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By Rita Okoye
Filmmaker Ose Oyamendan’s documentary MKO is set for its Nigerian premiere on October 1, 2026, bringing renewed attention to the life, political struggle and controversial death of businessman and June 12 presidential election winner Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
The 108-minute documentary had its world premiere at Sheffield DocFest 2026 in the United Kingdom. It examines the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Abiola’s subsequent detention and the circumstances surrounding his death in custody in 1998.
Oyamendan, a young journalist with Weekend Concord during the June 12 crisis, draws on archival material and interviews with prominent figures involved in the events. Those interviewed include former military rulers Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former electoral chief Humphrey Nwosu, Abiola’s running mate Baba Gana Kingibe, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, members of the Abiola family, journalists and diplomats.
A major focus of the film is the unresolved circumstances surrounding Abiola’s death on July 7, 1998, while he was meeting a US delegation. The documentary examines competing accounts of what happened shortly before his collapse and death, including questions surrounding the tea he was served. Oyamendan has said the film investigates the circumstances without presenting an unsupported verdict on the cause of death.
The October 1 premiere is particularly significant as it coincides with Nigeria’s Independence Day, placing the story of June 12, democracy and military rule within the broader history of Nigeria’s political development.
Oyamendan has described the project as more than a film about Abiola, presenting it as an examination of Nigeria’s unfinished democratic story and the consequences of the annulment of the June 12 election.
