A new documentary chronicling the life of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and the political crisis that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election will premiere in cinemas across Nigeria on October 2.
The film, titled MKO, was directed by Ose Oyamendan and produced by American filmmaker Mark Jonathan Harris.
It traces the events surrounding the disputed election, which Abiola was widely believed to have won, his subsequent detention, and his death in 1998.
Oyamendan described the project as an investigative work built on firsthand testimonies. “This is an investigative documentary about a man, an election, and the global conspiracy that robbed Africa’s largest democracy of her elected leader,” he said.
He added that the film aims to do more than revisit Nigerian history. “It is a story told by those who lived it — presidents, diplomats, politicians, activists, family members, and journalists. It is not just Nigerian history. It is a warning to the world,” he said.
MKO draws on interviews with key figures from the June 12 saga, including former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled the election, and former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar, under whom Abiola died in detention.
Other contributors include American diplomat Thomas Pickering, who led a U.S. delegation to meet Abiola; Theodore Zadok, one of Abiola’s prison guards; and Walter Carrington, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria.
Nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist Wole Soyinka, Amnesty International managing director Adotei Akwei, members of the Abiola family, and journalists who covered the crisis also feature in the film.
Producers Nile Entertainment said the documentary revisits “one of the most defining chapters in Nigeria’s democratic history and the man at its centre.”
Abiola won the June 12, 1993 election before the military annulled the result, sparking nationwide protests and years of political turmoil. He was detained after declaring his mandate and died in July 1998, weeks after the death of military ruler Sani Abacha.
MKO opens in Nigerian cinemas October 2.
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