I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2697

To impose sanctions against Nigeria, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 30, 1995

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. RANGEL, Mr.

PORTER, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. MFUME, Mr. FRAZER, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr.

ACKERMAN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida, Mr. SMITH of New

Jersey, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. WYNN, Mr. CHABOT, Ms. WATERS, and Mr.

SALMON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on the

Judiciary, Banking and Financial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To impose sanctions against Nigeria, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nigeria Democracy

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The November 10, 1995, execution by hang2 ing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni envi3 ronmental activists was carried out by the Govern4 ment of Nigeria after a trial that ignored the fun5 damental standards of legal process, and despite the

6 pleas for clemency by the African and international

7 community, as well as the United States Administra8 tion, the Chairman and ranking minority member of

9 the Committee on International Relations of the

10 House of Representatives, and the Chairman of the

11 Congressional Black Caucus and the co-chairs of the

12 Human Rights Caucus of the House of Representa13 tives.

14 (2) This heinous action followed an October 1,

15 1995, ambiguous statement by Nigerian military

16 leader General Sani Abacha, that the country would

17 be returned to civilian democratic rule in three

18 years, and a lifting of the ban on political parties

19 while at the same time not repealing the Treason20 able Offenses Decree which allows the arrest of any21 one speaking against the government.

22 (3) General Abacha’s announcement was pres23 sured by the outrage of the international community

24 for his March 1995 arrest and conviction to long

25 prison terms by secret trial of some 43 persons for
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1 involvement in a so-called coup. Among those con2 victed and still incarcerated are former President

3 General Olusegun Obasanjo, the only military leader

4 in Nigeria to return power to democratic civilian

5 rule, General Shehu Musa Yar-Adua, deputy to the

6 President in Abaasanjo’s Administration, and later,

7 human rights activist Beko Ransome-Kuti.

8 (4) The people of Nigeria and the international

9 community had been led to believe that the presi10 dential election held in Nigeria on June 12, 1993,

11 would result in a return to full democratic civilian

12 rule in Nigeria.

13 (5) General Ibrahim Babangida, the head of Ni14 geria’s military government at the time of the June

15 12, 1993, election interrupted the release of the elec16 tion results on June 23, 1993, and later annulled

17 the election, thereby preventing a return to civilian

18 rule.

19 (6) The election process indicated that voters in

20 Nigeria—a country with a population of approxi21 mately 90,000,000 persons comprising 250 ethnic

22 groups and spread across 357,000 square miles—

23 were expressing a spirit of national unity that tran24 scended ethnic, religious, and regional allegiances.
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1 (7) The reported returns suggested that Chief

2 M.K.O. Abiola of the Social Democratic Party was

3 receiving a substantial majority of the votes cast,

4 leading the poll in 20 of the 30 States in Nigeria.

5 (8) The annulment of the presidential elections

6 resulted in various forms of civil unrest, which in

7 turn led to the deaths of more than 100 persons.

8 (9) An interim government established by Gen9 eral Babangida on August 27, 1993, and headed by

10 Ernest Shonekan, failed to win the support of the

11 Nigerian people.

12 (10) General Sani Abacha took power on No13 vember 17, 1993, appointing an unelected Provi14 sional Ruling Council to govern Nigeria.

15 (11) Chief M.K.O. Abiola was imprisoned in

16 solitary confinement for over one year for pressing

17 his claim as the elected democratic leader of Nigeria,

18 and still remains incarcerated today.

19 (12) The political and economic conditions in

20 Nigeria have continued to deteriorate in the months

21 since Abacha took control of the country.

22 (13) The faith of the Nigerian people in the vi23 ability of the nation as a unified whole must be pre24 served, and the balkanization of Nigeria guarded

25 against.
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1 (14) The people of Nigeria have not accepted

2 the continuation of military rule and have coura3 geously spoken out in favor of the rapid return of

4 democratic and civilian rule.

5 (15) On May 15, 1994, a broad coalition of Ni6 gerian democrats formed the National Democratic

7 Coalition calling upon the military government to

8 step down in favor of the winner of the June 12,

9 1993 election.

10 (16) The confidence of the Nigerian people and

11 the international community in the Provisional Rul12 ing Council’s commitment to the restoration of de13 mocracy can only be established by a sustained dem14 onstration of a commitment to human rights, due

15 process, and the return of civilian rule.

16 (17) The United States would prefer to have a

17 relationship with Nigeria based upon cooperation

18 and mutual support but cannot, and will not, con19 done or overlook the denial of democratic civilian

20 rule, against the clear wishes of the Nigerian people,

21 by the Provisional Ruling Council or any other body

22 in Nigeria.

23 (18) The lack of support from the Nigerian au24 thorities on drug trafficking issues forced the United

25 States for the last 2 years to place Nigeria on the
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1 list of countries penalized for failure to seriously ad2 dress the narcotics proliferation issue, thus endan3 gering vulnerable youth in our communities.

