Abacha family tackles IBB on late head of state’s role on 12 June 1993 election nullification

The family of the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, has denied a narrative by former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida that he (Abacha) and other military personnel were behind the nullification of the 12 June 1993 presidential election.

In a statement signed by the son of the late Nigerian leader, Mohammed Abacha, and shared with PREMIUM TIMES, the Abacha family said Mr Babangida was only trying to “shift blame” and distort the truth about the election cancellation.

IBB’s book and June 12 account

In his autobiography launched last month, Mr Babangida, a retired army general, said he regretted the annulment of the 1993 presidential election and blamed Mr Abacha and other military officers for annulling the election.

The presidential election held 32 years ago, has been described as one of Nigeria’s freest and most credible elections.

However, the winner, Moshood Abiola, then the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), was never installed after Mr Babangida’s government nullified the election.

The former military head of state officially announced the annulment of the election in a national broadcast on 24 June 1993.

But in parts of the book, Mr Babangida claimed that Mr Abacha, then the chief of defence staff, annulled the 12 June election “without his permission”.

In the autobiography titled “A Journey in Service”, Mr Babangida also acknowledged that the poll was “credible, free and fair” and was won by Mr Abiola.

Abacha Family Reacts

Mr Abacha, in the statement on behalf of the family, said Mr Babangida was only trying to “shift blame” and distort the truth.

The statement noted that Mr Abacha, till his death, was a true and loyal friend to Mr Babangida.

Parts of the statement read: “It is important to state unequivocally that General Sani Abacha was neither the Head of State nor the Commander-in-Chief at the time the June 12 election was annulled.

“The decision to annul the election was made under the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who, as the then Head of State, held absolute executive powers and was solely responsible for the actions of his government.

“Any attempt to shift this blame onto General Sani Abacha, who was a very senior military officer within the regime, is a deliberate distortion of historical facts.”

The family asked Nigerians to take the claims with a pinch of salt and be wary of revisionist narratives that seek to manipulate public perception for personal or political reasons.

Controversial accounts

Meanwhile, the book has been widely criticised over the accuracy of Mr Babangida’s account of some pivotal moments in Nigeria’s history. Some have accused the former dictator of attempts to whitewash himself and rewrite history.

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In an editorial, this newspaper noted Mr Babangida’s attempt to rewrite what has long been known as facts.

“We view his current bare-faced denials as manipulative, specious and disingenuous, having waited for the other key actors he named to die before now heaping accusations on them. There are tons of blatant falsehoods in his narrative, which in some instances are even illogical and disgraceful, portraying him as an actor not sober and willing to draw the curtains on this dark chapter of our history that altered the course of our democratic journey significantly, and led to death and dislocation of a number of citizens,” said the editorial titled: June 12: IBB’s shameless lies and the imperative of a national apology.

There were also condemnations of Nigerian leaders who spoke glowingly of the former dictator during the event, despite some being in exile due to his anti-democratic stance during his time as president.