IBB, Obasanjo, Abdulsalami, Mark To Be Jailed
Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has called for the imprisonment of former Nigerian military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd); former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former military dictator, Abubakar Abdulsalami and former Senate President, David Mark, over the annulment of June 12, 1993 elections.
The human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow called for prosecution and imprisonment of the former Nigerian leaders over their roles in the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) made the call in a post on his X page on Thursday as Babangida admitted that Abiola won the 1993 presidential election in his autobiography, “A Journey in Service,” launched on February 20, 2025, at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The human rights activist who was among activists that challenged Babangida in 1993, noted that those responsible for truncating Nigeria’s democratic progress must be held accountable.
He insisted that the historic election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history, was unjustly annulled under the military regime of General Babangida, an action that led to years of political instability and the eventual death of Abiola in detention.
He said, “MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993 election. He satisfied all the requirements to be declared President of Nigeria, says evil man Babangida.
“This is the reason these guys, Babangida, Obasanjo, Abubakar Salam, and David Mark must be in jail.”
The annulment of the election sparked widespread protests and a prolonged struggle for democracy, culminating in Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999.
While successive administrations have posthumously honoured Abiola — most notably with the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day, Sowore maintains that true justice can only be served if those responsible face legal consequences.
It was earlier reported that Babangida during the book launch admitted that the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Babangida’s regime had annulled the election before the winner could be officially declared.
According to the former despot, who spoke through former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Abiola “satisfied all the requirements.”
Babangida stated that M.K.O. Abiola, the Social Democratic Party candidate in the June 12, 1993 presidential election, secured the majority of votes and had the necessary geographical spread to become president.
He admitted that annulling the election was the most challenging decision of his life.
