Ibrahim Babangida

Three former Military Heads of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Muhammadu Buhari and General Abdulsalami Abubakar have descended heavily on critics of Late dictator, General Sanni Abacha, saying allegations that he looted the treasury were baseless. The three retired Generals were unanimous in their opinion that General Abacha was an honest man who served with integrity.

But the retired Generals failed to explain how come a whooping sum of about $1 Billion have so far been recovered from more than £5 billion he allegedly stole while serving as Head of State between 1993 to 1998.

General Babangida who is alleged to have legalized corruption in his eight years rule said Abacha was a “courageous, loyal and honest military head of state who stood for the unity and development of the country during his years in government.”

Short of describing Abacha as the best leader Nigeria has ever had, Babangida said “it is not true that he looted public treasury. I knew who Abacha was because I was close to him. Abacha was a courageous person who stood firmly in handling the affairs of the country during his regime.”

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“There is no doubt, during his administration as head of state, Abacha contributed his best to the nation’s economy which we are still enjoying,” Babangida who is dubbed the evil genius said in Kano at the remembrance prayer to mark 10 years of the demise of the late General.

On his part, General Muhammadu Buhari who is still challenging his Presidential election defeat at the Supreme Court described as baseless all allegations linking Abacha to corruption and looting of the public treasury.

As far as General Buhari is concerned, Abacha is innocent because “ten years after Abacha, those allegations remain unproven because of lack of facts.”

Abdulsalami urged politicians to concentrate on how best to contribute positively to national development instead of wasting time and resources in investigating their predecessors.

"Probing past administrations will not yield anything positive to the nation and should be discouraged," he said.