Human Rights and Press Freedom in Nigeria

University of Nigeria Research Publications

OWO, Ifeanyichukwu Author PG /MA /98/24910

Human Rights and Press Freedom in

Title Nigeria Under the Sani Abacha Regime

Arts Faculty

Mass Communication Department

December, 2000 Date

Signature

HUMAN RIGHTS AD PRESS FREEDOM IN NIGERIA UNDER THE SANI ABACHA REGIME

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEFARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGRZE OF MASTER OF ARTS (M.A.) IN MASS COMMUNICATION

. . owo, ~FEA~Y!~CHUKWU

( PG/MA/98/24310)

DECEMRER, 2000 2 Z A-•

CERTIFICATION

Owo, Ifeanyichukwu, a postgraduate student of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Niaeria, Nsukka, with the registration number

PG/MA/98/24910, has satisfactorily completed the requirements for the course and research work for the deqree of Master of Arts (M.A.) in Mass

Cormunica tion, The work embodied in this report

is original and has not, to the best of my knowledge, been submitted in part or in full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other University.

.*.,..m..o..m..*~om*o~*.* External Examiner iii,

DEDICATION

TO:

My granny, Mrs. Amuche Nnaji for her exemplary life and dedication to the service of the Lord, To my father,

Mr. ~atri'ckOwo and mother, Mrs.

Onyemaechi Owo, for their love and understanding. iv,

ABSTRACT

General Sani Abacha came into power in the heat of the struqgle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria. Human rights activists and journalists who were in the forefront of the struqgle were viewed as. opponents of the military government of Abacha, The activists and the pressmen were therefore, being hunted down by Abacha.

Consequently, they practised under pressure throughout the tenure of the dictator. The historical research and case study methods were used in this work, because of the nature and requirements of the topic, Some legal and media practitioners were also interviewed concerning the records of human rights and press freedom in the country during the era of Abacha.

The aims and objectives of this study are to:

! i," review the appalling records of fundamental human rights and press freedom in Niqeria under the

Abacha regime, (ii) point out a few of the victims of the human rights and press freedom violations under the dictetor,(iii) review the impact of the violations on the country, (iv) contribute to the V, promotion of and respect for human rights and press freedom in the country, Iv) recommend ways of maintaining a cordial rela tionship between the government and the press in order to build a durable and virile democratf c society,

There is no doubt that this work will contribute immensely to the prevention of the abuses of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria by the government, discourage the return of the military into the nation's polity, create awareness among the people with regard to their basic riqhts and freedoms and also serve as a guide to future researchers on the same or similar topics.

The research questions were focused on the meaning of the human rights and press freedom in

Nigeria, the condition of the rights and freedom under the Abacha administration, the need for the respect and protection of the basic rights and freedom, and relationship between Nigeria and t5e international community under Abacha with regard to the respect for human rights and press freedom, the relationship hetween the human riqhts activists on one hand and vi. the press on the other with the Abacha government and how the military vis-a-vis the civilian

~overnmentsrespect human rights and press freedom.

This work discovered that, (i)Abacha regime made the worst record of violatians of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria than a11 his predecessors put together; ( ii) many productive Nigerians fled the country and went into self exile abroad because of the rate of the violations during the Abacha regime;

iii) there were a lot of economic, political, etc. sanctions placed on the country by the international comqunity due to the abuses of human rights and press freedom;( iv) the relationship between the human rights activists Qn one hand and the pressmen on the other with the Abacha regime was frosty or unfriendly throughout the most part of the administration. Consequent upon these findings, the research recommends that, (a) genuine human rights organisations and the press s5ould not relent in enlightening the public on their rights and freedoms; (b) the National

Human Rigyts f nvestigation Commission should be fully empowered to proscute any public officer who is found to Se involved in the abuse of human rights and press vii.

freedom while in office; (c) the human rights organisations and members of the press deserve

financial and moral support and encouragement

from Nigerians; (d) the hardwon democracy In the

country should be sustained; (el there should be a cordial relationship among t5e human rights activists and journalists in the struggle to enthrone gocd governance and the respect for

the dignity of man in Nigeria. viii-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My sincere gratitude goes to all those who contributed in one way or the other to the feasibilitly and success of this research work, First on the list is my dynamic and resourceful supervisor, Dr. S.0,

Idemili, for his assiduous supervision. My profound gratitude also goes to the entire academic staff of the department particularly, Dr, R.A. Udeajah and

Miss E.U. Ohaja, for their concrete criticisms of the research proposal,

I also want to use this medium to acknowledge the moral sup~ortand understandinq of my parents,

Vr. and Mrs. Patrick Owo, throughout my studies,

My appreciation also goes to ~y elder brothers, Sunday,

Clement and Alexander for their encouragement,

Furthermore, I am very grateful to Mr, Ndubuisi

Nnaji, my brother and predecessor in the department for his invaluable assistance and inspiration throughout the programme, Others are, Messrs Alexander

Ugwuezuonu and Chidiebere Ohuawunwa, my course mates, for their assistance. The staff and management of tie

Nnarndi Azik iwe and departrnental li5raries must never ix. be forgotten for their co-operation in providing me with sufficient and relevant books, journals, magazines and newspapers during my library work.

Similarly, 1 express my qratitude to all my interviewees for their co-operation and patience during the interview. I am equally grateful to the typist,Mrs. Mabel C. Okonkwo for a job well. done,

Above all, I am highly indebted to God Almighty for His guidance and protections throughout my studies in the university.'lbl-lim be the glory.

UNIVERSITY OF PJIGEQIA, OMO, IFEP,NYICHUK1:IU PTSUKKA. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE:

TITLE PAGE o-o --*

CERTIFICATION 0.. om.

DEDICATION 0 0 0 iii

ABSTRACT 0.-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 0.. -0- viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .a. ..a

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION *

1.2 Background of the Study: Human Riqhts in the Society ... 3.,1.1 The Role of Free Press .. 2.1.2 Link Between Human Riqhts and Press Freedom ...... 1.1-3 A Profile of General Sani Abacha 1.2 Statement of the Problem ..* 1.3 Objective of the Study *.. 1.4 Theoretics 1 Framework ... 1.5 Significance of the S Wd ..* 1.6 Scope of the Study ... 1.7 Research Questions ... 1.8 Operational Definitions ..

REFERENCES 0.. c HA FTE R TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .. . 2.2 Human Rights ...... 2-2 Press Freedom ...... 2.3 The Libertarian theory - - .

REFERENCES mom xi.

PAGE CHAPTER THQEE METHODOLCGY 44 3.1 The Method of Research ... 44 3.2 Soxrces of Data ...... 45

CHAFTER FOUR: HUMAN RIGHTS AND PPESS FREEDOP IN NIGERIA UND59 THE ABACHA REGIME ,.. 50 4.2 Comparative Analysis of the Military and Civilian Regimes .,. 50 4.2 Human Rights and Press Freedom in Nigeria Before the Rbacha Regime 5 3 4.3 Records of Human Rights and Fress Freedom in Nigeria under the Abacha Regime .me .-* 59 4.4 Factors Responsible for Abacha' s Success in Human Rights and Fress Freedom Violations .rn . 71 4.5 Effects of the Eurnan Rights and Press Freedom Violations OF PTiqeria 75

REFEREVCES om. 80

CHAPTER FIVE : SUMMARY, COMCLUSIO?! AVD RECCVMENDATIOP'S

5.1 Summary ... 5.2 Conclusion .rn . 5.3 Recommendations .. .

BIBLIOG!?AFHY 0.. 97 LIST OF IP!T~WISf:!F,ES .. . .. 10 1 CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION

1.1 Backpround of the Study: Human Riqhts in the Society:

Human riqht is inherent in our nature. It is an in-barn and inseparable characteristic withoat which we cannot carry oat our basic fonctfans as human beings in the society (Chukwudozie, 1999:7), These basic riqhts are not negotiable. Every Nigerian citizen has equal entitlement to an exercise of the rights irrespective of his status, religious or tribal background.

The fundamental hmrm rights qride man la bin day to day activigies. They ensure the safety, survival and liberty of man in the society, Similarly, they serve as a guideline to the qovernment in the discharge of its functions to the people, In other words, the rights ensure that government adheres to certain laid-down rules and regulations in the performance of its leadership responsibilities, There are certain limitations in the exercise of the human rights, Constitutionally, nobody no matter his class, is justified to exercise the basic rights beyond these limits, And no civilized qovernment OR its part is justified to infringe on the fundamental rights of man unless as provided by 2.

the law. For clarity purpose, Chapter XV of the

1999 Constitution deals solely with the fundamental human rights; lh consists of fourteen sections - Sections 33-46. Section 33(1) stipulates that, cvery person has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect ef

a criminal affence of which ht haa been found guilty in Nigeria.

Section 34(1) provides that, every individual

is entitled to respect for the diqnity of his person and accordingly -

la) na person shall be subjected to torture or to

inhuman or degrading treatment,

(b) no person shall be held in slavery or servitude and

(c) no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. Section 39(1) states that, every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including

freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.

In fact, each of the sections from 33-46, guarantees specific human riqhts and their 3

limitations. It should be noted that anybody who is denied any of these fundamental rights and freedoms will be forced to live a sub-human existence, Therefore, human rights violation is a crime against humanity. Unfortunately, these basic rights of man

suffered a great deal in Nigeria under the Abacha regime, This is why, the rampant rise in cases of extra judicial killings by the police and security aqents remains the key index by which critics of the Abacha administration argued that the regimet s human rights record remains one of the most dismal

in the history of our natjon (Kukah, 1997:23),

The regime promulgated decrees which adversely

affected the human rights in Nigeria, For instance,

Decree 14 of 1994, prsmulqated by the late General

Sani Abacha, empowered the state to throw the writ of habeas corpus through the window so that the state

could not be compelled to prodace detainees in court,

A corollary of this arbitrariness led to the exodus

of many human rights actjvities from Nigeria to

overseas for their dear 1-ives,

Thus, the violations of the human rights under

the Abacha regime forced many productjve and

fntclliqent Niqeria~sthat wonld have utilized their 4, potentials for the development of the nation, into self exile abroad, This is probably to avoid arbitrary arrests, detentions and assassinations by people believed to be on the payroll of the

Abacha government, Hence, when the General turned the heat on, human riqhts abuse soon became one veritable ticket for the faint-hearted to seek greener pastures abroad. With Nfqerians cowed by fear, the most brilliant ones decided to use their intelligence to devise ways of fleeing the country within the shortest time. Exile became the alterna- tive to the struggle (Kukah, 1997:26).

Throughout this period of battered human rights in Nigeria, most human rights orqanisations were undaunted. They refused t:o yield to the harassments and intimidations by the qbvernment and its agents.

On this note, Nigeria owes a debt of gratitude to the human riqhts organisations, for stamdinq up to the

Abacha regime and other dictatorships in the ceuntry,

Under the Abacha adminsstratisn, the activists functioned under severe restrictions, blackmail, threats and harassments from security agencies, The human rights groups Xed by the Civil Liberties

Orqanisatioa fCLO), worked hard towards sensitlsing Nigerians to the scope of human rights violations.

In fact, arbitrary arrests, harassment from security aqemcies, detentions wfthont trial and torture under the junta were bromqht to the front burner by the courageous human rights organisatiens throaqh the press.

