1998 – June – Nigeria's military dictator Sani Abacha dies in office...

Their annulling by General Ibrahim Babangida was followed by a palace coup led by Gen Sani Abacha who presided over the country's most brutal and corrupt military regime to date...

He styles himself as a leader in the country's fight against General Sani Abacha's dictatorship and a generous sponsor of political and business talent...