PREMIUM TIMES publisher, others to question ex-Abacha intelligence chief after decades of silence

For more than 30 years, Frank Omenka has remained one of the most talked-about yet least-heard figures of Nigeria’s military era.

Former detainees mentioned him in accounts of arrests and interrogations. Journalists cited him while recounting the climate of fear that characterised the regime of late Head of State Sani Abacha. Human rights petitioners referenced him during proceedings of the Oputa Panel, the landmark inquiry established after Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

Yet, throughout the years of accusations, testimony and public scrutiny, Mr Omenka himself remained largely silent.

That silence is now coming to an end.

Experiential Leadership in Africa (TEL-Africa), in partnership with PREMIUM TIMES, is set to host the first extensive public conversation with the retired colonel and former commander of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) Security Group since the end of military rule.

The event, coming up on 25 June, will feature PREMIUM TIMES’ publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi; the newspaper’s managing editor, Idris Akinbajo; the editor of The News Magazine, Kunle Ajibade; and Adeolu Adewumi, a catalyst at TEL Africa. The theme of the discussion is “The Abacha Years: Obeying the last order and the untold accounts.”

The virtual panel discussion is expected to revisit one of the most consequential and controversial periods in Nigeria’s military history. Specifically, the discussion will revisit the inner workings of the Abacha government, allegations that have followed Mr Omenka since the 1990s, and the lessons he believes the period holds for contemporary security challenges in Nigeria and West Africa.

A central figure in a controversial era

Little is publicly known about Mr Omenka’s life before he emerged as a senior intelligence officer during the Abacha years.

Unlike many prominent military figures of his generation, publicly available records provide few details about his upbringing, education or early military career. What is widely documented, however, is his rise within the DMI, one of the most influential institutions in the country’s security architecture during the 1990s.

The DMI served as the Nigerian Army’s intelligence arm, responsible for military intelligence gathering, counter-intelligence operations and internal security reporting.

During the Abacha era, critics of the government accused military intelligence and other security agencies of playing central roles in monitoring opponents, suppressing dissent and investigating perceived threats to the regime.

Former detainees, journalists and human rights activists frequently identified Mr Omenka as one of the most influential officers within that structure.

His name became particularly associated with the DMI Security Group, which numerous former detainees linked to detention and interrogation operations during the period.

Allegations that shaped his reputation

Much of Mr Omenka’s public reputation was formed through the accounts of others.

Following the end of military rule, former political detainees, journalists, students, labour activists and military officers accused of involvement in alleged coup plots appeared before the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, popularly known as the Oputa Panel.

Many described experiences of detention, interrogation and alleged mistreatment while in military custody. Several witnesses specifically mentioned Mr Omenka.

Media executive Nduka Obaigbena has publicly recalled being interrogated by military officers under the Directorate of Military Intelligence after THISDAY published articles critical of the Abacha government.

Speaking in 2024, Mr Obaigbena said he was questioned by “five generals with guns on the table” and later went into exile. He identified the security group as being headed by Mr Omenka.

Human rights organisations also documented allegations of arbitrary detention, torture and abuse involving security agencies during the period.

Some former detainees alleged that interrogations conducted by military intelligence officers involved intimidation, coercion and physical abuse. Journalists who reported critically on the government similarly recounted encounters with security officials.

Among the most serious allegations that emerged over the years were claims involving severe mistreatment of detainees and allegations of sexual misconduct by security personnel. Some of these allegations became deeply embedded in public memory and civil society discussions surrounding the Abacha era.

Olusegun Ademiyi, a former detainee and former editor of Sunday Concord, described being held in DMI custody and explicitly recounted Mr Omenka issuing threats involving sexual violence against a detainee’s wife.

“I will detain you here tonight and organise some boys to go and rape your wife at home,” he quoted Mr Omenka as saying in a column eight years ago.

At a 2000 sitting of the Oputa panel, witnesses alleged that Mr Omenka raped and impregnated an 18-ye…