A former officer of the Guards Brigade has accused former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), of failing to take responsibility for some of the controversial decisions taken during his administration, including the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and the execution of General Mamman Vatsa.
The former officer, who served as a lieutenant in the Guards Brigade at the time, spoke in an account made available to SaharaReporters.
The Guards Brigade is an elite branch of the Nigerian Army responsible for protecting the Nigerian President (Head of State), securing the Presidential Villa (Aso Rock), and maintaining safety across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The source said he became particularly distrustful of Babangida, who celebrated his 85th birthday on Monday, following the annulment of the presidential election won by the late businessman and politician, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola.
According to him, an incident he personally witnessed during a Ramadan Iftar at the Aso Rock (Presidential) Villa in either March or April 1993 reinforced his suspicion that Babangida knew about the impending annulment of the election.
“IBB is completely evil. Satanic, really. I was in the Guards Brigade as a lieutenant when the June 12 election was annulment occurred,” the source said. “I hated him from that time especially when he later blamed others, especially Abacha for the decision.”
The former officer said he and two other officers from the 7 Guards Battalion had been invited to the Villa to break the Ramadan fast with Babangida.
He recalled that the late Abdulrahman Okene, whom he said he later learnt had taught Babangida in secondary school, was also present at the dinner.
“During the course of the Iftar, the TV was switched on for the 7 pm NTA network news,” he said.
He said one of the reports showed Abiola campaigning in one of the northern states and speaking in Hausa while making promises to improve infrastructure and the living conditions of Nigerians.
According to the former officer, Babangida reacted to the broadcast in Hausa, saying: “Za mu ga wanda zai bar shi ya yi ayyukan nan (Let’s see who will allow him to do such things).”
The former officer said he interpreted Babangida’s comment as suggesting that Abiola would not be allowed to implement the promises he was making during the campaign.
“I was not surprised when the election was annulled in June 1993,” he said.
He, however, stressed that he was not claiming that the comment alone proved Babangida had prior knowledge of the annulment.
“I am not implying categorically that he, IBB, may not have known beforehand that the election was going to be annulled, but the words that he uttered on the dining table during the Iftar suggest something untoward,” he said.
The June 12, 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as having been won by Abiola, was annulled by Babangida’s military administration, plunging Nigeria into a prolonged political crisis.
Babangida has, over the years, provided various accounts of the circumstances surrounding the annulment and has previously attributed responsibility for aspects of the decision to other military figures and political actors.
In his 2025 autobiography, A Journey in Service, former military president Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) claims that anti-June 12 forces led by his Chief of Defence Staff, Sani Abacha, annulled the 1993 election without his direct approval.
According to Babangida, he was away in Katsina when the cancellation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election was announced. He claimed the move was executed by forces led by Abacha without his prior knowledge or formal permission.
Babangida acknowledged that Abiola won the election convincingly, securing 8,128,720 votes against Bashir Tofa’s 5,848,247 and meeting constitutional requirements for spread across states.
He claimed that security concerns, including fears that Abiola could be assassinated by powerful military factions opposed to his presidency, might trigger another civil war.
He also pointed to judicial uncertainty, including injunctions secured by Arthur Nzeribe’s Association for Better Nigeria and Justice Bassey Ikpeme, as well as strong resistance to a return to civilian rule within the military.
However, during the public presentation of the book in Abuja, Babangida accepted overall responsibility for the turbulent events of his administration, as the head of the military government at the time, describing the annulment as a regrettable accident of history.
The former Guards Brigade officer described such explanations as an attempt to shift responsibility.
“For IBB to later insinuate that Abacha and some other generals were responsible is arrant nonsense,” he said, referring to late General Abacha, who succeeded the short-lived administration of Ernest Shonekan after Babangida stepped aside in August 1993.
Vatsa’s Execution
The former officer also challenged Babangida’s claim that he was unable to save his childhood friend, Maj. Gen. Mamman Vatsa, from execution after Vatsa and other military officers were convicted of plotting a coup.
Vatsa, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was executed alongside other officers in March 1986 after being convicted by a special military tribunal over an alleged coup plot against Babangida’s government.
Regarding his childhood friend and classmate, Major General Vatsa, Babangida said he was “shocked, devastated and deeply disappointed” but insisted “my hands were tied” by military law, leaving him powerless to intervene.
The source questioned Babangida’s reported explanation that the decision to execute Vatsa was made by the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), leaving him unable to intervene.
“What a nonsense talk,” the former officer said.
He argued that, under military procedures, the convening authority had powers relating to the establishment of a court martial and the confirmation, commuting or otherwise dealing with sentences imposed by the tribunal.
“Thus, IBB was the President and Commander-in-Chief and had such powers to convene, confirm, commute, etc,” he said.
The former officer also cited comments attributed to the late General Domkat Bali, who served as Minister of Defence during the period.
According to him, Bali had, before his death, said he could not understand the animosity between Babangida and Vatsa and described their relationship as one based on rivalry.
“From Gen. Bali’s statement, I deduced that the decision to execute Vatsa and the other convicted coup plotters was made by IBB,” he said.
He added that Babangida did not challenge Bali’s account while the former Defence Minister was alive.
The former Guards Brigade officer said the two episodes had shaped his assessment of Babangida’s leadership.
“In the two instances narrated above, IBB showed that he is a coward. He does not own up to things as he blames others for things which he should take responsibility for,” he said.
He added: “There is a saying that as a leader or commander, the buck stops at your table; it doesn’t go any further.”
The former officer further accused Babangida of betraying those who served alongside him.
“IBB is a betrayer. Even if a decision was taken collectively, he, as the head, should take responsibility, especially if it didn’t go right,” he said.
“I consider IBB not a good officer and a gentleman,” he concluded.
(SaharaReporters)