It is pertinent to note that the respect far human rights qives the citizens a sense of belonging,

It also enables them to go about their business without fear of molestation or vindictiveness,

Similarly, it provides them a free atmosphere to discharge their lawful duties without fear or favour.

Therefere, it is when the basic rights and freedoms of man are protected and respected that the nation's tycoons and work force can make a positive input towards the socf-economic mnd political development of the country.

1,The Role of Free Press:

Freedom of the press means the right to publish books, pamphlets, or newspapers wfthout having to submit them in advance for government approval or censor. The same freedam applies to motion pictures, television and radio. The writer is of course, subject ta punishment if he publishes false, scanda- lous or malicious material, In practice, therefore, 6,

freedom of the press had been extended to mean

freedom of information, that is, the right of the

people of a free nation to be fully informed abut

affairs of national or local interest,

The role of the press to nation building

canna t be over-emphasized, The press contributes

immensely to the progress and stability of a country,

Nevertheless, it is only in a society where the press

freedom is guaranteed and respected that the press can

perform the desired functians, This is why the

freedom of the press is always enshrined in the

W iqerian constitutions. Far example, Sections 36 and

39 of 1979 and 1999 Constitutions respectively,

guarantee the freedom sf the press, They have the

same title, mRiqht to freedom of expression and the press."

The press performs a number of functions but

the major ones are: provision of information, enter-

tainment and education, 1, Provision of Information:- This is the first and primary role of the press, It informs the people

abut the policies and proqrammes of the govern-

ment in an objective and factual manner. It also

informs the public ahut other things happening arount them, The individual does not have the

time or the ability to qather the facts concerning

everything that affects him, Thus, journalists

working in various newspapers, magazines and

broadcast media go to the field to gather facts which they present with sufficient background

and analysis in such a way that the individual

not only knows what is in the news, but also

the significance and Lmplications of the news,

2. Provision of entertainment: The press provides entertainment for the public, This is achieved

by the publication of humorous and lighter

stories mainly for'pleasurt and relaxation,

Such news media as the Laqos Weekend and the

New York Daily News, supply a lot of stories on the lighter side of life - divorce, infidelity, romance, etc, Such stories give the reader vicarious pleasure and are usually paid more

attention by the reader than the serious

articles, This is mostly why the press is

flourishing world wide,

3, Provision of educatio~: The press provides

intellectual and moral training for people, By

reading the articles and editorials of newspaper 8,

and -newsmagazines, the public becomes more

educated and enlightened, Some stories particularly,

human interest features, in newspapers and

maqazines impart moral lessions to the readers,

Apart from these three basic roles, the press also performs other vital functions in the society,

For example, it moulds public opinion, Here, journalists are seen as crusaders and apostles of justice, equity and fair-play in the society. The press seeks to uncover the social ills among the people, It monitors governance and exposes the corrupt practices among the government officials. Thus, in 1995 draft constitution, the press had the power to ensure that the Constitutional provisions were upheld, Far-reaching too, was the provision which the press would more than any other person take advantage of, to tackle the corruption in the polity (Hamoh, 1997:36). This is also why effarts should be made to ensart that the csuntry has a very healthy press that is independent in such a way that it will not be gagged for pointing out lapses and cotraptions and incidence of cupFdity and avarice amongst the public functionaries (Acholonu, 1999: 3O),

The press contributes greatly to the sustenance of democracy in the country, Thus, journalists have 9, a duty to promote the healthy qrawth of democracy and to expand the frontiers ef freedom guaranteed by democratic norms, The press mast ensure that politicians uphold the supremacy of the Constitution, This is a requirement of Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution.

It is in recognition of the importance of the press to the enthronement and survival of democracy that politicians saw the newspapers as the best weapon with which to flush out colonial oppressors, Through these organs of communication, they made the impacts of their views on colonialism felt (~mechukwu, l997:28),

1.12 Link Between Human Riqhts and Press Freedom:

Human riqhts and press freedom are inter-woven,

In fact, press freedom is under the umbrella of human rights, However, they vary slightly in some aspects,

The relationship between human rights and press freedom is enormous, The press as the watch dog of the society and the monitor of governance contributes immensely to the protection and promotion of the human rights,

Hence, without freedom of expression, government can and do act with impunity. The culture of secrecy breeds more secrecy and a government which cannot be held accountable to the people will certainly violete other fundamental rights, 10 ,

Similarly, the press acts as a defence counsel of human rights, While lawyers defend people's rights in the law courts in order to ensure justice, eauity and fa&r-play, journalists perform the same function by exposing human tights abuses on the pages of newspapers and magazines,

Besides, the press enlightens the pub1 ic on their fundamental rights. This in turn helps the people to be aware of their basic rights and when they are violated, Many people know little or nothing about the fundamental human rights. This is because majority of Nigerian citizens arc largely illiterate and very much ignorant of their rights, It is the press that educates them about the fundamental rights of man,

1,1,3 A Profile sf General Sani Abacha:

According to Ekpu, (199%:171, the late General Sani

Abacha was born in Kano State of Nigeria in 1943. He

saw action during Nigeria* s civil war (l967-70), He became prominent and at the epicentre of the military- political battles of Niqeria from 1984 when, as a briqadier, he announced the overthrow of the Shehu

Shaqari government and the stepping in of Buhari.

In August 1985, when Buhari was shoved aside by

Babangida, Abacha's voice pierced the airwaves again, 11,

He was in the thick of things also during the Gidebn

Orkar abortive coup of April 22, 1990, when he had to

march with his troops on the radio station where the

rebels were held and bullied out, crushing the coup

decisively, During one of the pro-democracy riots in

Lagos, he was invited by the then civilian governor

of Laqos State, Sir Ctedola, to come to his rescue,

He immediately moved tanks into the streets of Lagos, The result is bloody history.

Before he became Niqeria's head of state on

November 17, 1993, he had established for himself a

reputation as a tough, no-nonsense soldier, Physically,

Abacha was not a giant, he was simply a normal-sized human being, not too tall nor too bulky, There was no

swagger to his gait, but he had an unsmiling visage, his eyes didn't spark fire, he said nothing with his

face. He did nat have a loud and coherent voice, there was no exaggerated show of emotion and he did not look

like somebody who can charm a snake but he was a person who either sat stock still while a storm rages or stood up and faced the storm without batting an eyelid,

He was not vocal, His views on Nigeria's politics were hardly known because they were hardly expressed.

He was unpredictable as he hardly expressed his feelinqs. 12.

He was described by his close associates as a man who did not mince words nor beat abut the bush; he was a man who said things as they were, he did not believe in bobbing and weaving. He was also seen as a man who was loyal to his friends; he greatly protected

Bahangida*s interest and legacy,

Abacha was an unforgiving fellow. He made sure that all those who were involved in the 1995 alleged coup, namely: retired Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Musa

YarWAduaand others were prosecuted and sentenced to jail and death, respectively, The international community pleaded on behalf of the alleged coup plotters, asking Abacha to temper justice with mercy,

Even Pope John Paul II pleaded with him to release

Obasanjo and his accomplices as well as Abiola and other political detainees, but he refused. Similarly, he arrested and sentenced to death his second in command, Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya and others for another alleged coup plot in December 1997.

Abacha% style of governance was strange, He was known for his reluctance to attend public functions to which he was often expected. Even the Independence parade which no Head of State had ever skipped, he created a record by being the first to ignore it on 13,

October 1, 1997, A few days before his death, about a dozen military administrators converged in Lagos, waiting to receive him at the commissioninq of a Laqos

State government housing estate in Ikeja, But at the end, he did not come,

During his tenure as Head of State, there were bomb explosions at a few public places in some parts of the country, The bomb explosions killed several people while others were seriously injured, The head of state was never seen at any hospital, or at any of the scenes of these calamities as a gesture of concern or care for the victims of those incidents, In spite of his seemingly toughness, Abacha bowed to the nature's call on June 8, 1998,

1.2 Statement of the Problem:- Durinq the autocratic government of General Sani Abacha, there were series of human rights abuses in

Niqeria, The evidence abound, Human rights activists and members of opposition groups were arbitrarily arrested and detained. In some cases, they were sentenced to jail or death without the due processes of law. A clear example was the detention of the widely-acclaimed wlnner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola in 1994, Abiola was I4 accused of treasonable felony and consequently, he was arrested and detained incomrni~nicado, He died in the

prison on July 7, 1998.

Similarly, Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmental rights

crusader and eight of his kinsmen were accused of murder by the Abacha regime. They were summarily

tried and sentenced to death by hanging by a controversial tribunal set up by Abacha, They were not even allowed to file any motion of appeal against the

sentence, On November 10, 1C95, they were executed,

Media professionals in Nigeria were not spared by Abacha. They suffered a lot of molestations,

harassments and intimidations under the dictator,

During the era, journalists practised under severe pressures, They were arbitrarily arrested, tortured

in detention and sometimes, sentenced to prison. For

instance, four journalists were sentenced tg 15 years imprisonment each in 2995, for reporting the 1995

controversial coup. The jour~alistswere Chris Anyanwu,

Kunle Ajibade, Ben Charles-Obi and Georue Mbah.

There were also clampdowns on prominent and

fearless media organisations hy the Abac3a g~vernment,

Under the regime, several publications were proscribed

while their media houses were ctosed down, According

to Pornoh (2?97:36), "between June and August, 1994, 13 publications had been barred from production and circulation. They belonqed mainly to The Guardian, Punch and ~oncord-~rou~s~At the end of Abac3a9s first year in office, the press and the government were back to the cat and mouse relationship that eventually emerges when the honeymoon is overal*

1.3 Objective of the Study:

An eminent anthropologist, A.R. Radclif f-Brown, in his seminal work, A Natural Science of Society

( 19571, assigned two tasks to students of society, They are to find out (i) how social systems perpetuate themselves by maintaining their structure, and ( ii) how social systems change their structure,

This implies that every study has one objective or the other which it sets out to achieve. As for this study, the focus of attention is to review the appalling records of fundamental human rights and press freedom in Nigeria under the Abacha regime,

Specifically, the aims and objectives of this study are to:

(a) identify the people and organisations that were

victims of the human rights and press freedom

abuses during the regime and draw the attention

of the present government to compensate them;

(b) review the impact of the human rights and press

freedom violations on the country during the era; promote human rights and press freedom in

Nigeria and highlight on the need to respect

human rights and independent press in the

country;

enlighten the people on their basic rights and freedoms as enshrined in the nation's Constitution;

remind journalists the need to discharge their

responsibilities with a sense of decorum by observing the code of ethics of journalism

practice in Nigeria;

recommend ways of maintaining a cordial relation-

ship between the press and the government in order

to build a strong and virile democratic society.

Theoretical Framework

This study adopts the libertarian theory as the basis for its analysis. Libertarianism places the individual above the state, not below it and humans are viewed as rational beings who, although imperfect as individuals, will collectively arrive at the best decision for the general welfare of society when exposed to all the facts involved (Eittner, 1989:347).

The libertarian theory also stipulates that an individual should be free to publish what he or she 17. likes and is thus, an extension of other rights - to hold opinions freely, to express the opinions, to assemble and organize with ethers, In a nutshell, the theory guarantees freedom of the press, This is quite contrary to the stipulations of the authoritarian theory,

The above assertions clearly uphold the respect for human rights and press freedom. Members of the press should therefore, be allowed to offer concrete criticism against the government of the day where necessary, This will no doubt minimize the incidence of corrupt practices and other social ills among the government officials and some notables in Nigeria, This is in line with the central principle of the libertarian theory which states that free and public expression is the best way to arrive at the truth and expose error.

