The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has strongly criticized former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), over what it describes as an attempt to absolve himself of responsibility for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
The election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest, was won by the late MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
MURIC’s reaction follows claims made by Babangida in his newly released memoir, ‘A Journey In Service,’ launched last week.
In the book, Babangida attributed the annulment of the election and subsequent political upheaval to the late General Sani Abacha.
However, MURIC, in a press release issued on Sunday by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, dismissed these claims, accusing Babangida of distorting historical facts to evade responsibility.
“We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hereby totally reject all attempts by the former military dictator to exonerate himself from the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election fiasco,” MURIC’s statement reads.
“The former dictator should stop blaming others for all that happened. We assert emphatically, unequivocally and categorically that the buck stops at IBB’s table. We reject his alibi.”
READ ALSO: MURIC seeks support for Sokoto airstrike victims
MURIC further condemned Babangida’s role in derailing Nigeria’s democratic progress by annulling the election. “We hold IBB responsible for the failure of Nigeria to cultivate a sustainable, visionary, and dignifying political culture. By annulling the fairest, freest, and most peaceful election in the history of Nigeria, he set the country back politically.”
The rights group also denounced prominent politicians and business moguls who attended Babangida’s book launch and donated large sums of money in support. “Thursday, 20th February 2025, the day IBB presented his memoir, was a sad day for genuinely patriotic Nigerians. It was the day leaders decided to disappoint the masses by hero-worshipping a former dictator, a tyrant, and a numero uno enemy of democracy.”
MURIC criticized Babangida’s role in Nigeria’s political instability, accusing him of toppling the Buhari-Idiagbon regime and paving the way for systemic corruption and lawlessness.
“Nigeria was at the edge of the cliff when the duo of Buhari and Idiagbon came to rescue the nation from general indiscipline, corruption, and avaricious greed. We were getting it right when IBB came from nowhere to topple that corrective administration. That was the beginning of our descent back to the abyss of pitch darkness.”
The group further listed the atrocities committed under Babangida’s rule, including the persecution of political opponents and the deaths of prominent figures such as Clement Akpangbo, Bagauda Kaltho, Justice Ikpeme, and Chief Alfred Rewane.
“The streets of Lagos and Ibadan were filled with dead bodies. Yet the height of heartlessness and callousness was the assassination of Chief MKO Abiola and his wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.”
The group strongly condemned Babangida’s decision to reveal the original election results 32 years later, calling it an act of impunity.
“For the temerity manifested by IBB in displaying the original results of the June 12 election 32 years later and for publicly admitting that MKO won the historic election, the author of ‘A Journey In Service’ has certified Nigeria as the land where conscienceless power subjugates powerless conscience.”
MURIC described the book as a document of impunity and called for legal action against Babangida, stating that he has not demonstrated remorse. “This book is the height of impunity, and the author is judicious. IBB has not demonstrated remorse. His book is an indubitable exercise in the territory of high-level treason.”