Obasanjo was in 1995 sentenced to life in prison by the Abacha administration over an alleged coup plot, but was released by the administration of Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalam in 1998 after the death of Abacha. Upon his release, he vowed to dedicate a church for the propagation of Christianity which was formally done yesterday amid preaching, prayers and thanksgiving.
In his thanksgiving address, Obasanjo told the congregation at the Chapel of Christ the Glorious King inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library that he was quite sure that he would survive the prison travails alive, with the man at the centre of his predicament not going to be responsible for his release. He said the experience in the prison made him to be more committed to God even though the pressure to come and be president in 1999 took him years back from realizing his dream. He thanked God for sparing his life to fulfill the promise to build a church to appreciate Him.
“When I was in prison, I knew two things. One, that I would come out alive; secondly, that the man who imprisoned me would not be the one to release me. And these two came to pass. I want to thank God for thatâ€, he said.
