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IBB has faced mounting criticism since the release of his memoir. But popular human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, simply raised the bar.
During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on yesterday, Falana hinted that he may have to sue the former Head of State. According to him, IBB’s admission that Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party won the June 12 election was a reminder of old wounds.
The truth is the IBB’s book, “A Journey in Service”, have raised more questions than answered them. Although he talked about so many historic facts, such as the June 12 presidential election, the author lied that he played no major roles in those ugly incidents.
IBB Book Launch: Falana reveals IBB’s exact roles in June 12
“Talking about the annulment of the election, General Babangida claimed that he traveled to Katsina on the 23rd of June 1993 and was flabbergasted to learn about the annulment,” Falana began, puncturing IBB’s claims.
He said that the “evil genius”, not Gen. Sani Abacha, annulled the election. He cited Section 19 of Decree 25 of 1987. Basically, the decree was against democratic process. It said that no court can make order – any kind of order – to inquire into or stop elections.
However, the military junta discovered that Court of Appeal was actually going to set aside those sections of the Decree. On June 22nd, Babangida enacted a decree and then left for Katsina State the following day, Falana narrated.
When the election was annulled on June 23rd, interestingly the annulment was anchored on and justified based on the new degree IBB put in place less than 24 hours back.
“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,” the lawyer added.
After the “criminal annulment” of the election, Falana continued, he and other pro-democracy activists organised protests against it. But IBB began a deadly crackdown on the activists, dumping in prisons so many of them, including Falana.
Now, the human rights lawyer is angry. As IBB has admitted and apologized in his memoir that he made mistakes about Abiola, Falana said he would seize the opportunity to sue the former Head of State.
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