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 Commit-
tee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on the
Judiciary, Banking and Financial Services, and Transportation and In-
frastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To impose sanctions against Nigeria, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nigeria Democracy
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The November 10, 1995, execution by hang-
ing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni envi-
ronmental activists was carried out by the Govern-
ment of Nigeria after a trial that ignored the fun-
damental standards of legal process, and despite the
pleas for clemency by the African and international
community, as well as the United States Administra-
tion, the Chairman and ranking minority member of
the Committee on International Relations of the
House of Representatives, and the Chairman of the
Congressional Black Caucus and the co-chairs of the
Human Rights Caucus of the House of Representa-
tives.
(2) This heinous action followed an October 1,
1995, ambiguous statement by Nigerian military
leader General Sani Abacha, that the country would
be returned to civilian democratic rule in three
years, and a lifting of the ban on political parties
while at the same time not repealing the Treason-
able Offenses Decree which allows the arrest of any-
one speaking against the government.
(3) General Abacha’s announcement was pres-
sured by the outrage of the international community
for his March 1995 arrest and conviction to long
prison terms by secret trial of some 43 persons for
(7) The reported returns suggested that Chief
M.K.O. Abiola of the Social Democratic Party was
receiving a substantial majority of the votes cast,
leading the poll in 20 of the 30 States in Nigeria.
(8) The annulment of the presidential elections
resulted in various forms of civil unrest, which in
turn led to the deaths of more than 100 persons.
(9) An interim government established by Gen-
eral Babangida on August 27, 1993, and headed by
Ernest Shonekan, failed to win the support of the
Nigerian people.
(10) General Sani Abacha took power on No-
vember 17, 1993, appointing an unelected Provi-
sional Ruling Council to govern Nigeria.
(11) Chief M.K.O. Abiola was imprisoned in
solitary confinement for over one year for pressing
his claim as the elected democratic leader of Nigeria,
and still remains incarcerated today.
(12) The political and economic conditions in
Nigeria have continued to deteriorate in the months
since Abacha took control of the country.
(13) The faith of the Nigerian people in the vi-
ability of the nation as a unified whole must be pre-
served, and the balkanization of Nigeria guarded
against.
(14) The people of Nigeria have not accepted
the continuation of military rule and have coura-
geously spoken out in favor of the rapid return of
democratic and civilian rule.
(15) On May 15, 1994, a broad coalition of Ni-
gerian democrats formed the National Democratic
Coalition calling upon the military government to
step down in favor of the winner of the June 12,
1993 election.
(16) The confidence of the Nigerian people and
the international community in the Provisional Rul-
ing Council’s commitment to the restoration of de-
mocracy can only be established by a sustained dem-
onstration of a commitment to human rights, due
process, and the return of civilian rule.
(17) The United States would prefer to have a
relationship with Nigeria based upon cooperation
and mutual support but cannot, and will not, con-
done or overlook the denial of democratic civilian
rule, against the clear wishes of the Nigerian people,
by the Provisional Ruling Council or any other body
in Nigeria.
(18) The lack of support from the Nigerian au-
thorities on drug trafficking issues forced the United
States for the last 2 years to place Nigeria on the
list of countries penalized for failure to seriously ad-
dress the narcotics proliferation issue, thus endan-
gering vulnerable youth in our communities.
(19) Continuing credible reports of widespread
corruption and questionable business practices in the
Nigerian Government and ‘‘scams’’ in the United
States, and the lack of cooperation in addressing
these problems by the Nigerian Government, further
undermines Nigeria’s credibility in the international
community, and is a constant embarrassment to ap-
proximately 1,000,000 law-abiding Nigerian Ameri-
cans.
(20) Nigeria’s leadership role on the African
continent, especially in the area of peacekeeping, will
be severely compromised by its failure to rejoin the
world community of democratic nations.
(21) Nigeria was recently suspended from the
Commonwealth, a forum linking Britain and former
colonies, and African countries like South Africa
have already called for diplomatic, economic, and
sports sanctions, since the limited sanctions imposed
by the United States Administration have had little
effect in safeguarding the lives of the people of Nige-
ria and moving Nigeria toward democracy.
SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.
(a) COMMITMENT TO UNITY AND DEMOCRACY BY
THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE.—The Congress continues to sup-
port the Nigerian people in their commitment to unity and
democracy as evidenced by their participation in the June
12, 1993, presidential election in Nigeria, and in their
subsequent insistence on the return to full civilian and
democratic rule.
(b) ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE UNITED STATES.—
While the Congress endorses the limited steps taken by
the Administration to demonstrate United States opposi-
tion to the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential
election in Nigeria, more needs to be accomplished to en-
courage the restoration of fully democratic and civilian
rule in Nigeria.
(c) SANCTIONS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN COORDINA-
TION WITH INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.—The Congress
declares that the sanctions against Nigeria contained in
this Act should be taken in concert with the international
community and the United Nations to the maximum ex-
tent possible.
(d) INCREASE IN DEMOCRACY BUILDING AND RULE
OF LAW ASSISTANCE.—The Congress declares that the fi-
nite foreign assistance resources of the United States Gov-
ernment provided to Nigeria should be re-prioritized with-
in present budget levels in order that more funds can be
expended for democracy building and the promotion of the
rule of law through nongovernmental organizations in
Nigeria.
SEC. 4. SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGE-
RIA.
(a) UNITED STATES MEASURES TO PROMOTE DE-
MOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS.—
(1) NO ASSISTANCE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), no assistance may be made
available under the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 or the Arms Export Control Act to the
Government of Nigeria.
(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition in sub-
paragraph (A) shall not apply to assistance for
democracy building and the promotion of the
rule of law through nongovernmental organiza-
tions.
(2) 
INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL
INSTITU-
TIONS.—The President shall instruct the United
States Executive Director of each international fi-
nancial institution to vote against any loan or other
utilization of the funds of the respective institution
to or from Nigeria.
(3) AIR TRANSPORTATION.—Air transportation
with Nigeria shall be prohibited in accordance with
subsection (b).
(4) DEFENSE
ARTICLES
AND
SERVICES.—No
defense article or defense service may be sold or fi-
nanced with respect to Nigeria, and no license to ex-
port to Nigeria a defense article or service may be
issued.
(5) EXCLUSION
OF
NIGERIANS
FROM
ADMIS-
SION TO THE UNITED STATES.—Except as required
by United States treaty obligations, any Nigerian
national who formulates, implements, or benefits
from policies which hinder Nigeria’s transition to de-
mocracy and members of their immediate families
shall be ineligible to receive a visa and shall be ex-
cluded from admission into the United States.
(6) EXIMBANK, OPIC, AND
TDA.—No funds
available to the Export-Import Bank of the United
States, the Overseas Private Investment Corpora-
tion, or the Trade and Development Agency may be
used with respect to Nigeria.
(7) PROHIBITION OF NEW INVESTMENT.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—No national of the
United States may, directly or through another
person, make any new investment in Nigeria,
including new investments in the energy sector.
(B) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—The prohibition
contained in subparagraph (A) shall take effect
45 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(8) ASSETS
FREEZE.—The President, acting
through the Secretary of the Treasury, shall exercise
the authority of the International Emergency Eco-
nomic Powers Act to block the assets of any Nige-
rian national who formulates, implements, or bene-
fits from policies which hinder Nigeria’s transition
to democracy and members of their immediate fami-
lies.
(b) PROHIBITION OF AIR TRANSPORTATION WITH
NIGERIA.—
(1) PROHIBITION ON NIGERIAN AIR CARRIER.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall direct the Secretary of Trans-
portation to revoke the right of any air carrier
designated by the Government of Nigeria under
any air transport agreement between the
United States and Nigeria to service the routes
provided in the agreement.
(B) NOTIFICATION.—The President shall
immediately notify the Government of Nigeria
of his intention to suspend, in accordance with
subparagraph (A), the rights of any air carrier
designated by the Government of Nigeria under
any such air transport agreement.
