Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to provide financial compensation of ₦45 billion to the family of the late MKO Abiola as reparation for the cancellation of the 1993 presidential election.
Lamido, who made this plea yesterday in Abuja during the official unveiling of his autobiography, Being True to Myself argued that such compensation would serve as both symbolic justice.
He added that the compensation will also serve as a long-overdue moral resolution to a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s democratic history.
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“Let us finally bring closure to the June 12 episode,” Lamido said.
“President Tinubu should consider settling this outstanding issue.”
Citing General Ibrahim Babangida’s recently released memoir, ‘A Journey in Service’, Lamido noted that Babangida not only admitted that Abiola won the election but also disclosed that the late politician was owed ₦45 billion.
According to Lamido, Babangida told him privately that he would have paid the debt if he were president.
“Abiola has suffered enough — he lost both his mandate and the money he was entitled to. The least Nigeria can do is pay that money to his family. Once that is done, we can all move on,” Lamido added.
Babangida’s memoir, published earlier this year, reignited national discourse around the June 12 election, regarded as Nigeria’s most credible democratic exercise.
In it, the former military ruler confirmed for the first time that Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), won the election, securing over 8 million votes compared to the National Republican Convention’s Bashir Tofa, who garnered about 5.8 million votes.
Babangida described annulling the election as the most agonising decision of his tenure, driven by concerns over possible military insurrection and threats to national unity.
He claimed the decision was influenced by internal forces and suggested the announcement was made without his direct instruction.
The revelations stirred widespread reactions.
While some, including Tinubu, welcomed the long-awaited admission, many Nigerians and civil society groups criticised Babangida’s attempt to shift responsibility.
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In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari posthumously honoured MKO with Nigeria’s highest national award, the GCFR, and declared June 12 as Democracy Day to honour his legacy.
Lamido’s call for financial restitution is the latest in ongoing efforts to seek justice for the late business mogul and politician, whose victory and subsequent death in detention remain a defining moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey.
