Abacha on TV

The Nigerian military ruler General Sani Abacha confirmed his grip on power after rumours of sickness. Gen Abacha, in a broadcast marking 37 years of his country's independence from Britain, told dissidents to back his plan to restore civil rule in 1998.

Those watching his television broadcast said the 54-year-old infantry general looked tired and seemed to have lost weight, but did not appear to be at death's door with cirrhosis of the liver, as opposition publications had claimed. - Reuters