A former First Lady, Maryam Abacha, has faulted former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), over claims in his autobiography blaming her late husband, Gen. Sani Abacha, for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. She also dismissed the allegation that the late Abacha looted Nigeria’s treasury during his reign as military Head of State from 1993 to 1998.

The former First Lady, who spoke in an interview aired on TVC to mark 27 years since the death of Abacha, who died in office on June 8, 1998, insisted that the annulment of what is widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest election was not masterminded by her husband. She, however, described the allegation as unfair and politically motivated, especially since the late General is no longer alive to defend himself.

Meanwhile, her reaction is coming just days before the 32nd anniversary of the annulled election, marked yearly as Democracy Day on June 12. “I am not here to talk about Babangida or anybody. I don’t wish to talk about anything or anybody. All I know is that that annulment was not done by my husband, and then if it was him, that means he was very powerful.

“That means he was even more powerful than the President, and if the President is there and somebody else is calling the shots, that means Abacha was the greatest,” she said.

It would be recalled that IBB, during the launch of his autobiography, “A Journey of Service,” on February 20, 2025, claimed that Abacha, who was then Chief of Defence Staff, annulled the June 12 election without his (Babangida’s) approval.

According to him, the forces behind the annulment were led by Abacha who later seized power and ruled as military head of state.The former First Lady maintained that the funds were not looted, saying instead that her husband’s financial dealings were deliberately misrepresented.

She asked those making the claims to present credible evidence, saying: “Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed? Did you see the signature or the evidence of any monies stashed abroad? And the monies that my husband kept for Nigeria, in a few months, vanished.

“People are not talking about that. Why are you blaming somebody for something? Is that tribalism or a religious problem? Or what is the problem with Nigerians? I pray for Nigerians. I pray for all of us.

“I pray that we should have goodness in our hearts. We should stop telling lies and blaming people. Why are we so bad towards each other? “It’s not fair. I think the media should try. You journalists should try to educate the people.”

The former First Lady, who further praised her late husband’s leadership style, alluded to Abacha’s regional peacekeeping efforts, especially in Liberia and Sierra Leone.