Nigerian Presidential Election of 1993
Moshood Abiola's apparent 58 percent win was annulled by the military, igniting a crisis.
Overview
The June 12, 1993 election, judged Nigeria's cleanest ever, pitted southern Yoruba businessman Moshood Abiola against northern Muslim Bashir Tofa, with Abiola, remarkably, winning in Tofa's home north. As results showed Abiola ahead, military president Babangida annulled the vote on June 23, citing court irregularities amid elite panic. Protests, strikes, and a sham interim government collapsed into General Abacha's seizure in November. Abiola was detained in 1994 and died in custody in 1998. June 12 is now Nigeria's Democracy Day, the symbol of a stolen mandate.
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