Osoba claims Babangida was held hostage by Abacha, others after they ousted Buhari

Osoba also noted that despite working under military dictatorship, he and other  journalists were able to produce “sellable” newspapers

By Kehinde Okeowo

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, has alleged that ex-military Head of State, Gen Ibrahim Babangida (retd), also known as IBB, was held hostage by the military junta who helped him to overthrow his  predecessor, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

He made this known in a recent interview with ThisDay, where he claimed Babangida told him that he had no choice but to listen to his fellow coupists.

IBB became Nigeria’s military Head of State in 1985 after he, late Sani Abacha, Aliyu Gusau, and others ousted Buhari from power through a coup.

However, speaking about the incident, Osoba noted that despite working under military dictatorship, he and fellow journalists were able to produce newspapers that were still “sellable”.

The journalist turned politician also said IBB informed him and a few of his colleagues that he was held hostage while in power.

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Osoba said: “You see, even under the military, I always tell you people that you should praise us that we were able to produce papers that were still sellable under military dictatorship.

“You people operate under a civilian government. You don’t know what it was. The truth is that those military people knew that in-house. I will tell them the home truth.

“I remember one incident when Felix Peter, myself, and one or two other people met Babangida when he was military president.

“We bluntly told him a lot of things that were wrong with him and his government.

“It was so devastating that Gen. Babangida said, ‘Let me tell you boys, I am hostage to those who staged the coup and those who put me here.

“And if I didn’t listen to what they wanted, they would get me out in seconds. And that there are no absolute powers.

“So, you see, behind closed doors, we told them the home truth. So when we wrote stories, they already knew that we had told them the truth. And then tolerated us.”