The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has rejected attempts by former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), to absolve himself of responsibility for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election.
In a statement issued on Sunday, February 23, 2025, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, criticized Babangida’s claims in his newly released memoir, A Journey in Service, which was unveiled at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on February 20, 2025.
“We, at the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), categorically reject IBB’s attempt to shift blame for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election. He cannot rewrite history. The buck stops at his table, and we reject his alibi,” the statement read.
MURIC held Babangida responsible for Nigeria’s failure to develop a sustainable, visionary, and dignified political culture, stating that his annulment of the country’s freest and fairest election remains an unforgivable injustice.
“The day IBB presented his memoir was a sad day for patriotic Nigerians. It was a day when leaders chose to glorify a former dictator—one of democracy’s greatest enemies. It was a shameless display of impunity,” Akintola added.
The statement further condemned Babangida’s role in overthrowing the corrective administration of Buhari and Idiagbon, describing it as the moment Nigeria began its descent into corruption and instability.
“IBB incarcerated Buhari and denied him the right to attend his mother’s funeral. Under the Babangida-Abacha military dictatorship, countless innocent Nigerians lost their lives, including Clement Akpangbo, Bagauda Kaltho, Justice Ikpeme, and Chief Alfred Rewane. The streets of Lagos and Ibadan were littered with bodies.
“The height of Babangida’s cruelty was the cold-blooded assassination of Chief MKO Abiola, the rightful winner of the June 12 election, and the murder of his wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.”
MURIC also criticized the fanfare surrounding Babangida’s book launch, calling it “audacious, nauseating, and provocative.”
“Our leaders have failed to heal the wounds of June 12. They remain arrogant and insensitive to the pain of the people. Nigeria has not recovered from the tragic assassinations of its first Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello; and Chief S.L. Akintola, former Premier of the Western Region—all at the hands of the military.”
MURIC expressed outrage over Babangida’s public display of the original June 12 election results three decades later, calling it an act of impunity.
“By finally admitting that MKO won the election, IBB has confirmed Nigeria as a land where power subjugates conscience. This book is a brazen display of audacity and high treason. Babangida has shown no remorse.”
As an Islamic human rights organization, MURIC lamented that key figures in the annulment of June 12—including MKO, IBB, and Abacha—were Muslims, stating that they had betrayed the Islamic principles of justice.
The statement honoured true heroes of democracy, including MKO Abiola, Kudirat Abiola, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, and Alfred Rewane, while also recognizing living icons of the struggle such as Professor Wole Soyinka, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, Professor Sylvester Odion Akhaine, Shehu Sani, Okechukwu Ndiribe, and leaders of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).
