A STUDY OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF GENERAL SANI ABACHA’S REGIME
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-born and inseparable characteristic without which we cannot carry out our basic functions 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. 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
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 of 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) no 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 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 regimes 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 productive and intelligent Niqerians that would have utilized their 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 Niqerians 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 alternative 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 qovernment 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 country, Under the Abacha administration, the activists functioned under severe restrictions, blackmail, threats and harassments from security agencies, The human rights groups led by the Civil Liberties Orqanisatioa (CLO), worked hard towards sensitising Nigerians to the scope of human rights violations.
In fact, arbitrary arrests, harassment from security aqencies, detentions without trial and torture under the junta were brouqht to the front burner by the courageous human rights organisatiens throuqh the press. It is pertinent to note that the respect for 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 to punishment if he publishes false, scandalous or malicious material, In practice, therefore, 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 niqerian constitutions. Far example, Sections 36 and 39 of 1979 and 1999 Constitutions respectively, guarantee the freedom of the press, They have the same title, Riqht to freedom of expression and the press.”
The press performs a number of functions but the major ones are: provision of information, entertainment 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 government 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
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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
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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 militarypolitical 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
YarWAdua and 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~alists were Chris Anyanwu,
Kunle Ajibade, Ben Charles-Obi and Georue Mbah.
There were also clampdowns on prominent and
fearless media organisa tions hy the Abac3a g~vernmen t,
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
Abac3a9 s 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 relationship 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
off ieials 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,
(c) Pule of Law: The role of Law is the principle
that stresses the supremacy of the law over
all other considerations, The principle has
three major aspects, namely: equality, impartiality 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 newspapers, 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. ~YUY I 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 Learnerm s 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 Friendship,” 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.
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