B4-1225, 1230, 1251, 1269, 1281 and 1289/95

Resolution on Nigeria

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the deterioration of the political, social and economic situation in Nigeria, confirmed by the reports on the country produced by Amnesty International, the recent mission from the Commonwealth Institute, and the Nigerian Civil Liberties Association,

- having regard to the European Union statement of 4 October 1995 on Nigeria,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria,

A. having regard to the speech made by General Sani Abacha on 1 October 1995 in which he stated that a civilian government would not be restored to power before 1 October 1998,

B. recalling that General Sani Abacha seized power in Nigeria on 17 November 1993 in a military coup,

C. noting that after this coup, General Abacha abolished all democratic institutions in Nigeria, including the legislature, political parties and national and local elective offices,

D. deploring, in particular, the increasingly systematic use of the death penalty, including mass public executions,

E. recalling that 40 leaders of opposition political forces, who had attempted to secure the installation of the winning candidate in the annulled June 1993 presidential election, were convicted in July 1995 of treason at a secret trial, with 13 being sentenced to death,

F. gravely concerned that Ken Saro-Wiwa, a pacifist leader of the Ogoni community, who has been campaigning against environmental damage and the destruction of land and crops by the big oil companies operating in Ogoni land, has been condemned to death,

G. whereas it is unacceptable for the Commission and Council to impose sanctions on less affluent countries than Nigeria for systematically violating human rights and elementary principles of democracy, while failing to suspend the application of the Lomé Convention to Nigeria,

1. Urges the release of all prisoners of conscience and all political prisoners, including Chief Abiola, the winner of the annulled 1993 presidential elections, Ken Saro-Wiwa, General Obasanjo and Yar'Adua;

2. Notes General Abacha's decision of 1 October 1995 to commute the death sentences of 13 of the 40 opposition politicians convicted of alleged treason and regrets that these and the other 27 opposition politicians have not been released and that all 40 prisoners are now believed to have received life sentences;

3. Calls for the establishment of an independent international and impartial investigating body to examine the killings and extrajudicial executions so that those responsible are brought to justice in accordance with international standards;

4. Urges that, within the Nigerian judicial system, all should be allowed full rights of defence, including access to civilian lawyers of their choosing, full time to prepare their defence and the right of judicial appeal to a higher and independent court;

5. Considers deeply disappointing General Abacha's announcement on 1 October 1995 of possible presidential and legislative elections in September 1998, as it is clearly designed to defuse international criticism without offering any real or convincing assurance of progress;

6. Expects the Nigerian government to implement immediately the following:

(a) the restoration of the democratic process by respecting the outcome of the 1993 presidential election;

(b) the re-establishment a system of government which respects the clear distinction between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary;

(c) freedom of the media and of association, including political parties;

(d) the withdrawal of the military from the Ogoni region;

7. Calls for the establishment, in consultation with representatives of all the regions of Nigeria, of an environmentally sustainable programme for the reconstruction of the country, notably in the Ogoni region, to which the foreign oil companies must contribute;

8. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to tighten up existing restrictions on the issue of visas for Nigerian officials and to ensure the ending of arms sales to Nigeria, in order to increase pressure on the Nigerian regime to restore the democratic process;

9. Calls on the Commission and Council to suspend the application of the Lomé Convention to Nigeria without delay, thereby finally complying with Article 5 of the Convention and restoring its credibility;

10. Calls on the Union to consider the possibility of economic sanctions should the repression continue;

11. Calls on the Commonwealth nations not to invite representatives of the present Nigerian regime to the November 1995 meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government as an act of protest;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the United Nations Security Council, the OAU, the Nigerian Government, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.