Abacha's Hit Man Sgt Rochas Speaks At Last..I Was Used And Dumped

It’s been a very long time since you disappeared from public view. Where have you been and how are you doing?

I thank God that I’m fine. Since you were involved in an automobile accident, how challenging has it been? It has been very challenging and very difficult because this is not a type of ailment for which you take drugs and get better. My condition has to do with the spinal cord and it is going to take a long time. Since 2009, I have been in bed till now. I thank God that I’m living by the grace of God.
How did the accident happen?
Actually I went to the farm to bring some produce and on my way back, along Kaduna-Abuja Road, the two front tyres pulled off; that was how it happened. I found myself in the hospital. I was assisted by some soldiers and policemen that were on patrol on the highway.
They took me to the hospital and I was admitted and treated. I was first admitted to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital at Gwagwalada and I was also treated at the SSS hospital. I have people that come here to treat me. Since then, I have been on treatment in various hospitals and some doctors and physiotherapists come to treat me at home. As somebody in need of medical care, wherever I hear that there are persons that can treat me, I would go. I have been to alternative healthcare givers and prayer houses. Either I’m taken there or they come here to help me.
Treatment of this kind of condition is expensive. How have you been sustaining that?
I have been trying by the Grace of God but it has been very difficult. I know that all the people that have been helping me must be tired by now; they are really tired.
What is your relationship with the Abacha family and have they been supportive?
I know they are aware that I was involved in an accident because it was in the media then. Maybe they don’t know where I am staying. I have not heard from them.
Have you made any effort to reach them?
You know with my condition I cannot move around much. Maybe I have not got the right person to reach them.
Let me take you back in time. There is a story about you that is very much in the negative. Sgt Rogers was a name that was dreaded. How do you live with this definition of your person?
Well my being perceived in the negative is understandable. My profession is always taken on the negative side, no matter how good you try to be. No matter how good you are, you are always perceived in the negative. Generally speaking, we are all human beings like every other person, you understand. These are the sacrifices you have to make for the nation. No matter how negative it is you take it because you have done your best for the nation. Are you still in the army and if you are what is your rank now and your present posting? I am still in the army; I am a Sergeant in the army and attached to the SSS headquarters up till now. My last date of promotion was in September 1995, that’s like 19 years or so.
Why have you remained on one rank for 19 years?
I don’t know. The Federal Government may know better but it is something that I never expected to be this long.
How do you feel that after all the sacrifices you say you made you have been on one rank for 19 years?
Naturally, I am not happy. I am really not happy.
The Lagos State Government has said it will appeal the acquittal of your former boss, Major Hamza al-Mustapha. Do you think the state may be successful in the process?
Abeg, please, please, please, you know this is a matter in court so I will not want speak on it.
Abacha’s erstwhile deputy, Gen. Oladipo Diya, said in a recent interview that you represented death anytime you were around. Was he right?
Well he is an elderly person and I heard that it was when he celebrated his birthday that he made the comment. What I want to say is to refer him to the Bible in the book of Luke, about the centurion who met Jesus Christ. The centurion told Jesus that he had soldiers under him who obey his orders; if he tells them go, they go; if he tells them to do this, they do it. That’s the only thing I can say.
Are you saying that you were in the command of the army when you did all this?
I’m under the command of the army and under the Federal Government. I’m a servant, you know, a servant doing my service to the nation. Just like the centurion said, if they say go, I go, come, I come; do this and I will do it; don’t do this and I don’t do it. Are there aspects of you that people don’t know about because what Diya said about you is the picture everybody that followed your story has.
Are there some aspects that portray a humane nature that Nigerians don’t know about?
I am a human being like every other Nigerian. I have feelings; I have senses like every other person. Everything I did was part of the sacrifices I had I was used and dumped, says Abacha’s hitman, Sgt. Rogers to accept for the country.
