IBB also described the incident as “a personal loss of a childhood friend”
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.) aka IBB, has explained why he executed his childhood friend, General Mamman Vatsa following a failed coup attempt.
He made this known in his new autobiography, ‘A Journey of Service,’ which was launched in Abuja on February 20.
According to IBB, he was forced to execute Vatsa, to safeguard Nigeria’s future.
Revealing how Vatsa’s alleged coup plot reached him, the former military leader said he initially dismissed it as a rumour born out of the close relationship they both shared since their youth.
He however, added that he later consulted fellow officers, including Generals Nasko, Garba Duba, and Wushishi before taking a decision.
IBB went on to claim covert investigations by military and other intelligence agencies uncovered “incontrovertible evidence” that Vatsa had funded officers to facilitate the plot.
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He wrote, “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.”
He added, “it was clear that the coup planners had to be executed” and described the incident as “a personal loss of a childhood friend”.
He wrote, “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.”
In March 1986, Vatsa and nine other co-conspirators were executed by the IBB led military junta.
