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Over the next few weeks,
I will be revisiting the controversial attempt to kidnap Umaru Dikko in 1984.
Dikko was one of the most powerful and notorious figures in the government of
President Shagari between 1979 and 1983. This is the second of a three part
series which recounts the circumstances, timing and details of the kidnap.
Yet Another Military Government
The new military regime
suspended several parts of the constitution (primarily those relating to freedom
of assembly, association and political activity), banned party politics,
declared all borders closed, and began to arrest and detain ministers and
officials from Shagari’s government on charges of corruption and embezzlement.
The new Head of State Major-General Buhari’s first broadcast to the nation made
it clear that the new regime would target corruption and corrupt former
ministers:
“In pursuance of the primary
objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General
Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the
services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the
Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed
forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is with humility and a deep sense
of responsibility that I accept this challenge and call to national duty.
"While corruption and
indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two
evils in our body politic have attained unprecedented height in the past few
years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has
been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. Since what
happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that
society, we deplore corruption in all its facets. This government will not
tolerate kick-backs, inflation of contracts and over-invoicing of imports etc.
Nor will it condone forgery, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and abuse of office and
illegal dealings in foreign exchange and smuggling.
Arson has been used to cover
up fraudulent acts in public institutions. I am referring to the fire incidents
that gutted the P&T buildings in Lagos, the Anambra State Broadcasting
Corporation, the Republic Building at Marina, the Federal Ministry of Education,
the Federal Capital Development Authority Accounts at Abuja and the NET
Building. Most of these fire incidents occurred at a time when Nigerians were
being apprehensive of the frequency of fraud scandals and the government
incapacity to deal with them. Corruption has become so pervasive and
intractable that a whole ministry has been created to stem it."
Buhari quietly warned that his
regime would ensure that "Corrupt officials and their agents would be brought
to book". That placed Dikko squarely in the cross-hairs of the new regime.
Dikko knew he was a target. Armed soldiers went looking for him at his official
quarters in Ikoyi, Lagos and ransacked it. Dikko claims his family, son and
elderly family were also harassed by the military authorities. With the
assistance of friends and a fistful of raw cash, Dikko drove to Nigeria’s Seme
border with the Republic of Benin. Bribing his way through the border he
traveled to Togo’s capital Lome, and from there boarded a KLM flight to London
via Amsterdam. Contrary to popular belief, Dikko denies fleeing in disguise as
a woman, and claims he was dressed in traditional male northern attire.
Dikko in Exile
In London Dikko joined a host
of other distinguished Nigerian fugitives from justice. They included former
ministers in Shagari’s government such as Adisa Akinloye (national chairman of
the NPN), Joseph Wayas (former Senate President) and Richard Akinjide (former
Attorney-General and Justice Minister). London became a Shangri-La for
former government ministers as the new military government continued to detain,
try and jail deposed politicians for massive corruption. Dikko set himself up
as an outspoken critic of the new military regime and launched continual verbal
attacks upon it. He appeared on British TV, and granted interviews which
condemned the Buhari regime. Dikko was making a bad situation worse. He
quickly became name number one name on Nigeria’s most wanted list.
The Israeli Connection
During the “Cold War” between
the U.S. and USSR, Israel was seeking to infiltrate, and gain influence in
Africa. Its initial links with Africa were disturbing. Israel’s relationship
with the Apartheid regime in South Africa is well known and rankles with many
black South Africans till this day. Israel sold weapons to and cooperated with
the South African government at a time when it was an international pariah.
Worryingly, Israel’s intelligence services also shared intelligence and
interrogation techniques with South Africa’s dreaded Orwellian sounding security
service named “BOSS” (South African Bureau of State Security). Such actions did
not win Israel friends among black or Arab African nations.
Nigeria’s relationship with
Israel was complex. At the instigation of the Organisation of African Unity,
Nigeria terminated diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973. Although Nigeria
officially did not have diplomatic relations with Israel the two countries
continued to conduct business deals with each other out of public sight.
Nigeria supplied more than 50% of Israel’s crude oil in exchange for military
hardware. From Israel’s perspective the continuation of the oil flow from a
country with a high Muslim population was strategically important. The
continuation of that flow was cast into doubt on January 1, 1984 when news of
the coup reached Israel, and Israel became aware that Nigeria’s new military
regime would be led by another Muslim: Major-General Muhammadu Buhari. Israel
unsuccessfully tried to make contact with the new military regime.
