IBB Refutes Claims of Supporting Military Rule, Reaffirms Democratic Values

Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, has distanced himself from a post falsely claiming he endorsed military rule over democratic governance.

In a statement released by his media office and signed by Mahmud Abdullahi in Minna, Babangida reaffirmed his commitment to democracy, urging all Nigerians to support and ensure its success.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a post on a parody account on X (formerly known as Twitter), with the handle @General_Ibbro, which falsely claims that former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, endorsed the virtues of military rule over democratic governance.

“This fraudulent account uses our principal’s picture and the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to add credibility, but it does not belong to him, nor does he sanction any posts appearing there.

“Previously, during last year’s presidential elections, this account falsely claimed that the former President had endorsed a particular presidential candidate and his party, causing public confusion and embarrassment to the Elder Statesman.

“We have recently learned that it has posted another fake statement alleging that the former President said Nigeria thrived under military rule and that democracy worsened things.

“We want to state unequivocally that neither the X account, which is essentially a parody or fake account, nor the statements made therein ever belonged to the retired General.

“For clarity, General Babangida (rtd) believes that Nigeria’s democracy is resilient and here to stay, and we must do everything to safeguard it.

“While the nation faces numerous challenges, the former President has consistently expressed the belief that we will overcome these challenges and emerge as a stronger, more progressive nation. The solution to our problems, as he has said previously, is ‘more’ democracy, not less.

“General Babangida firmly believes that the era of military intervention in Nigeria’s politics is long gone. He has expressed pride in the Nigerian military for supporting multiple democratic governments since 1999, providing the longest period of civilian administration since independence.

“The user of this parody account, which was supposed to imitate or mirror the sentiments of the original X account, has consistently used it to undermine democracy and spread stories capable of causing animosity.

“Unfortunately, there seems to be little we can do to persuade the overseers of X to remove or sanction this account. Therefore, we advise the general public to ignore any posts from this account that claim to represent my opinion,” General Babangida declared.

The statement also urged media practitioners and social media users to be more discerning in the future and to verify the authenticity of messages attributed to former President Babangida on X or any social media platform before sharing them.