Similarly, media practitioners should be free to publish or transmit whatever they like without any

interference, provided they do that within the limits of the law. And this law should be that reasonably made for the proper administration of a democratic society,

It is when the freedom of the press is assured

that journalists could enlighten the public about their 18 r fundamental rights and equally *expose the violations of these rights whenever there is any. It is also under this situation that they could effectively inform the people not only about the programmes and policies of the government but also the implications and significance of such programmes and policies,

In fact, press freedom will greatly provide a conducive atmosphere for the media workers to be efficient and courages in the performance of their duties,

One of the advantages of a free press is that it allows free expression and enables the society to know what its members aspire to, However, it is important to note that no nation will indefinitely tolerate a freedom of the press that serves to divide the country and to open the floodgate of criticism against the freely chosen government that leads it, In practice therefore, no country anywhere in the world, ever guarantees total independence to the press.

1-5 Siqnificance of the Study:

If the objectives enumerated earlier are realised, they will go a long way to the prevention of human rights and press freedom violations in Nigeria by the government, whether military or democratic, This will 19 therefore, contribute to the respect and promo tion of human rights and independent press in the country. Similarly, the study wlll help to discourage the return of the military into the nationis political scene, Thus, the study will. contribute Immensely to the support and survival of democracy in Nigeria.

In addition, the study will help in creating awareness amonq the people about their fundamental human rights and freedoms, As stated earlier, many

Nigerians are still uneducated and as a result they are ignorant of their basic rights and freedoms as provided by the Constitution,

On the other hand, the study wf 11 help to remind reporters of the need to be always objective and fair in the performance of their duties, At the same time, it will also help the government to be aware of the importance of respect for fundamental human rights and press freedom in the country. This is why duria the Abacha reqime, the Nigerian Press Council host for4 at which media practitioners and qovernment offieials met and told each other where they seemed to exceed the national brief because it is a fact that while the press has a constitutional right to monitor 20 , governance, the security agencies have a constitutional right to ensure that the nation is safe and peaceful. In September 1997, the State House Press

Corps and the office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Head of State hosted a forum in which issues of interest to the press and government were boldly tackled (Momoh, 1997:37), Thus, the study will help to create a cordial relationship between the press and the government,

Finally, the study will be of interest to human rights organisations both wLthin and outside Niqeria.

It will also serve as a guide to students and future researchers working on the same or similar topics,

1.6 Scope af the Study:

The study centres en the state of fundamental human rights and press freedom in Nigeria under the Abacha military regime. It corers the period when Abacha came to power through a palace coup on

November 17, 1993 to the day he dfed on June 8, 1998, which subsequently led to the end of his regime. However, the studylwill briefly highlight on

the conditfons of the fundamental human rights and press freedom in Nigeria before the Abacha

administration, 21,

1.7 Research Questions:

This study will be guided by the following questfons:

1, What is human rights and press freedom in

Nigeria all about?

2. What was the situation of the human rights and

press freedom in Nigeria under the Abacha administration?

3. What is the need for the respect and protection

of human rights and press freedom in the country?

4, What was the relationship between Nigeria and

the international community during the Abacha

regime with regard to the respect for human

rights and press freedom?

5, What was the relationship between the human

rights activists on one hand and the press on

the other with the Abacha government?

6, How do the military vis-a-vis the civilian

governments respect huwan rights and press freedom?

1.8 Operational Definitions:

For the purpose of clarity, it is pertinent to explain the meaning of terms and concepts associated 22, with this study, The terms and concepts, their meanings and operational definitions art as follows:

(a) Human riqhts: These are the fundamental rights

and basic freedoms conferred by law upon every

Nigerian citizen, They are written (entrenched)

in the Nigerian Constitution, They include:

riqht to life, right to dignity of human person, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing,

riaht to private and family life, right to freedom

of thought, conscience and reliqion, right to

freedom of expression and the press, right to

peaceful assembly and association, right to

freedom of movement, right to freedom from

discrimination, right to acquire and own immovable

property anywhere in Nigeria, among others,

(b) Constitution: This is a system of laws, customs,

conventions and principles which regulates

and governs the behaviour of individuals and

groups within a given human society. It can also

be defined as a document that expresses the 'how*

and 'how not' a given human society is run

(Ornovie and Okunzuwa, 1978~2)~ 2 3,

that stresses the supremacy of the law over all other considerations, The principle has

three major aspects, namely: equality, impar- tiality and the right of man (Effa-Kyei , 1984:26),

(d) Human right activists: These are the crusaders

and apostles of human rights, They champion the

course of human rights in the country.

(e) The Press: This means printed periodicals, It - includes "the newspapers and magazines taken as a wholenqCollin ,1980: 345) But presently, press includes both the print and broadcast media which

consist of radio and television.

(f) Fress Freedom: This is a situation whereby

.? journaIists are at liberty to print or transmit

whatever they like without any interference,

Succinctly put, it means the right of news-

papers, magazines and broadcast houses to report events, express opinions, etc., freely.

(g) Democracy: This is simply the government of the

people by the people and for the people. It

is under this system of government that the * human rights and press freedom are properly

respected,

(h) Military reqime: This is a system of

government whereby soldiers are in power,

The reqime is commonly run by dictators who

rule a country with decrees instead of Constitution, REFERENCES

Acholonu. Pats ( 2999) wHuman Riahts: The Nigerian I June 30,

Bittner, J .K. ~YUYI mass Lommunrcation an Introduction 5th Edition, New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc.

Chukwudozie, C.N. ( 2999) Introduction to Human Siqhts and Social Justice, Onitsha, Cape ?ublLshers Iqternatioo? 1 Ltd,

Collin, P,H, ( 1980) Standard Learnerms Enqlish Dictionary, Britain, Yarrap Limited.

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999,

Effa-Kyei, K, (1984) Government of West Africa, . Lagos, Shojohn Pub:ls?ing Company.

Ekpu, Ray ( 1998) "Sani Abacha,','Newswatch, June 22,

Kukah, Mathew Hassan (1997) "Human Rights: Meal Tickets for Pome," Newswatch, November 24,

Momoh, Tony (1997) nPress: Its Dog and Mouse Friend- ship," Newswatch, November 24,

Omovie, J.0, and Okunzua, M.U. (1978) Comprehensive Government for School Certificate, Senin C!Lty, :dodo LJmeh Publbs3inq Co, Ltd,

Radcliff-Brown, A,R, (1957) A Natural Science of Society, New Yark, The Free Press,

Umechukwu, F.0.J. ( 1997) Mass Cornmunitation in Pliqeria: A Student*s C~rnpan?~on,Enuau, Joen hssoc'a tes. CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Human Riqhts:

Modern human rights law emerged at the end of the

Second World War in response to the atrocities and massive violations of these rights witnessed during

the conflict, ; In' 1945, when the Charter of the

United Nations was drafted in San Francisco, United

States of America laid the conceptual and legal foundat ions for the future development of international measures to protect human rights, Accordingly,

Article 1 of the Charter establishes respect for human rights as the basis and the primary vehicle for achfeving the purposes of the organization and articles

55 and 56 pledge member states and the United Nations itself to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms (UNO, 1995: 31,

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General

Assembly in Paris proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by 48 votes to none, with 8 abstentions.

The fundamental principles of the declaration are summarised as follows: First, human rights are based on the "inherent dignityw of every human person, This dignity, and the rights to freedom and equality which - 27, derive therefrom, are inalienable , They have precedence over all powers, including that of the state, which may regulate but may not abrogate them,

The dignity of the human person exists and should he recognized f*without distinction of any kind." It follows that human rights are by nature, univergal, acauired at birth by all members of the human family, whatever political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which the person belongs,

The growing recognition among human beings of their equal dignity which is their common herftage, is such that it gradually promotes a "spirit of brotherhoodw in their relations,

The declaration recognizes the need for a social

'order*, both domestic and international, so that human belnqs can be fully realized, The individual has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible, These duties impose certain limitations on the exercise of human rights, provided they are determined by law and are solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights of others and of meeting 28, the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. These last clauses express the idea embodied in the Declaration of Relations Among Human Beings,

Society and the State, namely, that each should yield to the requirements of the general welfare as defined by'the organised community, whose raison d'etre remains, in any case, the promotion of human rights through dewocracy.

A number of criticisms have been made of this philosophy underlying the declaration, alleging, in particular, that its universalism is too abstract and reductive and that it fails to recognize cultural differences, It should be noted, however, that the essential concepts and principles of the declaration, including universalism, have been clearly'reaffirmed in subsequent international instruments, including many United Nations conventions and declarations ado~tedunanimously by the international community,

Article 2 sets forth the essential principle of equality and non-discrimination, recalling Article 55 of the Charter, which provides that the UH should - encourage respect for human rights and freedoms "for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion and conferring on this principle an unlimited scope by prohibiting distinctions made on the basis of any other status,

Article 3 proclaims three inter-related fundamental rights, namely, the riqht to life, the right to liberty and the right to security of person.

The decalration has thirty articles and each of them guarantees respect for fundamental humah rights in one way or the other. A considerable number of international human rights instruments affirm the obligation to implement the declaration, Among these are the

United Hations f nternational Covenants ( 19661, the three qrcat regiona 1 convention$ - European ( 1950 ) , American (1969) and African (1981) - and the great majority, if not all of the treaties in the United Nations treaty series,

Unfortunately, the Nigerian government under the late General Sani Abacha did not only fail to implement the declaration, but recorded the worst human rights violations in the country, The violations, parti- Of cularly, the execution of the nine Ieaders~Oqoni- people soured the relationship between Nigeria and the international community, Hence, ' Many western nations hurriedly withdrew their envoys from Nigeria to protest the killing of the Ogoni nine, The UH General Assembly's human rights committee passed a resolution condemning Nigeria for the arbitrary execution of the nine minority rights activists, The committee voted 98-12 with 42 absentions for a U.S, initiated resolution that for the first time, put Nigeria in the international spotlight for its human rights violations, The mast far-reaching aspects of the resolu- tions asked the UN Commission on Human Riqhts in Geneva to "give urgent attentionn to the human rights situation in Nigeria at its next session in early 1996, Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth, The United States and the 15-member European Union imposed an arms embargo and banned visits by government officials (Olawuni, 1995:2),

The fact is that due to the continued political logjam an'd human rights violations in Nigeria under the Abacha administration, the country*s relationship with most countries of the world became frosty, Consequently, the country lost a lot of opportunities opportunity of hosting the FIFA tournament in March

1995, because of its poor human riqhts records (Alubo,

Instead of respecting the Nigerian people, the junta engaged in a full range of abuses including arbitrary detention, torture, harassment of human rights monitors, a ban on opposition politfcal activity and restrictions on free speech and association. The regime 31. also systematically undermined the credibility, fairness and effectiveness of the country's judiciary.

The human rights abuses in Nigeria during the was Abacha governmentJso- deteriorated that it was reported by the press all over the globe. Thus, the former

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, observed that as he travelled in the course of his work, from West to East, North to South, he found that

Nigeria was frequently mentioned in the press as a country where the human rights of its citizens were not respected and press freedom was progressively muzzled (~debiyi,l997:l8).

