The family of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha yesterday absolved their patriarch of any blame in the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Bashorun Moshood Kasimawo Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
It said the blame squarely rests on Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida “who, as the then Head of State, held ‘’absolute Executive powers and was solely responsible for the actions of his government.”
The family, in a statement by Abacha’s first son, Mohammed, described Babangida’s account of the annulment as “a deliberate distortion of historical facts.”
Gen. Babangida in a 440-page memoir, “A Journey in Service,” unveiled last month had alleged that Gen. Abacha and his “force” in the military were responsible for the cancellation of the globally acclaimed freest and fairest presidential poll in Nigeria.
The Abacha family urged Nigerians ‘’to be wary of revisionist narratives,’’ saying that their patriarch’s name ‘’must not be tarnished by baseless accusations meant to absolve those who were truly responsible’’ for the annulment of the election.
To show how deeply hurt they felt about the issue, the family recalled how close the two former military rulers were. It said that Gen, Abacha once rescued Babangida when his life was under threat.
The family stated that despite attempts by some people ‘’to rewrite the history of that critical period in Nigeria’s democratic evolution,’’ it welcomes ‘’the outpouring of support from those who refuse to allow history to be distorted.’’
Accusing Babangida of failing to give ‘an ’objective account of past events’’ in the memoir, the Abachas referred to a public commentator who said that ‘’honesty, sincerity, and integrity are virtues’’ uncommon with the former military President.