In his book on Mossad entitled
“Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad”, Gordon Thomas claimed
that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was concerned that the new regime
might interrupt Israel’s oil supply from Nigeria. According to Thomas, Israel
saw an opening to gain favour with the new regime when Nigeria began to arrest
leading politicians from the former government for corruption. With Dikko still
at large and the regime unaware of his whereabouts, Israel offered to track
Dikko down using its formidable intelligence agency Mossad. Although oil was
doubtless a factor, it seems illogical that Israel would independently offer up
the services of its intelligence agency solely to maintain the supply of oil it
was already receiving. A more plausible scenario is that the new Nigerian
regime solicited Mossad’s intervention through its network of contacts among the
Israeli security establishment. Several senior officers in the Nigerian army
had long standing associations with Israeli businessmen and security agents.
For example former Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo had established an
agricultural farm with the assistance of Israeli experts including a contractor
named Elisha Cohen (the author does not suggest or believe that Obasanjo has any
involvement in the Dikko affair). Cohen and his company Solel Boneh had
operated in Nigeria for decades, doing construction work. A subsequent article
in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz claimed that Cohen was instrumental in
securing Israeli cooperation.
Mossad’s Director Nahum Admoni
traveled to Nigeria’s then capital Lagos on a Canadian passport to meet with the
new Head of State Buhari. Much to the chagrin of its friends and host
countries, Mossad agents were fond of traveling on forged diplomatic passports
of friendly countries. Admoni made Buhari an offer he could not refuse. He
offered to find Dikko and repatriate him to Nigeria to face justice. It was at
this meeting that the two countries hashed the plot to find Dikko and deliver
him back to Nigeria to face what would be a sensational show trial and cause
celebre for the new regime’s war on corruption. However Buhari wanted
more. He wanted not just physical custody of Dikko, but the location of the
offshore accounts where Dikko had deposited loot he embezzled from Nigeria, an
undertaking by Israel to cooperate with Nigeria’s National Security Organisation
(NSO), and for Israel to take no credit when Dikko was eventually captured.
Admoni agreed and put his formidable resources within Mossad to work. If the
plan succeeded it would be a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s battle against
corruption, and would symbolise a once and for all break with the corrupt
politicians of the past.
The Leviathan Called Mossad
ha-Mossad le-Modiin
ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim (“The Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks”)
was formed on December 13, 1949 as the "Central Institute for Coordination"
after its formation was recommended by Reuven Shiloah to Israel’s first Prime
Minister David Ben-Gurion. The organisation is now simply known as “Mossad” (a
Hebrew word meaning “institution”). By the 1980s Mossad had evolved into the
most sophisticated and feared covert intelligence agency in the world. Its
exploits were legendary. Its notable successes include the famous capture of
Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann who was tracked by Mossad to Argentina where he
had been living there under the name of Ricardo Klement. In a daring operation
he was captured by Mossad on May 11, 1960, and smuggled to Israel where he was
tried and executed. Mossad also carried out the spectacular car bomb
assassination of the “Red Prince” Ali Hassan Salameh who was the head of
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s “Force 17” security outfit and was accused of
being the mastermind behind the Black September massacre of Israeli Olympic
athletes during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, Germany. The trailing of, and
attempt to capture Dikko was a prototypical Mossad operation.
Intelligence and Preparation: Stalking Dikko
The same modus operandi
used in the capture of Eichmann would be used in the planned capture of Dikko.
It would take months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and a great deal of
bravado to carry out the operation. All these were Mossad specialties. Mossad
put its extensive network of Sayanim to work. The Sayanim are
non-Israeli Jews living outside Israel who assist Mossad. To work for Mossad,
Sayanim must be 100 percent Jewish. Sayanim assist Mossad with
covert operations and to circumvent red tape. For example Sayanim may
help Mossad rent a car or apartment without having to fulfill the usual
documentary and qualification procedures (thereby leaving no paper trail), or
could offer medical treatment for a bullet wound without reporting it to the
police. The Sayanim provide Mossad with a constantly available and loyal
network of assistance not on its official payroll. Dikko’s personal preferences
and physical characteristics were to be exploited in order to find him.
Sayanin across Europe were put on alert and memorised Dikko’s image and
physical description. Doctors were told to look out in case Dikko came in for
plastic surgery to change his appearance. Lookouts were posted at his favourite
hotels, and clerks at car rental companies and airlines were on the lookout in
case he rented a car or bought a plane ticket. Tailors were given his
measurements and shoemakers were given his shoe size and details of his
customised shoes. Publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell was tapped and asked to
explore his high level contacts for news of Dikko’s whereabouts (Gordon
Thomas – “Gideon’s Spies”). Dikko was up against a formidable intelligence
machinery.
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