10 Most Brutal African Dictators

6. Sani Abacha - Nigeria

The first Nigerian soldier to achieve the position of general without bypassing a single rank, Sani Abacha seized control of Nigeria in 1993 after leading a military coup against Chief Ernest Shonekan. Eleven months later, the new chief issued a decree declaring his government above the courts, followed by another which afforded Abacha the right to detain anyone without trial for three months, essentially rendering his power absolute.

During Abacha€'s reign, Nigeria recorded unprecedented economic growth, with the country's foreign exchange reserves increasing nearly twenty times over in just three years. With the nation's key commodity, oil, trading at $15 a barrel, Abacha's regime transformed Nigeria into one of the most prosperous states in all of Africa.

But the boom came at a high price. Oil companies ravaged the Niger Delta with complete disregard for its ecological degradation, and Abacha faced accusations of state-sponsored genocide against the indigenous Ogoni people in the region. Abacha had promised a return of democracy to Nigeria, yet his paranoid rule was characterised by tyrannical crackdowns on all his opponents, and the increasingly distrustful leader - unlike most totalitarian despots - prohibited personal information being published about him, increasingly avoiding working throughout the day. Soon, pro-Ogoni activists were subject to his wrath.

Prominent writer and Ogoni campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with his group of supporters, were summarily hanged by military personnel who reportedly raped and tortured indigenous natives in the process. The move was widely condemned outside Nigeria, whilst Abacha made repeated empty promises to his international detractors to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

Only one event could result in a fair election: Abacha's death. The general succumbed to an alleged heart attack months before voting commenced, with rumours persisting that he was the victim of an elaborate assassination attempt involving a poisoned apple and an Indian prostitute. However, Abacha had one last insult to the Nigerian people in death; it was later revealed that he and his family had embezzled over £5 billion of the country's funds.