Former Nigerian Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, has strongly disowned statements from a fake social media account endorsing military rule over democratic governance. The account, @General_Ibbro on X (formerly Twitter), falsely attributed pro-military sentiments to the retired General.
In an official statement from his media office, signed by Mahmud Abdullahi, Babangida reiterated his unwavering commitment to democracy and called on all Nigerians to support and uphold democratic values.
“Our attention has been drawn to a post on a parody account on X, formerly known as Twitter, which carries the handle @General_Ibbro, in which former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, was supposed to have endorsed the virtues of military rule over democratic governance,” the statement read.
“This dubious account carries our principal’s picture and name and the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for added effect, but it does not belong to him nor does the former President sanction any post appearing there.”
The statement emphasized that this was not the first time the parody account had caused confusion. During the presidential elections last year, it falsely claimed Babangida had endorsed a particular candidate, creating public confusion and embarrassment for the elder statesman.
“We have just learnt that it has posted a similarly fake statement where the former President was supposed to have said that Nigeria had its best years under military rule and that democracy made things worse. We want to state unequivocally that neither the X account nor the statement made therein ever belonged to the retired General.”
Babangida underscored his belief in the resilience of Nigeria’s democracy. “As a nation, we are currently facing a number of challenges, but the former president has always expressed the view that we will eventually overcome these challenges and emerge as a stronger, more progressive nation. The solution to our problems, as he had said previously, is ‘more’ democracy, not less.”
The statement expressed frustration over the inability to get the parody account removed or sanctioned and advised the public to disregard any posts from the account claiming to represent Babangida’s opinions.
“We advise media practitioners and social media users to be more discerning in the future and make necessary efforts to get confirmation before sharing messages attributed to former President Babangida on X or any social media platform,” the statement concluded.
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