Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has shared a dramatic account of how his wife, Yemisi Bamidele, helped him escape from Abuja under the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
The escape, he revealed, involved being smuggled out of Garki General Hospital in an ambulance, where his wife worked as a registered pharmacist.
Bamidele disclosed this during activities marking National Democracy Day, which commemorates the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief MKO Abiola.
According to the senator, security operatives had stormed his law office in Wuse II, Abuja, searching for arms and ammunition. At the time, he was in court defending 11 expelled student union leaders from the University of Abuja.
“I was in court when a registrar informed me that my law office had been invaded by security agents,” Bamidele said.
“There was no GSM then, only landlines. One of my lawyers managed to call my wife’s office line at Garki General Hospital to alert her.”
His wife immediately arranged for him to be discreetly removed from the court premises using a hospital ambulance. From there, he was transported to a safer location and later smuggled out of Abuja.
“We couldn’t fly because the airports were under strict military surveillance,” Bamidele explained.
“It took us almost three days by road to reach a secure point. I couldn’t even go to my house in Lagos because they were also raiding the offices of Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Chief Femi Falana.”
Bamidele detailed how he escaped through the NADECO (National Democratic Coalition) route, which involved traveling by canoe at night from Badagry to Cotonou—a risky but crucial path used by pro-democracy activists fleeing persecution.
“From Cotonou, we found our way to Accra, Ghana, where I eventually got a ticket to the United States. There, I was granted political asylum and joined other comrades to continue the struggle against military rule in exile.”
Bamidele’s revelation sheds light on the dangers faced by pro-democracy activists during Nigeria’s dark military era and the critical role his wife played in ensuring his survival.
