Less than 24 hours after its launching, the pirated copies of the autobiography of former Military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), titled, ?A Journey in Service?, on Friday surfaced on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

X, formerly known as Twitter, is awash with links for free downloads, with netizens vowing to embrace its pirated copies rather than waste their hard-earned money on the original copies of IBB?s biography.

Another X account urged its followers to download the book for free, while others provided page-by-page copies. Some even dropped PDF copies of the pirated version in their WhatsApp groups. Popular entrepreneur Akin Alabi expressed dismay at the rate at which the pirated copy of the book is spreading across social media.

At this juncture, the possibility of IBB recouping his investment in the autobiography may have already been dashed, with millions of people having access to the pirated copy.

IBB launched his long-awaited autobiography, ?A Journey in Service?, in Abuja on Thursday. The event was originally billed to be chaired by his boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but for some reason, he was visibly absent from the venue.

However, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was physically present as the special guest of honour. Also in attendance was the former President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who delivered the keynote address, while former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo reviewed the autobiography. As expected, the event brought together eminent members of society, among them former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

The former military President has not made any official response at the time of filing this report. (The Guardian)

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