June 12: Falana threatens legal action against Babangida

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has threatened legal action against former military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, following revelations in his newly released book, ‘A Journey in Service: An Autobiography.’

In the book, Babangida revealed that the annulled election of June 12, 1993, was won by the late Moshood Abiola.

Reacting, Falana, who was jailed at the time for protesting against the annulment, accused Babangida of malicious prosecution.

This was as he revealed that he was setting up a legal team to look into the past actions of the former military leader.

“I’ve assembled a team of lawyers, they’re looking into it,” Falana said when he appeared on Channels Television on Tuesday night.

“He [Babangida] has now admitted there was no basis for my prosecution because he now says Abiola won the election, which was the basis for our protest. It was malicious.”

He further stated, “Keeping me in Kuje prison denied me my right to liberty, my freedom of movement, and my right to choose my government. The man who did this has just come out to say, ‘I did it wrongly.”

Falana also slammed Babangida for claiming that the annulment of the election was carried out without his knowledge.

He recalled that on June 26, Babangida made a nationwide broadcast justifying the annulment, alleging that the election was riddled with corruption, corrupt practices.

“Also on the 22nd of June, he set aside the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal headed by the late Justice Bola Babalake set up by CJN Mohammed Bello.

“So, how can you turn around to give the impression that some forces without his knowledge annulled the election?

“He once said, in the face of the crisis, ‘I’m not only in office, I’m in power’. And he exercised the power against the interest of Nigerians.

“He also said he annulled the election for national interest, he never mentioned Abacha. In any case, perhaps the annulment we’re talking about was perhaps the last stage of the manipulation,” he said.