Sunday, July 19, 2026

Abacha’s ex-Chief of General Staff, Oladipo Diya, dies at 79

“Our dear Daddy passed onto glory in the early hours of 26th March 2023,” reads a family statement announcing his demise.

• March 26, 2023
Lt-General Oladipo Diya
Lt-General Oladipo Diya [Photo Credit; Legit.ng]

Former Chief of General Staff to late military dictator Sani Abacha, Lt-General Oladipo Diya, is dead.

Mr Diya’s demise at 79 was announced in a statement by his son, Oyesinmilola Diya, on Sunday morning.

“On behalf of the entire Diya family home and abroad; we announce the passing on to glory of our dear husband, father, grandfather, brother, Lt-General Donaldson Oladipo Oyeyinka Diya,” the statement reads.

The statement added that, “Our dear Daddy passed onto glory in the early hours of 26th March 2023.”

Born on April 3, 1943, at Odogbolu in Ogun State, Mr Diya was appointed Chief of General Staff by the Abacha regime in 1993.

He was arrested and jailed by the same regime for treason in 1997, but later freed after Mr Abacha’s death.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Economy

Tinubu committed to investment in renewable energy, says presidential aides

He said Mr Tinubu is committed to investments in renewable energy development, human capital empowerment, clean energy innovation, and Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.

FLOODED FARM

Agriculture

Flooding may raise vegetable prices, Lagos farmers warn

“If we sold vegetables at lower prices before, they will now become more expensive because farmers must recover their losses,” she said.

Released Oyo hostages

States

Oyo Abduction: Freed teacher says terrorists released victims before security operatives arrived

Abducted on May 15, the Oyo schoolchildren and their teachers were freed on June 10, after 56 days in captivity.

Protest over bad Ondo road

States

Residents lament deplorable road in Ondo community, seek government intervention

Residents of the agrarian community described the road as a death trap.

National Assembly

NationWide

Stakeholders in Osun, Ondo, Ekiti call for broader participation in constitutional reforms

They also appealed to Nigerians to pay equal attention to all constitutional amendment bills, rather than focusing on the state police proposal.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Economy

SEC set to deliver sustained zero trade fail rate in T+1 settlement cycle: DG

The DG said the focus would be on full delivery-versus-payment discipline across custodians, brokers and the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS).