The family of the late military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, has called former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), a liar for attempting to exonerate himself over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
The Abacha family was reacting to IBB’s recently published memoirs, “A Journey in Service,” where he stated that Abacha was responsible for the annulment of the election and denied the winner, MKO Abiola from being declared Nigeria’s president.
The Abacha family said IBB lied and tried to turn the truth on its head.
IBB had in the autobiography expressed regret over the annulment of the election viewed by many Nigerians as the fairest in the history of elections in the country.
He stated that the annulment was an accident of history.
Meanwhile, the former military leader did not take responsibility but instead blamed military officers led by Abacha who was his Chief of Defence Staff, for annulling the election without his permission.
However, in a statement issued by Mohammed, the eldest son of the late Gen. Abacha, the family rejected the claims and insisted that their late father was neither the Head of State nor the Commander-in-Chief at the time of the annulment and could not have ordered for the annulment of the election.
Also, the family accused Babangida of attempting to deliberately distort historical facts and put the blame on Abacha since he is not alive to defend himself.
The statement read: “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. For years, various actors have attempted to rewrite the history of that critical period in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
“We urge Nigerians to be wary of revisionist narratives that seek to manipulate public perception for personal or political reasons. The memory of our late father and leader, General Sani Abacha, must not be tarnished by baseless accusations meant to absolve those who were truly responsible.
“We regret that ‘A Journey in Service’ missed the opportunity and failed to make history as a truthful and objective account of past events. As one public commentator aptly put it, honesty, sincerity, and integrity are virtues not commonly associated with the author. ”
