Some U.S. intelligence analysts say there is evidence that Gen. Sani Abacha, the Nigerian dictator who died unexpectedly last month, was poisoned while in the company of three prostitutes, U.S. officials said Friday.
Nigeria's military rulers reported after Abacha's death that he had died at his villa of a heart attack. The contrary view reached by some U.S. government analysts, while far from unanimous, is that he may have been killed by enemies in his corrupt and authoritarian military circle.Reports that Abacha might have been killed were published Thursday on the MSNBC Web site, quoting NBC News.
One U.S. official said flatly that the rumors were true, citing an analysis of intelligence and other reports from inside Nigeria. The analysis included reporting from U.S. government agen-cies with sources inside the Nigerian military.
But another U.S. official said the reports were only "semi-credible" and not "definitive evidence."
And a third administration official said Friday, "There are some doctors in the employ of the CIA who, when the description of the body was given to them, said it could be consistent with poisoning."