June 12 Betrayed: How MKO Abiola Won and Lost Nigeria’s Mandate

Senior Advocate of Nigeria Akin Onigbinde offers an examination of the events surrounding the historic June 12 election, a moment many regard as Nigeria’s freest and fairest vote. He recounts how the political class was outmaneuvered and deceived by Ibrahim Babangida, leading to the shocking annulment of the election. Onigbinde takes listeners into the inner workings of the Social Democratic Party, explaining how MKO Abiola won the party’s presidential ticket and later secured a national mandate at the polls. He also reflects on the arrest and detention of Abiola under the regime of Sani Abacha, examining the role the judiciary played, its courage, its failures, and the pressures surrounding the case. The conversation provides a sober reflection on betrayal, democratic aspiration, and the institutional weaknesses that shaped one of Nigeria’s defining political crises.