Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
The South African government expresses its condolences to the family of General Sani Abacha and to the Nigerian nation at his sudden and untimely death.
The government of South Africa, as indeed the rest of the continent, pays tribute to the positive contribution which General Abacha as leader of ECOWAS and ECOMOG recently made towards the return of democracy in Sierra Leone.
It is our hope that the good relations that exist between our two countries will persist, and that the path to democracy in Nigeria will be pursued to its full conclusion.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 8 JUNE 1998