While many Nigerians, especially the tiny clique of the ruling class would sermonize on the unity, sanctity and indissoluble state of Nigeria, Chief

Anyaoku preached unity with equity, justice and fair- play as the foundation of that unity. Besides, he believes that for unity to have a meaning, it has to wiaen the prospect for self-fulfilment and material improvement in the lives of the people.

For unity to be truly nurtured and overgrow the petty rhetorics which can germinate a sincere patriotism amongst the citizenry, Anyaoku posited that openness, accountability and fairness have a crucial role to play. And when he says an accountable government, he means a democratically-elected government that recognises the Importance OF reaching out wherever possible for concensus among the significant component units of a pluralistic society like Nigeria. Military government, he argued, is the opposite of accountable governance.

The violations of human rights in the country also attracted the attention of international human rights activists such as Suing Wang, a Taiwane*; Joe Keen, an American, Alan Green, a Briton, among others,

According to (Alawode, 1996:16), Wang and Keen may not be able to locate Nigeria on the world map,

They nevertheless, knew that something was wrong with its human rights record, To correct it, they wrote to Sani Abacha, urging him to release political detainees,

In his own letter, Green as(G .ed Abacha to grant immediate and unconditional release of Gani Fawehinmi,

Femi Falana and Femi Aborishade on the ground that they were prisoners of conscience imprisoned for non- violent expression of their beliefs, Both Green and

Wang are members of Amnesty International, a London- based human rights group which declared the detainees prisoners of conscience, 33.

A statement by the United States in March, 1996 deplored the continued harassment, detention and arrest of government critics saying that those incidents questioned the government's commitment to the democratic process, In the statement released to the press in

1996, Glyn Davies, acting spokesman for the State

Department in the U.S. noted that, the government of

Nigeria continued to harass, detain and arrest critics of the regime and to deny them basic rights of due process, including fair trials, unrestricted access to counsel and appeals through an independent fudiciawy as well as humane treatment in jail, including access

to family members and medica 1 treatment. Consequent upon these, the United States remained largely unimpressed by Nigeria's democratization process because of what is considered as in-built roadblocks contained in the government' s transition programme.

Hence, it spearheaded a campaign among f ts allies to

impose tougher multilateral sanctions against Abacha' s

regime. The sanctions included a ban on all new

foreign investments to Nigeria, freezing of assets of

the country's leaders and a sports ban after the 1996 Olympics. 34.

The United Nations High Commission for Human

Rights, in 1996, appointed two special rapporteurs in

Geneva, Switzerland, on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (Bacre Waly N'diaye) and on the

independence of judges and lawyers (Param Cumaraswamy)

to visit Nigeria and make their findings in their

specified areas. They were unable to visit Nigeria hecause of apparent differences in perspective between

them and the Nigerian government. In 1997, another special rapporteur on the human riqhts situation in

Nigeria, Tiyanjana Maluwa of Malawi, was appointed but on August 12, he resigned on personal grounds (Ekpu, l998:17),

' On October 16, 1997, a new special rapporteur,

Soli Jehangir Sorabjee of India, was appointed, Although he could not visit Nigeria due to procedural diffi- culties, the special rapporteur presented a report on the human rights situation in the country based on compilations from various sources, Sorabjee was apparently not impressed with the efforts towards the promotion of human riqhts and democracy in Nigeria,

His 22-page report dealt with 10 specific rights, namely: right to life, right to liberty and security of person, riqht to a fair trial, freedom of movement, ' 35, right to dignity and humane treatment while in detention, freedom of expression and freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, women* s rights, children's rights and right to development and to a satisfactory environment,

Under the right to life, the report mentioned extra- judicial killings at road blocks by policemen

(what is known in Nigeria as waccidental dischargen) and deaths In custody, The report also mentioned the cases of several persons detained without trial hy the Abacha administration.

Sorabf eeQs report leaked to the Nigerian government before its submission to the United Nations High

Comrwission for Human Rights, As a result, Abacha hurriedly sent his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom

Ikimi, to counter the report at the 54th Session of the Commission in Geneva, Ikini while addressing the

Commission said that human rights included civil and political rights as well as the right to adequate standard of living, the protection and advancement of the rights of women, children, minorities and in general the right to development,

According to Ikimi, the following measures were taken by the Abacha government towards the promotion 36. of human rights and democracy in Niqeria: Creation of new states and local governments and the allocation of funds for their development; establishment of

the National Human Rights Commission with powers to

investigate alleged human rights abuses; the amendment of the Civil Disturbances Act of 1987 to include an appeal process and the exclusion of military personnel from the tribunal; the amendment of Decree

Wo, 2 of 1984 to all~wfor a periodic review of cases of people detained without trial and the repeal of

Decree No, 4 of 1994 which sets aside the jurisdiction of the courts to issue the writ of habeas corpus to persons detained under Decree 2,

2.2 Press Freedom In western democracies, full information, free comment and lively press criticism are taken for qranted, No such assumption can be made in huge swaths of the globe, Journalists are harassed,

tortured and murdered, often for doing no more than

reporting the day-to-day conditions around them. In

1997, more than 50 journalists were killed, hundreds were imprisoned and many others were subjected to

official repression, censorship and intfmidation (Editorial in Guardian, 1996:8). The recognition of freedom of the press worldwide led to World Press Freedom Day which is being

celebrated in May every year. It was launched in

Africa in 2991 by the United Nations Education,

Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It

is an attempt to shame those governments denying

freedom of expression and to offer moral and materfal

support to the courageous men and women who risk their

lives to reveal the truth, Among the most courageous

are the indomitable journalists of Niqeria, Few countries in Africa have such a dismal record of corruption, military repression and mismanagement.

Yet, few have a press as diverse and courageous,

On a typical day in April, 1996, A.M. News,

revealed that dozens of putrefying corpses are regularly dumped by prisons and hospitals at a cemetery near

the main market in a Lagos suburb. Another paper, Tribune Enerqy, in the same year, reported that

residents of the Lagos State capital had electricity

for only a few hours a day because nothing was done

to repair the over-stretched Kainji hydro-electric power station. During the autocratic regime of Sani Abacha in Niqeria, editors were regularly arrested and detained. 38,

This is why Suing Wang, in his letter to Abacha in

March, 1996, pleaded for the release of the detainees including Nosa Igiebor, Editor-in-Chief of Tell magazine in the name of humanity, Newspapers were also proscribed and their premises vandalized by thuqs in the pay of the military. Journalists slept in different houses each night to escape revenge attacks. However, they remained su?prisingly brave and ebullient,

In spite of all odds, the press llved up to f ts

expectation in the discharge of its obligations under the tyrant. For instance, it was the press, which in the absence of any civilian opposition, drew attention to the repression in Ogoni land; it was a press campaiqn that mounted the pressure for the release of

Moshood Abiola. It was the press that informed

Nigerians how their country had becone a pariah during the dictatorship,

7.3 The Libertarian theory

At this stage, it is pertinent to highliqht the libertarian theory. This theory was coined by Siebert, --et a1 in the 17th century, It is,now widely regarded ' 39s as the main leqitimatinq principle for print media in liberal democracies, The major principles and values of this theory include the following:

publication should be free from any prior

censorship by any third party; the act of publication and distribution should

be open to a person or group withaut permit or

licence; '

attack on any government official or political party (as distinct from attacks on private

individuals or treason and breaches of security)

should not be punishable, even after the event;

there should be no compulsion to publish anything;

publication of "errorn is protected equally with

that of truth, in matters of opinion and belief;

no restrction should be placed on the collection,

by legal means, of information for publication;

there should be no restriction on export or

import or sending or receiving wrnessages" across

national frontiers;

journalists should be able to claim a considerable

degree of professional autonomy within. their organisat ion, 40.

These principles guarantee the respect for and promotion of press freedom, However, there are certain contradictions in the free press theory, For example, it is very uncertain as to what extent the theory can be applied to public broadcasting, which now accounts for a large part of media activity in many societies which also remain attached to ideals of individual liberty. It is also not very clear how far it applies to other important spheres of communication activity where freedom may be equally important - . as in education, culture and the arts.

Besides, the theory seems to be designed to protect opinion and belief and has much less to say on information, especially in matters that have to do with access, privacy and publication, where personal or property interests are involved, Similarly, the theory proscribes compulsory control but provides no distinct way of handling the many pressures to which media are subjected. These contradictions and uncertainties notwith- standing, the relevance of the libertarian theory to 1! the promotion of press freedom cannot be over-emphasized.

First, it allows expression and enables 'societyo to know the aspiration of its members. 4 1 Secondly, truth, welfare and freedom must go together and control of the press can only lead u.ltimately to irrationality or repression, even if it may seen justifiable in the short term.

Above all, free and public expression is the best way to arrive at the truth and expose error - this is the central and recurring element of the theory.

The ideals and values of the theory are in line with a simple statement contained in the Pirst Amendment to the American Constitution which states that "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press." Freedom of expression or of the press is therefore, an absolute right of the citizen in every civilized part of the world,

Practically, however, no society eves guarantees total or unlimited freedom to the press, It is not only in Nigeria that the press is subjected to one form of control or the other. Even in the advanced democratic societies like America, government has some control over the press, For example, whenever America is at war with another country, the press is not 42. allowed to report events about the war, This is probably to avoid any threat to the security of the

State, The media practitioners in Nigeria should be aware of this and thus, disabuse their minds of absolute freedom of the press,

Nevertheless, it should be noted that the develaped countries respect freedom of expression and of the press much more than the developing nation like Nigeria, A clear evidence to support this fact is the investigation about the Watergate in United

States of America carried out by two journalists, namely: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the

Washinqton Post, Their report on the Watergate issue indicl.k~O the then US President, Richard Nixon which subsequently led to his resignation in anticipation of his impeachment, Another evidence is the sex scandal that involved the current American President.

Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in 1998. During the trial of the case in court, the press was allowed to report all the legal proceedings abut the matter until the case was finally disposed off. Africa in general and Nigeria in particular, should borrow a Leaf from

America and other advanced democratic nations with regard to the respect for press freedom, REFERENCES

Adebiyi, R ,Em ( 1997) "The Commonwealthgs Human Rights Crusader, " The Guardian, January 25,

Alawode, Ade (1996) "Prisoners of Conscience," Newswatch, April 1.

A~U~O,ogoh (1995) tTry, the besieged country," The Gua tdian, December 20,

Ekpu, Ray (1998) wTug of Human Rights," Newswatch, May 24. Olawuni, Tunji (1995) "Commonwealth body meets on Nigeria ," Vanquard, December 18.

UNO (1996) The United Nations and Human Riqhts 1945- 1995. Vol. VII, New York, United Vations Krtment of Public Information.

*'World focus on Nigeria Press" (Editorial London ~imes), The Guardian, May 8, 1996, CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.2 The Method of Research The historical research and case study methods

were used in this study. Historical research method

is different from history. While historical research

method is a type of research methodology that uses

historical perspectives, history is a discipline

which deals with the study of past events, Thus, as

distinct from simple narrative of events or mere

historical accounts, scientific historical research, also variously referred to as analytical history or

cultural history, attempts to place socio-cultural events or phenomena in their historica 1 perspective

(Obikeze, 1990:lS).

Also, the historical research method is a

systematised and objective enquiry into events,

developments and experiences of the past essentially

for the purpose of gaining a better and fuller grasp

of the present with a view to making more reliable

predictions of the future (Ndagi, 1984).

