- Vatsa’s Family: “You Lied, Vatsa Was Murdered Unjustly”
By Abiola Olawale
Former Nigerian Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), has stirred controversy with recent statements defending his decision to execute his childhood friend, General Mamman Vatsa, nearly four decades ago. Vatsa, a writer, soldier and poet, was the then Minister of the newly established Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Abuja.
Babangida’s revelations were contained in his remarks published in his autobiography “A Journey of Service”on February 20, 2025.
In his book, Babangida detailed the events surrounding a failed coup attempt in 1985, which he alleged was orchestrated by Vatsa.
Babangida, who led Nigeria’s military government from 1985 to 1993, claimed that covert investigations uncovered “incontrovertible evidence” of Vatsa’s involvement in funding officers to overthrow his regime.
According to him, the execution of Vatsa in March 1986, alongside nine other co-conspirators, was necessary to safeguard Nigeria’s future.
Babangida asserted: “With our experience in the few months in government and the benefit of hindsight based on previous rumours, I determined that the best way to tackle the rumours about a possible Vatsa coup was by confronting the principal suspects.
“When the decibel of the stories rose too high, I confronted Vatsa himself after reporting the rumours to more senior colleagues like Generals Nasko, Garba Duba and Wushishi. Nasko intervened and tried to find out the truth from Vatsa. Vatsa flatly denied it all, but the covert investigations by the military and other intelligence services continued.
“Once substantial incontrovertible evidence was established, the arrests began. It turned out that Vatsa had paid several officers money to facilitate the coup operation. One of them was Lt-Col. Musa Bitiyong, who was given N50,000.
“He admitted it, and Vatsa also admitted the payment but said he wanted to help Bitiyong establish a farm project — the case of Lt-Col. Musa was not helped because he had previously been involved in other controversial coup stories.
“They had planned a bloody coup which would have plunged the country into darkness. I had to choose between saving a friend’s life and the nation’s future.
“Above all, everyone who had signed on to a military career understood clearly what it meant to plan a coup and fail. The penalty was clear and unmistakable.”
However, the former leader’s justification has met with sharp criticism from Vatsa’s family.
Jonathan Vatsa, a family member, reacted on Friday, calling the execution “unjust” and questioning Babangida’s motives.
He also accused Babangida of allegedly using national security as a pretext to eliminate a perceived rival.
He called on the former military President to “summon the courage” to apologize and make restitution for the pain inflicted on the Vatsa family and Nigerians at large.
He said: “My stance has always been that he was killed unjustly. He never deserved to die. There was no valid reason for his execution, even though the military tribunal sentenced him to death. He had the right to appeal. Before he could even file an appeal, they announced he had been killed an hour earlier. Why the rush to execute an innocent man?
“It’s like winning a case in court and, according to the Nigerian constitution, you have the right to go to a higher court, but before you can do so, they claim your time has run out. They weren’t fair to him. It wasn’t about sacrifice; they saw him as a threat. If he had been alive, they wouldn’t have been able to accomplish the things they did.
“He (Babangida) owes Nigerians an apology on so many issues. And it’s not only an apology he owes Nigerians. He should thank God he is still alive and he has the opportunity to say I’m sorry. So, he should equally summon the courage not only to apologise but equally to make restitution. Everything that he has taken from Nigerians that was not in the right way, he should make restitution.
“He should return them to Nigerians. It could be money; it could be property; it could be anything he has acquired not the right way because he has the opportunity; he’s alive so that whatever he is doing now will look genuine before Nigerians. But I want to go through the book; I have got it online; I’m making my points.”
