Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state after seizing power in 1993 until his death in 1998.
Abacha's seizure of power was the last successful coup d'état in Nigerian military history. Abacha served as Chief of Army Staff from 1985 to 1990, as Chief of Defence Staff from 1990 to 1993, and as Minister of Defence.
Abacha is noted for having been the first Nigerian Army officer to attain the rank of a full military general without skipping a single rank.
His rule saw the achievement of several economic feats and also recorded human rights abuses and several political assassinations.
He has been dubbed a kleptocrat and a dictator by several modern commentators.