In using the historical research method, there

was an attempt to produce an accurate reconstruction of the state of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria under 45,

the Abacha administration, This was achieved by identifying and analysing the social forces and processes that brouqht Abacha to power, that is, the

state of human rights and press freedom in the country before the Abacha* s regime,

On the other hand, the case study is that type of research metho&logy in which there is only one

study subfect, be it a person, a group, a community, an organisation, The case study attempts an exhaustive and detailed investigation of one subject as a proto-

type or true representative of the class or specie (Obikeze, 1?90:16),

Both research methods are apparently most suitable

for this study, This is because the topic under study

is focused on a past regime and the leader of the

regime is dead, The topic therefore, is historical,

Moreover, the topic centres on only one study subject

in the person of the late General Sani Abacha. His

regime is a true representative of the military regimes in Nigeria.

3.2 Sources of Data: For this study, three privately owned daily

newspapers and two independent weekly newsmagazines 46. published during and after Abacha's administration were studied and the useful data therein were collected for reference purpose, The three newspapers are:

The Guardian, the Vanquard and the Champion, The two weekly newsmagazines are: the Newswatch and the -Tell, The issues of these print media produced in the country during and after the regime were studied to enable the researcher collect sufficient data since the study used historical research and case study methods, The editions of the above publications published during the regime were studied and relevant data were collected from them in order to highlight on the violations of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria under the regime. In addition, the editions of the newspapers and magazineproduced after the junta up to the end of

1999, were studied for reference purpose in order to present the chilling revelation of human rights and press freedom abuses In the country under the Abacha government, This is because people were afraid to express their opinions or inform the public about the activities of the government when Abacha was in power.

It was also only very few activists and journalists that were able to stand firm and bold to inform the 47. public about the violations being committed by the junta during the heydays of the dictator. Thus, it was after the demise of Abacha in 1998 and the exit of the military from politics on May 29, 1999, that all the activists, journalists and indeed every Nigerian have the free atmosphere to reveal the violations of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria under the dictator.

The edit~rialsand articles in the selected print media that are relevant to the study were carefully studied and the vital data from them were collected for docu'mentation, The issues of the newspapers and magazines were chosen among others because of, their reputation for objectivity and constructive criticism. also These newspapers and magazines wereLselected because they have a very wide circ.k ation in the country. Apart from the selected publications, other sources such as books and journals were consulted for the purpose of data collection.

Besides, some relevant data were collected throhgh oral sources. This is a means of collecting data or information verbally from people who participated directly in an event, activity, etc., or their descendants or from the people who have knowledge of 48, the event or phenomena, In this regard, the researcher interviewed some pressmen and lawyers who have knowledge of the situation of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria during the Abacha regime,

In addition, the photographs of some human rights activists, journalists etc., who were victims of the human rights and press freedom violations under the Abacha administration, were attached at the end of the work for illustration and to buttress the points made In the research work. REFERENCES

Ndagi, J.0. (1904) Essentials of Research Methodoloqy for Niqerian Education, Ibadan, Unlversitv Press ilrnit~d.

Obikeze, D.S. (1990) Methods of Data ~nalysisin the Social and Behavioura 1 Sciences, Enugu, AU~O- Century FublishLng Co. TLtd. CHAPTER FOUR

HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRESS FREEDOM IN NIGERIA UNDER THE ABACHA REGIME

4.1 Comparative Analysis of the Military and Civilian Seqimes

The military government differs from the civilian administration in many respects, particularly, with regard to t+ respect for human riahts and press freedom. The two systems of government are quite opposite of each other. According to Lawal

( 1982: 1181, the differences between the two governments can be seen in the following features:

1, Not democratically elected: Members of a civilian

government are democratically elected by the voters

in a general election, But the soldiers are

not elected by anybody, they come to power by the

force of arms, It is therefore, pratically

impossible for the electorate to vote out a

military government, because soldiers do not

stand for election. Consequertly, "In most military

administrations, the principle of the 'Rule of Law'

is tampered with. Government interferes with

judicial proceedings," (Emezi and Ndoh, 1997: 20). 51,

2. Suspension of the Constitution: The Constitution

especially the provisions relating to human rights

are of ten suspended immediately the military

takes over government, Thus, the entry of the

military into the polity of course marked the

exit of the rule of law, Military tribunals usually take over to dispense justice in the

image and likeness of their makers, Every form

of violation of human rights then becomes

possible under this dispensation (Kukah, 1997: 231,

The parliament is also usually dissolved

and all political parties and political activi-

ties are banned. A military council is set up

to perform the functions of the parliament, In

a civilian government, the parliament is the

highest law-making body in the country, the members who usually belong to different political

parties are elected by the people.

3, Laws are passed by decrees: Under a civilian

government, the people are ruled by laws made by

the parliament and signed by the President. But

in a military regime, the people are ruled by

decrees. Once a decree is announced, it becomes 52,

law immediately. Hence, the military 3bsolutists

churn out draconian laws (decrees), These are

hard ' laws* made out of the whims and caprices

of the man in power, These laws constitute the

real danger to journalism practice in Nigeria.

Editors and reporters are targets of these laws.

Many of them have as a result, lost their jobs,

some even lives, It is not just because they

break any law, but simply because somebody has

acted out of enthusiasm and unguarded exuberance

(Umechukwu, 1997: 90 ),

4. Individual liberty: Under a military regime,

the fundamental human rights and press freedom

are highly abused. For example, a person can be

arrested and detained without trial, The military

government has wider powers to restrict individual

liberty. However, some military governments in

West Africa suspend only part of the Constitution,

and as such individual liberty is not totally restricted.

Generally, under the military regime,

individual freedom is restricted; the people are

denied the right of exercising their franchise, This is because they do not take part In choosing

their leaders, Besides, public opinion may be

listened to, yet the military often reduces the freedom of the press drastically more than the

civilian government, Thus,

But while the civilised world has ensured, to a certain extent, their citizensq right to freedom of opinion and expression, in Nigeria and many other countries with autocratic regimes, public opinion is stiffled, The press is muzzled, human rights organisations are constantly harassed and the flow of information remains one-way, f lowinq only from the top to the bottom, And in a disturbing manner, people are also being denied access to what remains their only hope of getting certain information which their governments would have otherwise suppressed, (Iyiola, l"3:46).

From the foregoing, it can be seen that a democratic government no matter how bad, is better than the best military government. Therefore, "democracy with its shortcomfngs is better'than other-forms of government ( including the military dictatorship)"

4.2 Human Riqhts and Press Freedom in Niqerla Before the Abacha Reqfme

In order to understand fully the state of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria during the Abacha 54. regime, it is pertinent to highlight the condition of

these social phenomena before the regime. This will help us to know the factors that brought Abacha to power. This will in turn help us to have a background knowledge of the study. In doing this, the researcher briefly discussed the situation in the country towards

the end of .4bacha9 s predecessor, re tired General Ibrahim

Bahanaida, particularly from the annulment of June 12,

1993 Fresidential election.

After the annulment, there was chaos, anarchy and break-down of law and order in the country. And human rights and press freedom suffered gr~atviolations.

Thus, since the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presid- ential election won by Moshood Abiola, the nationqs polity had been characterisec? by intimidation, arrests, detentions and in some cases, assassinations of political activists perceived as enemies of the junta (~aduemesi, 1?96:19). This was the clear picture of the-situation in the country after the annulment of the election. In fact, by June 23, 1?93 when the President annulled the result, the field was wide open for Babangida and

Nigerians who desired democracy and the international cornmurity to engage in a face-off in what could be 5s. regarded as the great battle for the soul of democracy in Africa8s most populous country, In the fight where grey areas were not admitted,

Babangida stood solidly, so to say, against the world,

In the process, he had redefined journalism practice in Nigeria beyond recognition and brought the nation to international spotlight, some would say opprobrium, that it had never received except during the dark days of the civil war (Agbroko, 1993:162, Consequent upon the annulnemt, Abiola, the widely acclaimed winner of the June 12 election, travelled abroad on August 4, 1993 to canvass international support for his campaign to get the Babangida regime to uphold the result of the election, Before he could return to Nigeria, his publications, the Concord newspapers and magazines and other sympathetic papers, were proscribed, In the government news media, he was portrayed as the unpatriotic one who had been abroad campaigning against his country; the rich politician who had refused to play by the rule and who had promoted selfish interest above national interest

There were also seizures of copies of newspapers and magazines prior to the June 12 election, For 56. instance, on April 27, 1993, 26,000 copies of two editions of Tell magazines were seized at various times in Maiduguri, Calabar and Ibadan. In Ibadan,

20,000 copies of May 3 edition with the cover title:

"The Peoples Verdict: Go, IBB, Go,'? were seized by

SSS officials in the early hours of Monday, April 26.

The previous week, 6,000 copies of the edition titled:

~tExclusiveInterview: IBUlq s Regime is A Fraud," were lost to security operatives in Maiduguri and Calabar.

No reasons were given for the seizures in these towns (Akinkuotu, 1993: 36). These seizures of copies of the weekly magazine, -Tell and other independent news media constitute a violation of the rights of the staff and management of the maqazine as guaranteed by Sections 32, 36 and

40 of the 19779 Constitution, and Articles 6, 9 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoplevs Rights

(Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap 10 laws of the

Federation of Nigeria, 1990. In a press release, Clement Nwankwo of the Constitutional Riahts Project anfl Abdul Oroh of the Civil Liberties Organisation asked whether the present gag being fastened on freedom of expression was part of the legacy the Babangida regime wanted to be remembered for, They further asked 57. whether this was part of the campaign by paid agents of the Babangida regime to destroy democratic forces, human sights groups and the patriotic press, In his own reaction, Bayo Onanuga of The News, described the clamp down on Tell as "another bitter commentary on the image of the regime which repeatedly and lavishly announces itself as a respecter of human rights and freedom of the press,'*

Amidst the crises, the Federal government promulgated two decrees whose primary aim was to supress the freedom of the press in particular and respect for human rights in general, The ?ecrees were Decree

No. 48 of 1993 and Decree No. 43 of 1993. The proscription of the publications under the Newspapers

(Proscription and Prohibitions from Circulation)

Decree No, 48 of 1993 was then for an indefinite period,

The publications nailed by the decree were African

Concord magazine, National Concord, Weekend Concord and Sunday Concord a11 owned by the late Moshood

Abiola, the undeclared winner of the annulled June 12, presidential election, Also affected were The Punch,

The Sunday Punch, The Daily Sketch and The Sunday

Sketch, -The Niqerian Observer and the Sunday Observer,

The then Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Aliyu A ttah 58, also ordered that the premises of the media houses which were taken over by armed policemen, July 22,

1993 were to remain sealed up.

According to Ette (1993: 301, the second decree

titled: The Newspaper Registration Decree No. 43 of

1993, stipulates that all existing newspapers must re-register within three weeks from the commencement of the decree signed into law on June 22, 1993, The decree en joins all publishers to apply to a yet-to-be

set up Newspaper Registration Board (NRB) for the reqistration of their newspapers, New or existing publishers were required to pay WW,SOO as pre- registration deposit and a non-refundable fee of Pt100,000 , Finally, Babangida handed over power to the

Interim National Government ( ING) headed by Chief

Ernest Shonekan, The new government took over from

the Transitional Council on August 25, two days before

the August 27 date originally fixed for the disengaae- ment of the military from government. The ING lacked

legitimacy nor military power, Hence, the Interim

National Government (ING) headed by Ernest Shonekan

suffered the fate of a government with neither legitimacy no military power, It had no followership and no antecedent in the history of Nigerian politics

(Udaba and Oji, 19971,

The battle had been raging when on August 25, 1993, the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida left office without having resolved the problem of the June 12, The Transitional Council of Chief

Shonekan had been transformed into the Interim

National Government with a life-span of six months at the end of which a civilian president would be elected, The government (ING) was declared illegal by a Lagos High Court. Thus, on November 17, 1993, the late General Sani ~bacha,the most senior serving minister and army officer in the Interim Government took over power through a palace coup (Momoh, 1997:35).

