A MUST READ: Late Umaro Dikko and his Politics, Buhari's Govt once put him in a crate and named it a "diplomatic luggage"

I came across this piece on the Daily Independent.

It is a Must read for all:

Alhaji Umaru Dikko, is dead. Dikko, renowned politician and former Minister of Transportation during Nigeria’s Second Republic has died at 78. He died in the early hours of Tuesday in a London hospital.

His son, Dr. Bello Dikko, who confirmed his death, said he had been sick for “quite some time”. However, another family member is quoted as saying that the late Dikko suffered three strokes in a row.

The Man and his politics

Dikko was born in Wamba and had been playing a role in the nation’s governance since 1967, when he was appointed commissioner in the then North Central State of Nigeria (now Kaduna State).

He was also secretary of a committee set up by General Hassan Katsina to unite the Northerners after a coup in 1966.

Dikko was a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and was instrumental to the election of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president in the Second Republic, having served as Manager of the Shagari Campaign Organisation.

He was reputed to be one of the most powerful ministers under the Shagari-led government (1979 -1983) and played prominent roles as Transport Minister and head of the Presidential Task Force on Rice.

On the collapse of the Second Republic on December 31, 1983 Dikko was one of the many politicians accused by the military regime of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of massive corruption and official graft in office. He fled into exile in the United Kingdom.

International spotlight on Dikko

Despite his prominent position in the Shagari-led government, it was not until the botched attempt to kidnap and force Dikko back to Nigeria that he gained international prominence.

After Dikko fled Nigeria in the wake of the coup, it was believed that the Nigerian government hired Israeli intelligence to find him.

Though Israel and Nigeria did not have formal diplomatic relations at the time, Nigeria was an important source of oil for Israel, and Israel was a significant supplier of arms to Nigeria.

In fact, it was the Israeli national intelligence agency, Mossad, that hinted that Dikko whose whereabouts was then unknown could be in London, which had become a haven for Nigerian exiles critical of the new regime.

Nigerian security service agents led by ex-Nigerian Army Major Mohammed Yusufu were mobilised and dispatched to London, where they pretended to be political refugees fleeing the military junta.

After weeks of searching, Dikko was spotted on Queensway on June 30, 1984 following which the security team started trailing him.

Later in the evening of  July 3, 1984, a Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 arrived at Stansted Airport from Lagos. The aircraft had arrived empty, and the pilot notified the authorities that the plane had arrived to pick up diplomatic baggage from the Nigerian embassy. On board were several Nigerian security guards, who openly identified themselves as such and stated that they were there to protect the baggage. Their presence was reported to Scotland Yard’s Special Branch.

The following day, Dikko was kidnapped in front of his home while he was out for a walk and taken away in a van. He was reportedly drugged into unconsciousness and put in a crate bound for Nigeria.

However, the abduction was witnessed by his secretary, who quickly notified the authorities. But for lack of proper documentation that would have ensured that the cargo was not inspected as required by Article 27(4) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Umaru Dikko would have been brought back to Nigeria as ‘diplomatic luggage.’

Due to the failure to label the crate as diplomatic luggage, UK Customs officials who had received an all-points bulletin alerting them to the kidnapping while the crates were being processed at the airport, were able to open them without violating international convention. Dikko was rescued and taken to a hospital uninjured.

His abductors were later arrested by the UK Police. A total of 17 men were arrested while four were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of 10 to 14 years.

Diplomatic row and denials

Although it was clear that the abductors intended to bring Dikko to Nigeria, the Nigerian and Israeli governments never admitted any connection to the incident.

Nonetheless, in retaliation for the failed incident, the British Government immediately expelled two members of the Nigerian High Commission in London, including the High Commissioner. Diplomatic relations with Nigeria were broken for two years.

The Nigerian government was later to file a formal extradition request for Dikko, which was denied.

The Nigerian government’s war against the previous government’s corruption was also weakened, as the British governments also rejected Nigerian requests to extradite other politicians wanted in Nigeria on corruption charges and living in exile in Britain.

President Jonathan mourns

The worth of Dikko to the nation’s politics can only be explained by the volume of reactions to his death.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, the President extended commiserations to the family, friends and political associates of the former Minister of Transport.

In the message, President Jonathan said in spite of his advanced age, Dikko “continued to actively contribute to the nurturing and strengthening of democracy in Nigeria until the end of his life.”

A "diplomatic luggage" has bowed out in honour... May Umao Dikko find peace in the beyond! Amen!!