In his time as head of state, General Abacha remained little known to most Nigerians, living secluded in a tightly-guarded villa in the capital Abuja.

General Abacha's inaugaural address to Nigeria

He repeatedly promised to oversee the country's return to civilian rule -- but he steadily consolidated his grip on power, with purges of the army and restrictions on political activity.

After the execution in 1995 of nine opposition activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, and with the presumed winner of the 1993 elections, Chief Moshood Abiola, still in jail, Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth and became diplomatically isolated.

Yet it spearheaded the African military intervention that restored Sierra Leone to civilian rule earlier this year.

Government members portrayed General Abacha as the only man who could unite such a diverse nation.

But his opponents in Nigeria saw him as part of a military elite desperate to hang on to power.