4.3 Records of Human Riqhts and Press Freedom in Niqeria under the Abacha Reqime -

According to Kukah (1997:21), a discussion on the human rights record of General Sani Abacha presented both a dilemma and a promise. First, the dilemma.

There was the general feeling that the topic itself was too hot to handle and it could land 9ne into trouble.

Following closely to that was the feeling that the staggering evidence so littered the ent.ire landscape 60.

that even the blind who could not see, could feel

the heat of the evidence, Then the promise, The promise lied in the fact that the scope and the

intensity of the violation were so all-embracing and scorching that there was hardly any department of our national life that had been left out,

As General Abacha clocked four years in power,

there were more journalists in detention than at any other time in the history of Nigeria, Some who were not in detention were underground and those who were not underground were not sure when they would take

their turn in detention or underground, And those who did not want anything to do with detention and underground were trooping out of the profession in search of greener and less turbolent pastures (Usen, 1997:38),

The above facts reveal the dismal records of human riqhts and press freedom in Nigeria during the

Abacha era, There is abundant avidence which proved that human rights and press freedom were grossly abused in the history of Nigeria under the junta,

Top on the list was the incaceration of Chief Moshood

Abiola who was widely believed to have won the June 12,

1993 presidential election, He was detained in June 1994 by Abacha and on July 7, 1998, he died in the prison, As Abiola was still in detention, his wife,

Kudirat, was murdered by the people suspected to be Abacha* s assassins, There were also other victims of this blood-thfrsty regime, like Alfred Rewane, etc. Thus:

"The travails of Moshood Abiola, the number one matyr of the democratic struggle in Nigeria., . there are other matyrs, too, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of MKO and the great amazon of the democratic struggle, She was gunned d~wnby General Sani Abachats goons on the morning of June 4, 1996. Chief Alfred Rewane, 72, a major financier of the Nationa 1 Democratic Coalition, NADECO, was similarly murdered in his bedroom on October 5, 1995 by hoodlums on the payroll of the General Sani Abacha regime," (Oqun lewe, 2000 :50 1,

After the assassination of Kudirat, three Chief-

tains of NADECO, Abraham Adesanya, Ayo Adebanjo and

Ganiyu Dawodu, were detained by the police for a long period. The police, claiming not to have concluded

investigation, refused to release the trio. Prior

to the Kudirat' s murder, Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian newspaper, escaped death after surviving a volley of bullets from unknown persons. Till the

end of the junta, the government did not come up with any explanation concerning the deaths, 62. Similarly, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders were condemned to death by hanging by the

Abacha regime for an alleged murder, The international community pleaded for clemency but Abache paid deaf ear to their plea, Hence, Abacha's defiance shocked the entire world when on Friday, November 10, 2995, at

11.30 a,rn., the nine convicted MOSOP leaders were hanged in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This sparked off a high tide of popular opposition and condemna- tion of Viqeria by the international community

(Okoro , 1995: 11), Besides,in the same year, 1995, the incumbent president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President

Olusegun Obasanjo, retired general Musa YartAdua and others, were sentenced to prison and death, respectively, by the Abacha regime for alleqed coup attempt.

The entire world pleaded with the government to temper justice with mercy, if at all the allegation was true, but Abacha was indifferent, YartAdua and some others later died in prison,

According to Barrister Emeka Okeke, the great advocates of the human rights in the country, like

Chief Gani Fawehinrni in particular, Femf Falana and 6 3

Mr. Olisa Agbokoba, among others, suffered imprisonment countless times under the autocratic regime of

Abacha because they were loud in condemning a seeming endless arrest's and detention of people without a reasonable cause.

On the other hand, evidence of press freedom violations under the Abacha junta ahund. For instance, in September 1994, Abacha wielded the big stick against the press, He banned The Funch, National

Concord and The Guardian for six months, For 18 months, the three houses and all the titles in their stables were forced out of the news-stand. In 1994 alone, the Miqerian Union of Journalists reported 110 cases of press freedom violations. These included the arrest and detention of leading Niaetian journalists such as Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakuhu P'ohammed, all of Newswatch for publishing an interview with David

Mark, a retired brigadier-general (Usen, 19O7:40),

In the interview, Mark exposed the hidden intention of the Abacha junta to perpetuate itself in office.

Chris Anyanwu, editor-in-chief of The Sunday

Maqazine (TSM), Kunle Ajibade of The News Maqazine,

Ben-Charles Obi of Classique Magazine and George Mbah of -Tell magazine were sentenced to 15 years imprdson- merit, each, for reporting the 1995 controversial coup

a?ainst Abachavs administration, These journalists

committed no crime except that they reported truth-

fully that there was no truth in th~coup scenario.

hnthony Uranta of the defunct Abuja Newsday was

sentenced to 12 months imprisonment at the Kirikiri

Yeeium Security Frison in Lauos for an undisclosed

offence under the reqirne of Abacha.

A good number of other jourmlists were detained,

suspended, asqulted and even whipye? during the Abacha

junta. Some of those detained included Akpands~James,

and Chris Itvunze of The Funch 2nd Vanquard corres-

pondents, resp?r,tively, in Fort Llzrcourt, Rqhaturrji

IWsu and Dern.~lr! r.himb3la of The Neynrs, Seth Atelove of

-9Fame 3egun Olatunji of the gaily 3ketch and Gbenga Alaketu of -,

Abiodun '~!illiams, a phot~~tac3erwith The News

and Temm magazines who on February 14, 1996 wss at

l:5e Kile 12 market, taking picturps 3f the dmolition

work beinn executed tn the rrarket was arrested and

thorouqhly beaten by soldiers who claimed they were

individually selected for the job by the Laqos State 65. Military Administrator, Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Abiodun lost two teeth in the encounter, in addition

to being whipped in public,

On February 19, 1996, gun-wielding security operatives at Ado Ekiti, Ondo State, seized about 450 copies of -Tell with the cover story: "Abacha Desperate for Survival The security operatives

stormed the off ices of Press Production Distribution

Services and Aladin Newspapers Union at Okeyinmi

Street saying that they were directed by authorities

from above, (Olugbo ji, l9?6:74),

According to the journal, Niqeria Vol. XI, article

19, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, -Tell magazine1 s lawyer, was continuously detained without charqe or trial under

Oecree No, 2 of 1984 between January and November 1997. 5ven newspaper vendors had been targeted by the

authorities, In March 1996, Jude Sinnee, a vendor in

Sori, Rivers State, was arrested at his news-stand by

security officials, His offence apparently, was to

have been se 11: ng "seditious" independent journals

and newspapers, He was detained incommunicado without

trial (CPJ, l997:258).

There were also reports of torture or ill-

treatment of journalists while in prisons or police 66, cells during the rule of the junta, For example,

Babafemi Ojudu, senior edf tor at The Mews, was severely beaten while briefly in custody in .sugust 1996. The torture was so severe that he required treatment after his release,

In an interview conducted with Mr. Edwin Onuorah of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FSCN)

Enugu, it has gathered that in June 1994, the military government of Abacha directed government ministries to stop advertising in privately-owned newspapers and magazines. It also periodically ordered them to cease buying them.

Worse still, the 1995 Constitution made during the Abacha regime provided for a federal executive body under section 154(~)known as the National Mass

Media Commission, Both the composltfon and functions of the commission greatly interfered with the freedom of the press,

Under the regime, many independent news media operated under pressure, harassments and intimidations from the aovernrnent security agents. Thus, after operating for 60 days in temporary locations, management and staff of Punch Yiqeria Limited moved back to their premises, They had been thrown out by armed policemen, 67,

June 11, 1994, on the orders of government. The publishing house was alleged to have been stock- pilling arms but the allegation was never proved,

(Ette, 1994:34),

Foreign journalists too, have not been spared from official suspicion and harassment, In January

1996, Paul Adame, Nigeria Correspondent for the London- based Financial Times, was arrested and detained while in Ogoni, He was eventually charged with possession of seditious materials - documents published by the

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP),

In fact, hundreds of Nlgerians remained in detention under the junta. PRISON WATCH, a publication of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CIA), in its

January-April 1938 edition, estimated the number of detainees in Nigeria at about 104, Coup convicts numbered 59, followed by pro-democracy and human rights activists, including those associated with the MOSOP which number was put at 18, Journalists were 13, politicians six and other categories of detainees were 14, The number increased almost on weekly basis up till the time Abacha died (Agbaegbu, 1998:9), And as the number of the detainees increased, Abacha never 68 0 thought of releasing any of them, especially those he viewed to be obstacles to his self-succession bid,

Hence, for Abacha, the release of the people concerned seemed a fore-closed issue. He once said, Obasanjo and

YarVAdua should thank God that they were not shot.

The detainees were believed to be the ones capable of challenginq Abacha' s perceived ambit ion to be president

(Qladipo, 1997:13),

On the other hand, under the Abacha government, such organisations like Academic Staff Union of

Universities (ASUU), the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and National Ass~ciationof Nigerian Students (NAWS) were under a lot of pressures. Some universities and labour unions were controlled by vilitary and academic sole administrators, For example, Professor Umaru D,

GOnwalk was appointed as the sole administrator of out areat institution, University of Migeria, Nsukka, while retired General Mamman Kontagora was appointd as the military sole administrator of Ahmadu Bello University,

Zaria, by the hbacha regime,

Besides, Abacha was never sincere in his transition to clvil rule programme, He wanted to transform himself from the military 9ead of state to civilian president 69 of the country. Thus, Abacha's transition programme was a calculated attempt to deceive the masses. It was nothinq but a contraption designed to transmute and perpetuate himself in off ice (Aguene, 299% 40).

The The Abacha transition programme, as was the case under Babangida, contended with accusations of: a) Favouritism in registration of political parties; b) arSitrary disqualification of candidates;

C) alterations and changes in transition time table; d) alterations in the draft Constitution of 1995; el the use of courts as final arbiters in issues of

devocratic elections (Okanya, 1997).

There were also s number of decrees promulgated by the Abacha administration or his predecessors which he strictly used to stiffle the human rights and freedom of the press, For instance, The Federal

Military Government (Supremacy and enforcement of

Powers) Decree, No, 12 of 1994, prohibits legal challenges to any of its military decrees or to any action which violates the human richts provisions of

the constitution, Others included the Constitution/

Suspension and Modification Decree, No. 7 of 1993,

the Treason and Treasonable Offences Decree, No, 29 of 1993, the Transition to Civil Rule (Political

Programme), Decree NO. 1 of 1996, the Newspapers

Registration Decree No. 43 of 1993, the Newspapers

(Proscription and Prohibitions from Circulation)

Decree No. 48 of 1993, Proscription and Prohibition from Circulation Decree 8 of 1994, among others.

It is pertinent at this juncture, to note that with respect to the press, relations between Abacha and the media had not always been cat and mouse,

When Abacha came to power, he waved an olive branch at the press. He deproscribed the Punch, The Concorq and Abuja Newsday proscribed by Ibrahim Babangida, the former president ( Usen, 1997: 40).

