B4-0098, 0134 and 0141/94

Resolution on the violent prolongation of dictatorship in Nigeria

The European Parliament,

A.whereas on 4 July 1994 the Nigerian National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers began a strike in support of its call for the resignation of the present military-backed government and for the release of Moshood K.O. Abiola, the presumed winner of the presidential elections which were, not for the first time, annulled by the military regime,

B.whereas a court order had been obtained ordering his unconditional release on bail, followed by the Judge's resignation,

C.whereas the presumed president-elect refused to accept the conditions required by the military regime in exchange for his release, and was therefore freed neither during the summit of heads of state of the West African Economic Community held in Abuja on 5 August 1994 nor subsequently,

D.whereas, while over a year has passed since the presidential elections, the military regime, which is clearly dictatorial in nature, is entrenching itself in power by force rather than returning to the citizens of Nigeria the right to choose their rulers,

E.whereas this dictatorial regime is devoting its energies to arresting the leaders of the democratic opposition, dissolving the governing organs of the trade unions and closing down independent newspapers such as the well-respected Lagos Guardian,

F.whereas the government has withdrawn the passport of Wole Soyinka, Nobel prize winner for literature in 1986, for criticizing the government, thus preventing him from attending the International Writers' Parliament in Lisbon on 28 September 1994,

G.whereas prominent critics of the military government have been arrested and charged with treason, an offence punishable by death in Nigeria,

H.whereas the government has restored mass public executions while extrajudicial executions by the security forces are also on the increase, e.g. in Rivers State,

I.whereas this is yet another unfortunate episode in the history of independent Nigeria, which has been persistently ruled by military dictatorships, except for brief periods such as the 1979-1983 civilian government introduced by a military president, General Obasanjo; whereas hopes were raised by the announcement made in 1987 by another military ruler, General Babangida, that the country would move towards democracy by the unusual means of creating two big parties, followed by the election of state governors and the parliament; whereas the present dictator, General Sani Abacha, appears intent on clinging to power at all costs,

J.whereas there are close political, economic and social links which exist between the Member States, their peoples and the EU itself and Nigeria,

1.Condemns forcefully the repression carried out by the Nigerian military regime, and attributes the primary responsibility for this to the self-styled President, General Sani Abacha;

2.Calls for the immediate release of the politicians, re-establishment of the right of freedom of speech, the restoration of Mr Soyinka's passport and the suspension of arbitrary trials;

3.Expresses its deep concern at the conditions of detention of Moshood K.O. Abiola, the presidential candidate at the June 1993 elections who was considered by the people to have won at the polls despite the decision of the military regime to annul the elections;

4.Approves the resignation of key judicial figures in Nigeria in protest at the treatment of Chief Moshood Abiola;

5.Deplores the dissolution of the governing organs of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and calls for guarantees as to freedom of movement and of expression for its leaders;

6.Calls on the military authorities to restore freedom of the press;

7.Calls on the European Union to make representations to the Nigerian authorities to ensure respect for democracy in the country and an end to the violation of human rights;

8.Urges the EU to use the opportunity of Nigeria's National Day, 1 October, to send a delegation of Troika Heads of Mission to express their disgust to the military regime in Nigeria at their denial of the democratic process and the same mission to visit the imprisoned Chief Moshood Abiola;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Nigerian authorities and the Secretary-General of the OAU.