Major General Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar (Rtd) was born on July 5, 1949 in Kano State

Kano State

Kano State is a state located in North-Western Nigeria. Created on May 27, 1967 from part of the Northern Region, Kano state borders Katsina State to the north-west, Jigawa State to the north-east, Bauchi State to the south-east and Kaduna State to the south-west...

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He was formerly the National security adviser to the president of Nigeria.
Rtd Major General Mukhtar was also a former military governor of Kaduna state

Kaduna State

-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to Kaduna State in 1976. This was further divided in 1987, losing the area now part...

 and Katsina State

Katsina State

Katsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...

, in the case of the latter he was the first administrator or governor.

Life and career

He had a fairly prominent army career culminating with his appointment as the general officer commanding the first division, Nigerian army in Kaduna state

Kaduna State

-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to Kaduna State in 1976. This was further divided in 1987, losing the area now part...

, before that, he was the Chief of Staff of a peace keeping force in Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

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The retired general was one of the few serving high ranking officers in the middle of the 90's who voiced concerns over the detention and trial of the former President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 Obasanjo and his former deputy Shehu Musa Yar'Adua

Shehu Musa Yar'Adua

Major General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua was a Nigerian businessman, soldier, and politician. He was the older brother of former Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua. Following his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Sandhurst, England, Yar'Adua participated in the Nigerian Civil War...

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He is known as a principled and charismatic officer who earned the respect of President Obasanjo when he refused to bulge to the demands of Sani Abacha

Sani Abacha

General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....

, on the treatment of coups suspects in 1995.