According to Wilfred Ugwuoke, a staff of Daily

Star, Enugu, under the Abacha administration, severa 1 new titles such as This Day, Post Express, The Diet,

The Source and National Post joined the news stands,

It was also under Abacha that Nigerja saw the emergence of private radio and television stations, which now include African Independent Television (AIT), Ray Power radio, DBN Television, Channels Televisions, Minaj

Television, Murhi International Television (MIT), among others, 4-4 Factors Responsible for Abacha's Success in Human Riqhts and Press Freedom Violations

There are a number of factors why Abacha continued to abuse human rights and press freedom in Nigeria unabated from the time he assumed power on November 17,

IS3 until his death on June-8,1998, He adopted different strategies in order to achieve his selfish interests and to silence by intimidation, every opposition to his government. Consequently, human rights activists and journalists suffered a great deal under his regime,

From the beginning, Abacha set out to chart a completely. different course from that of his predecessor, Babangida, He knew he lacked the predisposition of the affable General Babangida, From the outset, Abacha decided to take on everybody on his own terms, He ran a multi-track approach in dealing with friends and opponents. He used friends to either cancel out themselves or his opponents,

He laid many economic and political land mines and booby traps well ahead for his foes, thus, making it easy to solve his equations by elimination,

In achieving his selfish interests, he first of all played the game of military and ethnicity, To 72,

ensure loyalty, he quickly moved to shuffle the power

games, By bringing in . General Oladipo Diya and General Jerry Useni, his long time loyalists and

friends, he secured substantial control of the most

likely trouble spots both from the point of geo-

political strategy and political calculation,

Diya was adequately well placed to calm the

frayed nerves of the Yotuba while Useni would ensure

that the Middle Belt or Christian winqs feel a sense

Of security. With the precision of a combined

harvester, the General systematically co-opted his

first team by seeking out most of those who had so much to lose in the annulment of June 12, He reached out to those within the political class by offering

them ministerial appointments directly or by proxy

(indirectly), Hence, those Yorubas who were still

angry by the annulment of June 12 and the subsequent

detention of Abiola could not charge Abacha with

launching an anti-Yoruba programme due to the presence

of the likes of Oladipo Diya, Ebenezer Babatope, Elder Wole Cyelese Chief Lateef Jakande, Olu Onagoruwa

and many others,

When those early appointees had served their terms,

he again changed the members of his cabinet, this time 7 3

in favour of the members of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) . The most important factor in this calculation was Chief Tom Ikimi who

replaced Baba Gana Kingibe as foreign minister, The next move Abach made was to the traditional

rulers, The General appointed some of their children

and wards to government houses and hence, made access

to power, a great temptation for them, He also offered

them access to wealth within the oil industry. They

soon replaced the political class as the representa-

tives of the wishes of their people, By deposing

Sultan Dasuki, Abacha let it be known that he wanted

to do business with a particular kind of traditional rulers - those who would dance to his tune. For the political class, the General let it be

known that even though he knew they existed, he would

prefer if they remained loud by their silence, They were to be seen by their invisibilitv. Hence, when

Abiola insisted on claimin: his mandate by dancing

outside an Abacha-selected tune, he was immediately

incarcerated by the General, Thus, the message was

delivered to all the political class and they understood it. 74,

Similarly, the general dealt w!.th the retiree military class, His actions revealed that, like the traditional rulers, even the retired generals who wanted to do business with him had to do so on his own terms, Obasanjo did not show any interest for any appointment, neither did his former second-in- command, the late Kusa YarlAdua, Rather, the two retired generals were in support of genuine democracy, Due to the fact that the two generals refused doing business with Abacha on his own terms, they were alleged to be involved in a coup attempt, Thus, they were convicted,

Abacha also used the same threat to subdue human rights activists, For instance, his killing of Ken

Saro-Wiwa in 1995, sent chill down the spine of other activists, For the press, the closure of The Guardian,

The Punch and the Concord stable in 1994 was an indica- tion that the government would not tolerate any challenge from them,

On the foreign scene, Abacha broke away from

Niqerfa' s traditional patterns of international relations. In a bid to achieve this, he offered a hand of friendship to the traditional pariahs 75, (social outcast) of western civilisation, from the communists in China, Saddam Husseinvs Iraq, Ghaddafiws

Libya, to the likes of Louis Farrakhan, Abacha andar-

stood that the west need Nigeria more than Nigeria needs them, Thus, if they are ignored, they will always come back, And this paid off, When the Ogoni nine were hwnq, the outrage led to the exit of many ambassadors from the country, But all of them,

later returned in embarrassing silence,

4.5 Effects of the Human Riqhts and Press Freedom Violations on Niqeria

The violations af human rights and press freedom in Nigeria during the Abacha dictatorship had far- reaching consequences on the nation both from the

local and foreign scenes, For instance, the trial and convictions of alleged coup platters and the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists for alleged involvement in the murder of

some Ogoni leaders led to Nigeriams suspension from the Commonwealth, The hanging of Saro-Wiwa and eight others in 1995, took place on the eve of the Common- wealth Conference in New Zealand, Thus, the country was suspended from the body and subjected to an 76. inquisition that no other country in the history of the Commonwealth had ever been exposed to,

Consequent upon the violations, many countries recalled their diplomats from Nigeria. There was also sanctions against Nigeria by members of the international community. According to Okoro (1995:12),

Mandela not only recalled George Ncne, the South African High C~mmissionerto Nigeria, but also cancelled Nigeria' s invitation to the four-nation international tournament which started on Saturday,

November 18, 1995, in Johannesburg and regretted that his quiet diplomacy with Nigerian authorities had failed to improve the human riqhts record in the country, In solidarity with Mandela, South Afric3ns called on the organisers of Miss World contest to expel Toyin Raji, Miss Nigeria, from p3rticipating in the global contest,

The United States, Britain, Russia, Canada and the

European Union (EU) , followed suit. Jean Chreton, the Canadian Frime Minister then at Aukland for the

summit recalled Gerald L. Ohisen, the acting Vigh

Commissioner in Nigeria to Ottawa for consultations.

The U.S. recalled Walter Carrington, announced the 77, extension of visa ban to all governments officers and beneficiaries of any policy that impe-tfed

Niseriaos transition to civil rule, vowed to appose IMP loans, credit and debt relief to Nigeria, restricted Nigerian officials visiting the UN or international agencies to 25 miles of the UN or international organisation and benned arms sales and services to the military junta. Barely 24 hours later,

Britain joined in the ban an arms sales to Niaeria and recalled her envoy, The European Union recalled her envoys, too. Israel an her part, deplored Nigeria for ignoring the numerous appeals for clemency.

On the home front, the National Association of

Nigerian Students (NANS), at its national congress meeting at the Yniversity of Ibadan, called for a boycott of lectures from November 27 to 29, 1995, in protest against the execution of Saro-Wiwa and eight others and directed all the institutions to set out a day in commemoration of their death as a way of immortalising them, In its official response to the international reactions, Nigerian ambassadors and

High Commissioners to the U.S., South Africa and the 78-

15-member countries to the EU were also recalled for consultations,

On the other hand, there was a large increase in the number of human rights activists and organisations,

Some of the activists included Professor Wole Soyinka,

Chief Anthony Enahoro, Abraham Adesanya, Chief Gani

Fawehimi, Femi Falana, Olisa Aqbakoba, among others.

While some of the human riqhts orqanisations at the time were Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), National Democratic Coalition (MADECO), Campaiqn for Democracy (CD), etc.

Besides, the intensity of the human rights and press freedom abuses led to the mass exodus of Nigerians to overseas, Many productive N iqerians, particularly the activists, went into self-exile abroad, Prominent among them included Chief Anthony Enahoro, Professor

Flole Soyinka, etc. Thus, the country lost her citizens with considerable ~otentialsto foreign countries as-economic and political refugees, It was after the death of Abs,cha and the subsequent

enthronement of democracy in bliqeria that they

returned to the country,

On the social sphere, South Africa and NADECO

memhers abroad were vigorously callfng for a complete 79. ban on Miqeria' s participation in international tournaments. Consequently, Solomon Morewa of the South African Football Association (SAFA) declared that the presence of Niqeriags Super Eagles was no longer necessary in the four-nation tournament in

South Africa, as earlier mentioned. Morewags grouse was the violations of human rights by the Abacha reqirne. eo. REFERENCES

Article 19 (1997) "Abacha' s Media Crackdownf* Niqeria , Vol, XI, International Centre Against Censorship,

Agbaegbu, Tobs ( 1998) '*Freedom" Newswatch, June 29,

Agbroko, GotjwZn (1993) '*The Messiah as a Problemt* Newswatch, August 30,

Aquene, Iqnatius ( 1999) Contemporary Social Problems, ~sukka,Prize Publishers.

Akinkuotu, Ayodele (1993) "Wanted Red or Dead" -Tell, May 17. DaVCosta, K. (1999) "Militaryo s Role in Democracyw The Guardian, September 14.

CFJ (1997) ftAttacks on the Press in 1996: A Worldwide Survey," New York, Committee for the Protections of Journalists,

Ernezi. C,E. and Ndoh. C.A. (1997) The Military and Politics in ~i~eria,Owerri, Achugo PuSlicat ions Linited.

Ette, Mercy (1993) "The Big Noosew Newswatch, August 30.

(1994) "Exit of the Intruders,'* Newswatch, August 22,

Iyiola, Doyin ( 1993) "Whose News?" African Concord, April 26,

Kukah, Matthew Hassan (1997) "Human Rights: Meal Tickets for Some," Newswatch, November 24.

Lawal, O.A. (1982) '0' Level Government of West Africa, Ibadan, Heinernann Tduca5lonal Books FEi3 Ltd.

Maduernesi, Uche ( 1996) "The Junta Makes a U-Turn,"

-9Tell September 2. Momoh, Tony (ls97) "Press: Its Dog and Mouse Friendship," Newswa tch, Yovernber 24.

Ogunlewe, Tayo (2000) "The Toast and Traitors of Democracy," Tell, February 28,

Okanya, D,O, (1997) "The Paradox of Military Disengagement: An Analysis of Democratic Transisition Under Abacha Administration," In Transition in "Depressed Economy, Niqerian Case Studies, Vol. 1, Enugu, Narydan Publishers,

Okoro, Eugene ( 1995) Vaqing Nigeria ,*'The Sunday Maqazine, November 26,

Oladipo, Dotun (1997) "His Last Lap?" Newswatch, October 13,

Olugboji, Babatunde (1996) Human Riqhts Practices in Niqeria, January 1995-June 1995, Constitutional 41qhts Project, The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Niqeria :'?7s,

Udaba, S,I, and ~ji,R.O. (1997) Transition in a Depressed Economy: Niqerian Case S tuties :ed) , Val, -9 Ynugu, Yarydar ?ub:isL~ers.

