June 12 was formerly known as Abiola Day,[5] celebrated in Lagos and some South-western states of Nigeria.
The last major military ruler was Gen. Sani Abacha, who died suddenly on Monday in 1998.
[10] His successor, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar promised a transition to democracy, and accordingly a new constitution was adopted on May 5, 1999.
[12] This was done to commemorate the democratic election of Moshood Abiola on June 12, 1993, which was wrongly cancelled by the government of Ibrahim Babangida.
The Nigerian Democracy Day theme song was written by Attih Soul on the directives of the Buhari led administration in 2017 as part of the celebration to mark the day.