Alhaja Suliat Adedeji, an outspoken politician and successful businesswoman, was beaten and shot by armed men who invaded her home in Ibadan. Despite brutal demands for “ransom”, nothing was taken from the Adedeji home.

Dr. Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian, one of the country’s leading independent daily newspapers, was shot and injured by gunmen. 

The 1979 Constitution (suspended) and the 1989 Constitution (never implemented) prohibit torture and mistreatment of prisoners and provide criminal sanctions for such excesses. The Evidence Act of 1960 prohibits the introduction of evidence obtained through torture. Nevertheless, detainees frequently die while in custody, and there were credible reports that police seeking to extract confessions regularly tortured and beat suspects and that interrogators beat and nearly tortured to death convicted “coup plotters”. The authorities reportedly tortured convicted “coup plotter” and TSM magazine Editor-in-Chief, Mrs Chris Anyanwu while in detention, and they beat Bunmi Aborishade, editor of the defunct June 12 weekly, when he was arrested.

During this period, Bishop Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi (95) of the Akure Anglican Diocese, raised his voice constantly against the abuse of power by General Abacha. Bagaudu Kaltho of TELL Magazine, was abducted by unknown people. He was never seen till this day. 

Early in the Abacha regime, Lagos State Governor, Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola, formed the Lagos State Environmental Task Force as part of its “war on indiscipline and corruption”. Under Colonel Oyinlola’s direct supervision, the task force used brutal force on individuals in its attempt to rid Lagos of illegal street traders and copious accumulated garbage. For the most, the government neither acknowledged nor denied that these abuses occurred and left their perpetrators unpunished. However, the new Lagos State Governor, Colonel Buba Marwa acknowledged that there have been abuses and said he would try to curb them. 

The government released several prominent detainees before the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group was set to meet in London to consider issues including additional sanctions. The authorities held Dr. Tunji Abayomi, chairman of the Founder’s Council of Human Rights Africa and General Olusegun Obasanjo’s lawyer, originally detained in July 1995, until June; Fred Eno, an aide to M.K.O. Abiola, from August 1994 to June; and Abdul Oroh, executive director of the CLO from July 1995 to June.

Chief Ayo Opadokun, General Secretary of NADECO, who had been detained since October 1994, was released June 25, 1996, only to be rearrested the following day and held in detention without charge until November 2.

Expectations that the releases might presage real human rights improvements were not fulfilled, as the government continued its policies of arbitrary arrest and detention, including the December arrest and detention of prodemocracy activist, Dr. Fred Fasehun and former presidential candidate and NADECO supporter, Chief Olabiyi Durojaiye. 

Several leading labour and prodemocracy activists who were arrested in 1993 remained in detention, including M.K.O. Abiola and Frank Kokori, General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).  Security forces arrested Milton Dabibi, who was General Secretary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) before the government dissolved the executive structure of the union and installed a sole administrator.

By1997 and 1998, Abiola remained in prison despite a November 1994 ruling by the Kaduna Federal High Court of Appeal granting him bail on the condition that he would “not disturb the peace.” In May 1995, eight Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Mohammed Bello, withdrew from hearing the case because of a libel suit they had pending against Abiola’s Concord Press, effectively suspending hearings on Abiola’s appeal until new justices were named to the court. Abiola’s trial on treason charges remained suspended indefinitely on orders from the regime.

There were no known instances of forced exile as a means of political control, although several NADECO members, including former Senator Bola Tinubu, retired Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, and elder statesman, and senior NADECO figure, Chief Anthony Enahoro live in self-imposed exile. Other activists such as Owens Wiwa, brother of executed minority rights activists Ken Saro-Wiwa, and his wife, Diana joined them. 

In practice tribunal proceeding often deny defendants due process as in the trial before the Ogoni Civil Disturbances Special Tribunal of Ken Saro Wiwa and others for their alleged roles in the killings of four prominent Ogoni politicians in May 1994. On October 31, 1995, the Tribunal announced guilty verdicts and death sentences for Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists. The PRC “confirmed” this decision on November 8, 1995, and quickly executed all nine on November 10, 1995.

In that case, the government refused to comply with a tribunal order to produce a videotape recorded on May 22, 1994, with Rivers State governor, Lt. Colonel Dauda Komo, who proclaimed that Saro-Wiwa was “guilty of murder”.

This led the 18-member defense team, led by Abdul-Ganiyu Fawehinmi, SAN, (April 22, 1938 – September 5, 2009), to withdraw in protest. Included in the team were Femi Falana SAN (67) and Oronto Douglas (1966-2015). 

In May 1997, the National Broadcasting Commission banned Ray Power, a private Lagos radio station, from transmitting British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programmes. 

Throughout 1997 and 1998, government security agents frequently harassed, arrested, and detained journalists.

Four journalists convicted of involvement in an alleged 1995 coup plot remained in prison. The government detained without charge Nosa Igiebor, editor in chief of Tell Magazine. In March, the government briefly detained Emeka Omeihe, editor of Daily Champion, and three top editorial staff of The Guardian over reports in their newspapers that the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), had ruled out sabotage in the presidential plane crash in January that killed Ibrahim Abacha, the Head of State’s son.
 
Others detained for shorter or longer periods, usually without charge, included Bunmi Aborishade, editor of the defunct weekly June 12; in May, George Onah, defence correspondent of the Vanguard Newspaper, Tunji Adegboyega, editor of The Punch, for a front-page story relating to the arson attack on the home of one of the prominent NADECO members in self-exile; Kate Odigie-Oyegun, the general manager of the newspaper company that publishes The Observer, over a story that speculated about changes in the military following large scale military promotions to the rank of general; in August, Alphonsus Agborh, The Punch’s Port Harcourt correspondent, for a story concerning imported arms; and in September, Ola Awoniyi, Abuja bureau chief for The Nigerian Tribune, after reporting allegations of espionage and corruption in the Air Force. 

Virtually all senior editors of the weeklies, Tell, Dateline, The News (Bayo Onanuga and Femi Ojudu), Tempo, the Daily A.M. News were subjected to surveillance and harassment by security agents. Security forces routinely seized entire runs of Tell magazine when cover stories offended the government. Agents harassed and intimidated vendors and printers to the point that in some parts of the country, Tell was no longer available. The seizures and intimidation caused great financial distress for Tell and were partially responsible for the weekly’s decision to discontinue publication of its sister magazine, Dateline. 

Throughout 1997, the government routinely seized the passports of its critics, including those of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) Vice President, Ledum Mitee, CLO President, Ayo Obe, National Association of University Women President and African-American Institute programme representative, Clara Osinulu, lawyer Priscilla Kuye, United Nations hunger award recipient, Chief Bisi Ogunleye, and human rights activists, lawyer and CLO co-founder, Chief Olisa Agbakoba, SAN. 

In an attempt to install General Abacha as the sole presidential candidate, Mr. Max Siollun is our guide. 

To be continued tomorrow.

Teniola, a former director at the presidency, wrote from Lagos.