Umechukwu, P.O.J. (1997) Mass Communication in Niqeria: A Student's Companion, Enugu: Joen Associates,

Usen, Aniete (1997) "Pen Against the Gun," Newswatch, November 24, 82. CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary The common feature of military governments in

Nigeria was the violation of human rights and press freedom, Under the military administrations, the Constitution w9ich guarantees the fundamental rights of man and freedom of the press was usually suspended. The military ruled by decrees which were promulgated at will without seeking the interest and opinion of the people. Thus, human rights activists and media practitioners were severely dealt with during the military regimes. The violation reached its climax under the Abacha regime, Under this administration, the activists and journalists received the worst suppression and deprivations in their lives. According to Barrister

Nicholas Abugu, Abacha violated human rights and press freedom in the country more than all his predecessors put together, During his administration, there were cases of bomb explosion and assassination of opponents,

And he was suspected to be sponsoring these atrocious activities by then. Today, events have proved this suspicion right. 83. During his regime, Abacha formed the "Strike

Force," a group of specially trained security personnel, who were also paid to intimidate and in most cases, eliminate members of the opposition

(Ebosele, lW9:25),

The members of the Strike Force included,

Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Yakassai (army doctor and leader of the Force), Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (Abacha' s

Chief Security Officer) Sergeant Barnabas Mshel ia popularly known as Seeearit Rogers, among others. They killed a number of prominent men and women including retired MajorSJeneral Musa YarqAdua who was then in prison custody at Abakalik i and others earlier mentioied in this study, Today, they are facinq trial in the law court for charges of conspiracy, murder, etc,

During this authoritarian regime, the press was not spared either. Media houses were indiscriminately closed down and copies of their newspapers seized fro^ time to time. Journalists in the country were not only arbitrarily arrested and detained, but sometimes, sentenced to nrison without trial, These pressures against the press adversely affected its performance,

According to Ebisemiju (l996:29), the effect of legal

and administrative pressure exerted to control and 84. intimidate the media in the form of penal laws, direct or indirect political pressures, discriminatory practices and such other vethods as refusal of official advertisements, the denial of newsprint supplies and withholdinq of information are same other militating factors aqa inst the press in performing its function, like enhancina democracy in Niqeria.

The above assertion reveals that one of the fundamental roles of the press is to ~ramoteor enhance democracy. However, it should be noted ti-zt the press can creditably perform this function when its freedom is prot~cte?, Dan Aab~seremarked that the press is one of t9e strong pillars of democracy, a$ding that the stronaest pillar of democracy is built on the foundation of free speech.

The press, he ernohasised, remains the only channel through which the right to free speech is exercised and sustained, stressing that democsa tic culture cannot be sustained without free flow of inforvation between the rulers and the ruled (Cdu, 1~99:31).

Consequent upon the abuses of human rights and press freedom under the Abacha junta, the country witnessed a lot of political, social and economic problems both from the national and interna tionsl

scenes, For instance, a number of potential and

resourceful NigerTans were driven into self exile

abroad, probably to avoid the attack of Abacha's Strike Force, In addition, the international. community

imposed a lot of sanctions on the country because of

the violations. ' As a result, Niaeria was caged. This was not in the interest of the government in particular and the Nigerian masses in general,

It should be noted that the activities of the press could have positive or negative effect, Thus, the press has a negative power - to titillate, alarm, enrage, amuse, humiliate, annoy, even to drive a person out of his community or'his job, But of the

positive power to which it pl~lptends, and of which the press lords dream - to make and break down governments, to swing an election, to stop a war or start a revolu- tion - there is no tangible evidence. Its vaunted might is a gigantic spoof (Casty, 1968:184). Casty went

further to assert that like other habibforming pills,

the press can stimulate or depress, but it cannot cure.

It can fan fear and hatred of another nation (when the

fear and hatred are there waiting to be fanned), but 86. it cannot make peace, This indicates that to some people, the press serves no useful purpose in the society.

Consequently, there is the need for the media practitioners to apply a sense of decorum especially by adhering to the ethics of conduct of journalism practice in Nigeria while performing their obligations,

Junk journa lists have flooded media profession in

Nigerfa, These journalists are mainly interested in making money in the business, They therefore go for sensational stories and they lack objectivity in their articles. This is why, lkechukwu Nwosu, a Nigerian scholar says that adherence to code of

journalistic conduct by Nigerian journalists is in reality very minimal, Polftfcal partisanship, out-

right bias, wolf crying and distortions are not uncommon among such journalists,

Similarly, media practitioners should understand

that the press is not completely or totally free in

any society, no matter how civilized, There are

usually some laws quidins journalism practice in the

society. According to Fogam and Dadzie ( 1987: 631,

though fundamental, the freedom of the press is not 87, absolute. The journalist in the practice of his profession is often subject to the ordinary laws of the land, These laws usually come into play while the reporter is gathering news or during the story's publication, The members of the press should therefore, ensure that they adhere to these laws, while performinq their duties. They should also remember that, obviously, freedom of expression does not confer immunity from prosecution on any person who criticizes the government of the day in a 'malignant* manner, or injures the reputation of a fellow citizen by unfounded and malicious comments (Umechukwu, 1997:97),

5.2 Conclusion

Like every other dictator anywhere in the world, Abacha apwlied "Authoritarian theory" to the latter throughout the period of his administsat ion. The central element of this theory which was coined by

Siebert, -et -9a1 is the lack of any true independence for journalists and their subordination (ultimately by force) to state autharity. Under this situation, human riqh ts are usually neglected and battered by the dictator and the people are not allowed to express 88. themselves or their opinions about the government freely. Thus, the press is muzzled through the use of draconian laws and extra-judicial measures. This was exactly the situation in Nigeria during the

Abacha regime,

The Abacha government established the Na t iona 1

Human Rights Commission by Decree NO, 22 of 1995 to deal with matters relating to the protection of human rights as provided by the Constitution of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria, the African Charter on Human and

PeopleQs Right, the Universal Declaration on Human

Rights proclaimed by all governments in the United Nations, which centres on the assumption that, "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity-and rights," as well as other international instruments to which Niqeria is signatory. The government also introduced "human rights reforms" in 1896. These measures were aimed at protecting human rights in the country. It was therefore, ridiculous that the same government had the worst record of human rights and press freedom abuses in Nigeria, This is because it did nothing to practically implement the doctrines and principles of these instruments, 89 0

During the administration of Abacha, the press was highly suppressed but it refused to give up. This is why, according to Omotunde, (1?96:88), -Tell

shall reamin a vanguard of TRUTH, OBJECTIVITY and

RESPCNSIRLT journalism, In the struggle for freedom

it shall always cast its lot with the Miaerian people,

- duty for which it shall not, and will not, succumb

to threats of intimidation. -Tell magazine was one of the media organisations that were mercilessly dealt with by the Abacha government,

For an objective and responsible journalism to

thrive in Nigeria, the press should be given a pride of place in the scheme of thinqs. The government should

ensure that the respect and protection of the press

freedom is guaranteed, It should apply to the latter,

the "Free Press (~ibertarian)theory," which prescribes

that-an individual should b~ free to publlsh what he or she likes and is thus an extension of other riqhts - to hold opinions freely, to express them, to assemble

and orqanise with others, The theory also asserts that

free and public expression is the best way to arrive

at truth and expose error. on- . The human rights activists and media profess-

ions 1s contributed immensely to the enthronement of

democracy in Nigeria, The present dernocra tic

government should therefore, acknowledge the

sacrifices offered by these two groups during the

struggle for democracy in the country. It should

therefore, endeavour to inteqrate them in the nation*s

polity. Abacha had wanted to perpetuate himself in

power by transforming himself from military head of

state to civilian president. The activists and

journalists strongly condemned this open secret agenda

in spite of all odds. Ahacha usec! every instrurent within his disposal to crush anyone, includinq members of his government, who OFFOS~C! or challenged this

illegal agenda, until he finally bowed to the nature's

call on June 8, 1998.

The qovernment should not view journalists as

enemies but partners in progress. The press on its

part should recognise that no nation will tolerate 5

freedom of the press that serves to dtvide the country

and to open the floodgate of criticism against the freely chosen government that leads it - as it is obtainable in Nigeria today. Media professionals 91, should therefore, ensure the maintenance of the respect an? coqfidence reposed on them by flushing out the quacks in the profession. This is because journalism practice is a noble profession. It is against this background that Momoh (1997:35) asked,

"were we practising the profession or had we opened the gates of the media to politicians in journalism?"

Thus, the professionals should ensure that only the experts who are trained in the skills and art of journalism should be allowed not only to own media houses but also practice journalism in the country,

5.3 Recomrnenda tions

This research has shown the extent of violations of human rights and press freedom in Nigeria under the Abacha regime. It also shows the effect of these violations on the country and the Nigerian masses.

Prevention they say,is better than cure; for the prevention of such situation repeating itself and for the sustenance of the hard-won democracy in the country, it is pertinent to proffer the following recommendations First, qenuine human rights organisations and the press should not relent in creating awareness 92, among the public akut their basic riqhts and freedoms,

They should be organising public enlightenment campaigns with a view to educating the people about their rights. This is due to the fact that many

Nigerians are ignorant of their fundamental rights mainly because of the high level of illiteracy in the country,

Secondly, the National Human Rights Violations

Investiqation Commission should be fully empowered to investigate and prosecute government officials at the end of their stewardship if they were involved in human rights violation while in office. Anyone found guilty of abusing the basic rights of man should be punished accordingly, irrespective of his or her status, This will serve as a deterrent to others, Hence, the on-going trial of the members of

Abacha* s Strike Force, his s,on, Mohammed Abacha, former-Chief of Army Staff under Abacha, retired

Ma jor-General Ishaya Bamaiyi, amonq others, by the

Oputa Fanel, is a step in the right direction,

Justice Chukwudifu Oputa is the Chairman of the National

Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, 93,

Thirdly, the philantropic individuals and corporate bodies should support the human rights and media organisations financially and morally. For instance, the public should always be ready and free to provide the desired and correct information to the press,

Any act which has the effect of causing the breach of some one's human rights without due regard to the constitution and the rule of law should not be allowed by the public to find its way again in the nation's statute book, Our security agents should undergo proper re-orientation and be made to realise that they were not recruited to destroy people but to protect the society and must as much as possible, resort at all times to the court and not to take laws into their hands. Besides, every Nigerian, particularly, politicians and the civil populace should support the nascent democracy. They should do everything possible to avoid the return of the military to power, Thus, it must be stated that when a country practises true democracy with the twin concept of respect of the rule of law j the incidence of dehumanisation occasioned 94, by torture and extra-judicial killings is out of question. In Nigeria, the long milltary rule frightened the citizens so much that they were lily-livered and fear became so pervasive that it did not occur to a good percentage of Nigerians to go to court and seek protection (Acholonu, 1999: 301,

Above all, the press should be truly independent of the government, In order to perform its functions effectively in Yigeria, the press needs to be truly free, Freedom of the press has been recognized as a principle of justice so rooted in the tradition and conscience of a democratic people as to be ranked as fundamental.

Mr. Justice P.K. Nwokedi (1999:12), suggested that the federal government should introduce the teaching of human rights in the primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, The time has come for the seeds of human rights to be sown in the country, The nurturing of a human rights culture in which respkt for each other's rights should be encouraged, The task of promoting and protecting human rights in Niqeria should not be left to a particular body like the National Human Rights 9 5.

Comrrission alone. The task should be a collective r~sponsitility of all b!igerians. Everybody should be vigilant and resist any violation. The violation of any citizer's basic riqhts should be regarded as the violation of all citizens' rights.

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The Dirty War

/ -' 2,. " . C' . - f I' * -3 , ,* . - - ir i, I J kunle Ajibade, Chris Anyanwuend Charles Obi: journal is!^ failed in connection with coupplot . ,

. . Newswatch, November 24,1997