4 (19) Continuing credible reports of widespread

5 corruption and questionable business practices in the

6 Nigerian Government and ‘‘scams’’ in the United

7 States, and the lack of cooperation in addressing

8 these problems by the Nigerian Government, further

9 undermines Nigeria’s credibility in the international

10 community, and is a constant embarrassment to ap11 proximately 1,000,000 law-abiding Nigerian Ameri12 cans.

13 (20) Nigeria’s leadership role on the African

14 continent, especially in the area of peacekeeping, will

15 be severely compromised by its failure to rejoin the

16 world community of democratic nations.

17 (21) Nigeria was recently suspended from the

18 Commonwealth, a forum linking Britain and former

19 colonies, and African countries like South Africa

20 have already called for diplomatic, economic, and

21 sports sanctions, since the limited sanctions imposed

22 by the United States Administration have had little

23 effect in safeguarding the lives of the people of Nige24 ria and moving Nigeria toward democracy.
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1 SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.

2 (a) COMMITMENT TO UNITY AND DEMOCRACY BY

3 THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE.—The Congress continues to sup4 port the Nigerian people in their commitment to unity and

5 democracy as evidenced by their participation in the June

6 12, 1993, presidential election in Nigeria, and in their

7 subsequent insistence on the return to full civilian and

8 democratic rule.

9 (b) ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE UNITED STATES.—

10 While the Congress endorses the limited steps taken by

11 the Administration to demonstrate United States opposi12 tion to the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential

13 election in Nigeria, more needs to be accomplished to en14 courage the restoration of fully democratic and civilian

15 rule in Nigeria.

16 (c) SANCTIONS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN COORDINA17 TION WITH INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.—The Congress

18 declares that the sanctions against Nigeria contained in

19 this Act should be taken in concert with the international

20 community and the United Nations to the maximum ex21 tent possible.

22 (d) INCREASE IN DEMOCRACY BUILDING AND RULE

23 OF LAW ASSISTANCE.—The Congress declares that the fi24 nite foreign assistance resources of the United States Gov25 ernment provided to Nigeria should be re-prioritized with26 in present budget levels in order that more funds can be
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1 expended for democracy building and the promotion of the

2 rule of law through nongovernmental organizations in

3 Nigeria.

4 SEC. 4. SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGE5 RIA.

6 (a) UNITED STATES MEASURES TO PROMOTE DE7 MOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS.—

8 (1) NO ASSISTANCE.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

10 subparagraph (B), no assistance may be made

11 available under the Foreign Assistance Act of

12 1961 or the Arms Export Control Act to the

13 Government of Nigeria.

14 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition in sub15 paragraph (A) shall not apply to assistance for

16 democracy building and the promotion of the

17 rule of law through nongovernmental organiza18 tions.

19 (2) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU20 TIONS.—The President shall instruct the United

21 States Executive Director of each international fi22 nancial institution to vote against any loan or other

23 utilization of the funds of the respective institution

24 to or from Nigeria.
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1 (3) AIR TRANSPORTATION.—Air transportation

2 with Nigeria shall be prohibited in accordance with

3 subsection (b).

4 (4) DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES.—No

5 defense article or defense service may be sold or fi6 nanced with respect to Nigeria, and no license to ex7 port to Nigeria a defense article or service may be

8 issued.

9 (5) EXCLUSION OF NIGERIANS FROM ADMIS10 SION TO THE UNITED STATES.—Except as required

11 by United States treaty obligations, any Nigerian

12 national who formulates, implements, or benefits

13 from policies which hinder Nigeria’s transition to de14 mocracy and members of their immediate families

15 shall be ineligible to receive a visa and shall be ex16 cluded from admission into the United States.

17 (6) EXIMBANK, OPIC, AND TDA.—No funds

18 available to the Export-Import Bank of the United

19 States, the Overseas Private Investment Corpora20 tion, or the Trade and Development Agency may be

21 used with respect to Nigeria.

22 (7) PROHIBITION OF NEW INVESTMENT.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—No national of the

24 United States may, directly or through another
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1 person, make any new investment in Nigeria,

2 including new investments in the energy sector.

3 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition

4 contained in subparagraph (A) shall take effect

5 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

6 (8) ASSETS FREEZE.—The President, acting

7 through the Secretary of the Treasury, shall exercise

8 the authority of the International Emergency Eco9 nomic Powers Act to block the assets of any Nige10 rian national who formulates, implements, or bene11 fits from policies which hinder Nigeria’s transition

12 to democracy and members of their immediate fami13 lies.

14 (b) PROHIBITION OF AIR TRANSPORTATION WITH

15 NIGERIA.—

16 (1) PROHIBITION ON NIGERIAN AIR CARRIER.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

19 President shall direct the Secretary of Trans20 portation to revoke the right of any air carrier

21 designated by the Government of Nigeria under

22 any air transport agreement between the

23 United States and Nigeria to service the routes

24 provided in the agreement.
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1 (B) NOTIFICATION.—The President shall

2 immediately notify the Government of Nigeria

3 of his intention to suspend, in accordance with

4 subparagraph (A), the rights of any air carrier

5 designated by the Government of Nigeria under

6 any such air transport agreement.

