Nigerians Recognised Abiola As Elected President Since 1993 – Falana

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana says Nigerians have already recognised the late MKO Abiola as a former president of the country.

Abiola won the 1993 election which was annulled by former military president Ibrahim Babangida.

Almost 32 years after the exercise, Babangida during the launch of his memoir admitted that Abiola indeed emerged victorious in the election but he annulled the poll due to “national interest”.

Since Babangida’s admittance, there have been calls for President Bola Tinubu to recognise the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate as a former president of the country. But Falana argued that Abiola has since been accorded that status by Nigerians.

“Since 1993, he has been recognized by the people of Nigeria as an elected president,” Falana said on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today. “These guys who try to set the hands of the clock back are just recognizing that now.”

Falana affirmed that Babangida was fully participated in the iglorious act that annulment the freest and fairest presidential election in Nigeria and he cannot manipulate Nigerians to change the narrative of the role he played as a military dictator leader.

He revealed also that Babangida frustrated attempts by the Nigerian judiciary in the defence of the election.

“He banned the courts, particularly the Court of Appeal that was then entertained in the case.

“In the face of Section 19 of Decree 25 of 1987, that no court shall inquire into or make any order to stop elections. No interim order, no interlocutory order or final order will be made by any court to stop the conduct of election. So when they discovered, when the junta discovered that the Court of Appeal was going to set aside those orders, a decree was enacted by General Babangida on the 22nd of June.”

“So all together, five decrees, which justify the annulment. So the announcement of 23rd was anchored on the decrees enacted by him the previous day, justifying the annulment of election.

“Between 23rd of August and 26th, General Babangida promulgated, signed the annulment to legalize the interim national government and for the country to move on. He claimed that he was not aware, he was taken aback on the 23rd of June, but on the 26th of June, he made a broadcast, initial broadcast, justifying the annulment and alleging that the election was riddled with corruption, corrupt practices. Even though it appeared to have been fair and free, but the election could not be relied upon.”

“Also on the 22nd of June, he annulled, or rather set aside, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, headed by the late Justice Bola Babalake, set up by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Chief Justice Mohamed Bello.

“So how he can turn around to give the impression that some forces, without his knowledge, annulled the election. He was sufficiently intelligent, and he once said, in the face of the crisis, I’m not only in office, I am in power.”

“In any case, the annulment you are talking about, was part of the last stage of the manipulation. Following the criminal annulment of the election, the Campaign for Democracy organized peaceful protests in many parts of the country.”