Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has declared his intention to challenge what he describes as his malicious detention and prosecution under the regime of former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (IBB).
Falana’s reaction follows revelations in IBB’s recently launched book, where the former leader addressed the controversial annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election—widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest election.
Speaking on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’, Falana recounted how IBB ordered his arrest and detention alongside late legal luminary Chief Gani Fawehinmi, late activist Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, and other pro-democracy campaigners. The group was charged with unlawful assembly and sedition for challenging the annulment.
“We Were Jailed for Publishing the Election Results”
Falana detailed how, on June 26, 1993, IBB justified the annulment, citing alleged electoral corruption—despite widespread acceptance that the poll was free and fair. He noted that IBB personally signed the decree nullifying the election and dissolved the Presidential Election Tribunal led by Justice Bola Babalakin.
“Now, he wants to give the impression that some forces, without his knowledge, annulled the election. But Babangida himself exercised that power against the interest of Nigerians,” Falana said.
Following the annulment, the Campaign for Democracy launched nationwide protests. In response, IBB ordered the arrests of pro-democracy activists, including Fawehinmi, Ransome-Kuti, and me. We were paraded before a Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse, Abuja, for sedition—simply because we had published the election results,” he stated.
Denied bail, Falana and his colleagues were remanded in Kuje Prison under the notorious Decree No. 2. “The junta foolishly thought jailing us would stop the protests, but they miscalculated.”
“IBB Now Admits His Mistake—So Why Were We Prosecuted?”
Falana pointed out that 32 years after the annulment, Babangida now claims to regret the decision.
“He deliberately arrested, detained, and paraded me as a criminal, only to say now, ‘We regret what we did.’ That means he knew all along that our prosecution was unjust,” Falana said.
Now, with IBB’s own admission that MKO Abiola won the election, Falana argues that his arrest, detention, and prosecution were baseless and an infringement on his fundamental human rights.
“I have assembled a team of lawyers, and we are taking legal action,” he declared. “IBB’s admission proves that our detention was not only malicious but an abuse of power. He violated our right to liberty, freedom of movement, and democratic choice.”
On whether President Bola Tinubu should officially recognize MKO Abiola as a former president, Falana dismissed the idea as unnecessary.
“Since 1993, Abiola has been recognised by the Nigerian people as an elected president. These same people who tried to set the clock back are only acknowledging it now,” he said.
He also criticized IBB’s plan to establish a Presidential Library, arguing that only elected leaders have the legitimacy to do so.
“No former military head of state has ever set up a presidential library. What do you want to read there? A president is elected by the people—a military dictator is not,” Falana added.
With IBB’s admission of fault, Falana insists that justice must be served, and he is determined to challenge his wrongful prosecution—even decades later.
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