(2) PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES AIR CAR-
RIER.—Not later than 10 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall direct the
Secretary of Transportation not to permit or other-
wise designate any United States air carrier to pro-
vide service between the United States and Nigeria
pursuant to any air transport agreement between
the United States and Nigeria.
(3) TERMINATION OF AIR TRANSPORT AGREE-
MENTS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of State shall terminate any air
transport agreement between the Government
of the United States and the Government of Ni-
geria in accordance with the provisions of that
agreement.
(B) PROHIBITION
ON
NIGERIAN
AIR-
CRAFT.—Upon termination of such agreement,
the Secretary of Transportation shall prohibit
any aircraft of a foreign air carrier owned, di-
rectly or indirectly, by the Government of Nige-
ria or by Nigerian nationals from engaging in
air transportation with respect to the United
States.
(C) PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES AIR-
CRAFT.—The Secretary of Transportation shall
prohibit the takeoff and landing in Nigeria of
any aircraft by an air carrier owned, directly or
indirectly, or controlled by a national of the
United States or by any corporation or other
entity organized under the laws of the United
States or of any State.
(4) WAIVERS.—The President may waive the
prohibitions contained in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)
if the President determines and certifies to the Con-
gress that the air transportation prohibited under ei-
ther such paragraph is important to the national in-
terest of the United States, including emergencies in
which the safety of an aircraft or its crew or pas-
sengers is threatened.
(5) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this
subsection, the terms ‘‘aircraft’’, ‘‘air transpor-
tation’’, and ‘‘foreign air carrier’’ have the meanings
given those terms in section 101 of the Federal
Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1301).
(c) MULTILATERAL MEASURES TO PROMOTE DE-
MOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS.—The President shall in-
struct the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations to actively pursue the passage of any reso-
lution by the United Nations Security Council that en-
hances the cooperation of other nations in the application
of the spirit and intent of the sanctions contained in this
section.
(d) WAIVER
OF SANCTIONS.—The President may
waive any of the sanctions contained in this section if the
President determines and certifies to the Congress that
such a waiver is important to the national interest of the
United States.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the United States should follow the prece-
dent of the Federation of International Football As-
sociations which withdrew its invitation for Nigeria
to host the World Youth Soccer Championships in
1995 by excluding Nigerian sporting teams from
participating in any sporting event in the United
States; and
(2) not later than 60 days prior to the opening
of the 1996 Olympic Games to be held in the United
States, the President should make a determination
as to the appropriateness of issuing visas for Nige-
rian participants in the Olympic Games based upon
the progress made by Nigeria toward democracy.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
Not later than 3 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, the Presi-
dent shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a report
on the extent to which Nigeria has made progress toward
democracy, civilian rule, and respect for internationally
recognized human rights.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) 
INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL
INSTITU-
TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu-
tions’’ includes the International Bank for Recon-
struction and Development, the International Devel-
opment Association, the International Finance Cor-
poration, the Mutual Investment Guarantee Agency,
the African Development Bank, the African Develop-
ment Fund, and the International Monetary Fund.
(2) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—The
term ‘‘national of the United States’’ means—
(A) a natural person who is a citizen of the
United States or is an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States,
as defined by section 101(a)(20) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act; or
(B) a corporation, partnership, or other
business association which is organized under
the law of the United States, any State or terri-
tory thereof, or the District of Columbia.
(3) NEW INVESTMENT.—The term ‘‘new invest-
ment’’—
(A) means—
(i) a commitment or contribution of
funds or other assets, and
(ii) a loan or other extension of credit,
and
(B) does not include—
(i) the reinvestment of profits gen-
erated by a controlled Nigerian entity into
that same controlled Nigerian entity or the
investment of such profits in a Nigerian
entity; and
(ii) contributions of money or other
assets where such contributions are nec-
essary to enable a controlled Nigerian en-
tity to operate in an economically sound
manner, without expanding its operations.
(4) NIGERIAN
ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Nigerian
entity’’ means—
(A) a corporation, partnership, or other
business association or entity organized in Ni-
geria; or
(B) a branch, office, agency, or sole propri-
etorship in Nigeria of a person that resides or
is organized outside Nigeria.
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