Maryam Abacha Denies Husband’s Involvement In June 12 Annulment, Challenges Evidence Of ‘Abacha Loot’

…Says, “And Because Nigerians Are Fools, They Listen To Everything”

FCT, ABUJA, NIGERIA – Former First Lady Maryam Abacha has firmly denied that her late husband, General Sani Abacha, played any role in the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.

The annulment took place under then-military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

In a recent interview with TVC to mark the 27th anniversary of Abacha’s death, she stated, “All I know is that the annulment was not done by my husband. If it was him, that means he was very powerful…, even more powerful than the president. If the president was there and somebody else was calling the shots, that means Abacha was the greatest.”

Maryam Abacha emphasized that no single individual, including her husband or Babangida, could solely determine Nigeria’s fate.

“Babangida doesn’t make Nigeria alone. Abacha does not make Nigeria alone. Abiola and everybody, nobody is big enough for Nigeria. We are all very important.

“Even the single man on the street is very important. We are all human beings, for goodness’ sake. All these wahala should stop. Babangida cannot make things or unmake things”, she said.

The former First Lady also rejected long-standing claims that General Abacha looted Nigeria’s treasury. She asserted that her husband’s financial transactions were misunderstood and deliberately misrepresented.

Over the years, Nigerian governments have reported recovering hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign accounts – funds widely referred to as the “Abacha loot.” These recovered assets, from countries like Switzerland, the U.S., and the U.K., have been used to fund social investment programMEs.

Maryam Abacha challenged those who claim to have recovered stolen funds linked to her husband to present credible proof. She questioned the authenticity of these claims and the supposed evidence behind them.

“Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed?” she asked during the interview. “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, the monies vanished. People are not talking about that.”

According to her, the continued blame on her husband reflects deeper societal problems in Nigeria, such as tribalism and religious prejudice.

“Why are you blaming somebody? Is that tribalism or a religious problem or what is the problem with Nigerians?” she asked. “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.”

Maryam Abacha harshly criticized Nigerians for accepting the narrative that successive governments recovered large sums looted by her husband.

She said, “And because Nigerians are fools, they listen to everything.”