Why Mamman Vatsa was executed – Babangida

Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, has disclosed that Mamman Vatsa was executed because he paid money to senior officers to mount a coup against his government.

Babangida made this known in his book; ‘A Journey of Service’ which was unveiled in Abuja.
The former military president stated that the decision to take action against his childhood friend bordered between
‘personal loyalty and national security’.

In March 1986, Vatsa and nine other co-conspirators were executed by the Babangida-led military junta
He explained that investigations by military intelligence confirmed Vatsa’s full involvement in the coup plan and
funding of the officers.

He said, “With our experience in the few months in government and the benefit of hindsight based on previous rumours, I determined that the best way to tackle the rumours about a possible Vatsa coup was by confronting the principal suspects.

“When the decibel of the stories rose too high, I confronted Vatsa himself after reporting the rumours to more senior colleagues like Generals Nasko, Garba Duba, and Wushishi. Nasko intervened and tried to find out the truth from Vatsa. Vatsa flatly denied it all, but the covert investigations by the military and other intelligence services continued.

“Once substantial incontrovertible evidence was established, the arrests began. It turned out that Vatsa had paid several officers money to facilitate the coup operation. One of them was Lt-Col. Musa Bitiyong, who was given N50,000.

“He admitted it, and Vatsa also admitted the payment but said he wanted to help Bitiyong establish a farm project — the case of Lt-Col. Musa was not helped because he had previously been involved in other controversial coup stories.”

The former military leader alleged that the plans involved bombing the Eko Bridge in Lagos and targeting key Air Force assets. Intelligence also suggested a scheme to either hijack or shoot down the presidential aircraft.

“I felt a deep personal sense of betrayal,” Babangida writes, recalling his long-standing friendship with Vatsa from their early years in Minna.

“They had planned a bloody coup which would have plunged the country into darkness. I had to choose between saving a friend’s life and the nation’s future.”