They can say whatever they want to say about me but the military know me better than the populace because my profession is to be loyal and patriotic to the governing authority. That is who I am. Besides that, I am just a normal human being like every other person. I am a father, an uncle and have feelings like every other person.
How has your relationship with your friends been since you had that accident?
There are some, few of them though. But the truth is this, one Igbo man sang a song when we were in the barracks which has the chorus that when the going is good and smooth, very many people will be your friends; but when the going is bad, all of them will run away. That is just it.
Your former boss, Maj Al Mustapha was released sometime ago. Are you two in contact?
There has been no contact between us. I only see him on the television when he visits a mosque and goes on his charity campaign.
Is he aware of your situation and has he supported you in any way?
Actually, maybe because of the past experience, as a human being he may not want to come to me now. Maybe he has not heard or maybe he shied away from it. We are human beings and anything can happen.
Immediately he was released, he visited some churches, what is your reaction to that action?
He deserves it and I am very happy for him for doing that because Jesus Christ did not come for a certain set of people. He came to this world for the whole humanity; for the whole mankind. So his salvation is very important. I am very happy for him and I like it that way.
As I entered here, I saw some sort of a prayer meeting going on. Are you now a born again Christian?
It was not now, I had been a born again Christian but I backslided again. I became born again in1989 in Jaji then but backslided which is normal as anybody can make a mistake. There is mercy in Christ, you can come back and he will receive you; I have come back and he received me.
During the trial of Maj Mustapha, you revealed under cross examination that the Federal Government promised to compensate you with a house, foreign posting and other incentives but reneged. Did they later make good their promise?
No they didn’t. This house I am living in is a rented apartment; I have been paying rent for a long time. They did not do anything to make good their promise. It is natural to feel used and cheated because the integrity of people that make such promises is not that of people you think will play on your intelligence. The way the issue has lingered up till today, you feel you are cheated naturally.
Past governments did their best; I am a servant and whatever comes I take it. But what I expected is not what I am seeing.
What were your expectations?
Just like you mentioned what I agreed on with them to be done but it was not done so I feel not happy.
Nigeria is in a state of war with terrorism and you had counter terrorism training in Israel, Korea, Libya and so on. As a professional, what do you think the Federal Government is not doing well against this insurgency?
Well, I feel they are doing their best. The truth is that this type of situation is one in which the whole country should synergise. There should be synergy between the populace and the security agents; it is not a job for the security agencies alone.
They need intelligence reports; they need information. The security men are not ghosts; you have to tell them that this is happening and they go in and help out. I believe they are doing their best but they can still do more. During the Abacha regime the security situation was not this bad despite the fact that Nigerians did not really like that regime.
Although there were pockets of bomb blasts, how did you guys curtail those activities?
We just did our best. That is all I can tell you. I cannot just tell put everything about our profession in the media.
As a trained security expert, if invited to come and help will you be of service to help curtail this insurgency?
First and foremost, I am a Nigerian and secondly, I am a security man. It is my duty to help the country, to serve the country anything, anyhow, anywhere. I am very willing to do that because it is my calling.
You are from the North-East where the heat of the insurgency is being felt most. Being from that area, it would be right to say you may know the terrain very well. What advice do you have for security agencies there fighting this war?
I believe there are better trained officers there than myself who are serving and who can still do better. As I told you, security agents are not ghosts, they need help from the public, they need information. I believe that with information and people that know the terrain very well, they will defeat this insurgency.
Do you have any regrets in life and what will you do better if given another chance?
Actually, before I joined the army, I thought I would be a pastor but I found myself in the army. I could have gone through that way but God has a plan for everything. I cannot now say that I regret what God has allowed and what He planned. As a believer all things work together for good, God has a purpose for everything and that is why I will not regret anything. I take everything the way it comes and I give glory to God.
How did you join the army?
I joined the army through recruitment in the 80s.
How were you selected for the strike force?
A signal was sent to my unit in Jaji to report to the Presidency and I reported.