7 (2) PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES AIR CAR8 RIER.—Not later than 10 days after the date of the

9 enactment of this Act, the President shall direct the

10 Secretary of Transportation not to permit or other11 wise designate any United States air carrier to pro12 vide service between the United States and Nigeria

13 pursuant to any air transport agreement between

14 the United States and Nigeria.

15 (3) TERMINATION OF AIR TRANSPORT AGREE16 MENTS.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

19 Secretary of State shall terminate any air

20 transport agreement between the Government

21 of the United States and the Government of Ni22 geria in accordance with the provisions of that

23 agreement.

24 (B) PROHIBITION ON NIGERIAN AIR25 CRAFT.—Upon termination of such agreement,
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1 the Secretary of Transportation shall prohibit

2 any aircraft of a foreign air carrier owned, di3 rectly or indirectly, by the Government of Nige4 ria or by Nigerian nationals from engaging in

5 air transportation with respect to the United

6 States.

7 (C) PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES AIR8 CRAFT.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

9 prohibit the takeoff and landing in Nigeria of

10 any aircraft by an air carrier owned, directly or

11 indirectly, or controlled by a national of the

12 United States or by any corporation or other

13 entity organized under the laws of the United

14 States or of any State.

15 (4) WAIVERS.—The President may waive the

16 prohibitions contained in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)

17 if the President determines and certifies to the Con18 gress that the air transportation prohibited under ei19 ther such paragraph is important to the national in20 terest of the United States, including emergencies in

21 which the safety of an aircraft or its crew or pas22 sengers is threatened.

23 (5) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this

24 subsection, the terms ‘‘aircraft’’, ‘‘air transpor25 tation’’, and ‘‘foreign air carrier’’ have the meanings
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1 given those terms in section 101 of the Federal

2 Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1301).

3 (c) MULTILATERAL MEASURES TO PROMOTE DE4 MOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS.—The President shall in5 struct the United States Permanent Representative to the

6 United Nations to actively pursue the passage of any reso7 lution by the United Nations Security Council that en8 hances the cooperation of other nations in the application

9 of the spirit and intent of the sanctions contained in this

10 section.

11 (d) WAIVER OF SANCTIONS.—The President may

12 waive any of the sanctions contained in this section if the

13 President determines and certifies to the Congress that

14 such a waiver is important to the national interest of the

15 United States.

16 SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

17 It is the sense of the Congress that—

18 (1) the United States should follow the prece19 dent of the Federation of International Football As20 sociations which withdrew its invitation for Nigeria

21 to host the World Youth Soccer Championships in

22 1995 by excluding Nigerian sporting teams from

23 participating in any sporting event in the United

24 States; and
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1 (2) not later than 60 days prior to the opening

2 of the 1996 Olympic Games to be held in the United

3 States, the President should make a determination

4 as to the appropriateness of issuing visas for Nige5 rian participants in the Olympic Games based upon

6 the progress made by Nigeria toward democracy.

7 SEC. 6. REPORT.

8 Not later than 3 months after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, the Presi10 dent shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a report

11 on the extent to which Nigeria has made progress toward

12 democracy, civilian rule, and respect for internationally

13 recognized human rights.

14 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

15 As used in this Act:

16 (1) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU17 TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu18 tions’’ includes the International Bank for Recon19 struction and Development, the International Devel20 opment Association, the International Finance Cor21 poration, the Mutual Investment Guarantee Agency,

22 the African Development Bank, the African Develop23 ment Fund, and the International Monetary Fund.

24 (2) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—The

25 term ‘‘national of the United States’’ means—
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1 (A) a natural person who is a citizen of the

2 United States or is an alien lawfully admitted

3 for permanent residence in the United States,

4 as defined by section 101(a)(20) of the Immi5 gration and Nationality Act; or

6 (B) a corporation, partnership, or other

7 business association which is organized under

8 the law of the United States, any State or terri9 tory thereof, or the District of Columbia.

10 (3) NEW INVESTMENT.—The term ‘‘new invest11 ment’’—

12 (A) means—

13 (i) a commitment or contribution of

14 funds or other assets, and

15 (ii) a loan or other extension of credit,

16 and

17 (B) does not include—

18 (i) the reinvestment of profits gen19 erated by a controlled Nigerian entity into

20 that same controlled Nigerian entity or the

21 investment of such profits in a Nigerian

22 entity; and

23 (ii) contributions of money or other

24 assets where such contributions are nec25 essary to enable a controlled Nigerian en-
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1 tity to operate in an economically sound

2 manner, without expanding its operations.

3 (4) NIGERIAN ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Nigerian

4 entity’’ means—

5 (A) a corporation, partnership, or other

6 business association or entity organized in Ni7 geria; or

8 (B) a branch, office, agency, or sole propri9 etorship in Nigeria of a person that resides or

10 is organized outside Nigeria.

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