(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 letter sent on 19 February 1999 to General Abubakar re recent attacks on journalists and some unresolved cases: **Updates IFEX alerts of 17 February, 10 February, 9 February and 8 February 1999, 4 November, 14 October, 11 September, 4 September, 11 August 1998 and others** 19 […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 letter sent on 19
February 1999 to General Abubakar re recent attacks on journalists and
some unresolved cases:
**Updates IFEX alerts of 17 February, 10 February, 9 February and 8
February 1999, 4 November, 14 October, 11 September, 4 September, 11
August 1998 and others**
19 February 1999
HE Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar
Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council
And Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
State House
Abuja
Nigeria
By fax: 00 234 9 523 2138
Your Excellency
ARTICLE 19 is writing to express concern about the recent increase in
harassment of the media, and the failure of the government adequately to
address a number of outstanding cases of human rights abuses against
journalists. Taken together, these raise serious questions about the
depth of the government’s commitment to human rights.
The most recent incident occurred on Thursday 11 February, when several
police officers from the Lagos State Command arrested and briefly
detained Lanre Arogundade, Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists, at his home. He was told that the Police
had been instructed to arrest him following a ‘petition’. As far as we
are aware, he was detained solely in connection with his peaceful trade
union activities.
This arrest comes hard on the heels of the second incident to which we
would draw your attention: the raid on the Satellite Press in Lagos on 6
February. Three employees of the company were arrested and 80,000 copies
of The News, a weekly publication which was being stitched for
immediate distribution, were seized. The police said that they were
acting on the orders of Alhaji Ali Jos, the assistant inspector general
of Zone 2.
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the matters detailed above breach Nigeria’s
obligation to uphold freedom of expression under Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We urge you to
ensure full and independent investigations into the incidents described,
which represent serious attacks on media freedom and a dereliction of
the duty upon governments to uphold journalists’ rights to report on
matters of public interest.
In addition, we wish once again to raise the issue of the need for a
resolution to a number of outstanding cases of human rights abuses
against journalists.
We ask that you ensure the immediate release of Niran Malaolu,
imprisoned for life by a military tribunal last year on charges of
treason. The legal process involved fell well short of international
standards set out for fair trials. We understand that Mr Malaolu’s
health is deteriorating rapidly, and that the prison authorities are
failing to provide adequate medical treatment for his problems.
We also call upon you to institute an independent judicial inquiry into
the “disappearances” of Bagauda Kaltho, Kaduna correspondent of The
News, and Chinedu Offoaro, a journalist with The Guardian , both of whom
“disappeared” in 1996. The Nigerian authorities have claimed that
Bagauda Kaltho died while engaging in an act of terrorism. Both men are
rumoured to be dead following their arrest by security agents.
Finally, we would like to express disappointment that your government
has failed to repeal key military decrees and laws which fall short of
international standards. We are also alarmed that the national and
Presidential elections are taking place in the absence of a settled
constitutional framework.
I trust that you will ensure that these issues, which undermine the
credibility of the current transition to civilian rule, are attended to
immediately. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Puddephatt
Executive Director
Similar appeals can be sent to:
Appeals To
HE Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar
Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council
And Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
State House
Abuja, Nigeria
Fax: +234 9 523 2138
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
