A parody account falsely attributed remarks to General Babangida, implying he favored military rule over democracy.
Former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida.
Former Military President Ibrahim Babangida has disavowed a post from a parody social media account falsely endorsing military rule over democracy.
The parody account, @General_Ibbro on X (formerly Twitter), wrongly attributed statements to General Babangida, implying he favored military rule over democratic governance.
In a statement signed by Mahmoud Abdullahi for the IBB Media Office, Babangida reaffirmed his support for Nigeria’s democratic process. The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a post on a parody account on X, formerly known as Twitter, under the handle @General_Ibbro, which falsely attributes comments to former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, endorsing military rule over democratic governance.”
“This fraudulent account uses our principal’s image, name, and the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for credibility, but it does not belong to him, nor does the former President endorse any posts appearing there.”
The statement highlighted that this was not the first time the account had spread misinformation. Last year, during the presidential elections, the same account falsely claimed that Babangida had endorsed a particular presidential candidate, causing public confusion and embarrassment.
The latest false statement from the parody account suggested that Babangida believed Nigeria had its best years under military rule and that democracy had worsened the situation.
“We want to state unequivocally that neither the X account, which is essentially a parody or fake account, nor the statements made there, belong to the retired General,” the statement continued.
“For the avoidance of doubt, General Babangida (rtd) believes that Nigeria’s democracy is resilient, here to stay, and that we must do everything possible to safeguard the process.”
He also reiterated that despite the challenges facing the nation, Babangida has always maintained that the solution lies in “more” democracy, not less.
The former president expressed frustration over the inability to have the parody account removed or sanctioned and urged the public to disregard any posts from the account that falsely represent his views.
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