General Takes Control of Nigeria

LAGOS, NIGERIA, NOV. 17 -- A general with a history of engineering military coups forced out Nigeria's civilian leader today and took control of Africa's most populous nation.

Gen. Sani Abacha, the defense minister and the man considered to be the real power behind the government, forced out the titular head of state, Ernest Shonekan, a former corporate executive.

This nation of 90 million people heard the news on state-run radio, which said only that Shonekan had resigned and that Abacha was in charge.

A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Shonekan's ouster resulted from a meeting of military leaders last week about the political turmoil gripping the country. The diplomat said the military leaders decided they needed to step in and take control.

The recent turmoil began after the previous ruler, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, voided June presidential elections that were to end a decade of military rule, and then resigned under pressure in August and named Shonekan, his ally, as his successor.

Abacha was widely believed to have forced out Babangida, leading to widespread dissension in the military that may have forced Abacha to seize open control of the government and assume the mantle of head of state.

Shonekan was believed to be a puppet of Abacha, a key figure in the military coup that ended the civilian government in 1983 and in the coup that put Babangida in power two years later.

State television issued a statement attributed to Shonekan in which he purportedly said there had been a great deal of "restiveness in the military" and instability in the country.

"They {the military} believe that Nigeria deserves better," said the statement read by a television announcer.

Shonekan had earlier promised to hold new presidential elections Feb. 19.

Adding to the upheaval, the country is in the midst of a general strike called by major unions and pro-democracy groups to protest Shonekan's decision to raise fuel prices sevenfold.

The June election was apparently won by multimillionaire industrialist Moshood K.O. Abiola, a member of the southern Yoruba tribe.

Babangida was believed to have annulled the results of the election because Abiola was viewed as a threat to the northern tribes that traditionally dominate the military and politics here.

The annulment triggered a series of strikes and protests and resulted in Babangida's resignation.