B4-1370, 1409, 1420, 1421, 1422, 1423 and 1424/95

Resolution on Nigeria

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria, in particular its resolution of 12 October 1995 ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 10.)),

A. horrified at the summary execution by hanging on Friday, 10 November 1995 of Ken Saro-Wiwa, writer, human rights activist, and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, along with eight other political prisoners who also belonged to the same movement,

B. stressing that these men were tried by a special tribunal set up by the regime of General Sani Abacha, who is in power as a result of the illegal annulment of the election results of 1993,

C. shocked at the statements by this dictatorship which shows no remorse at the world-wide reactions to these summary executions or any intention of stopping the other planned executions,

D. informed that the ruling junta in Nigeria is planning to execute 17 other people condemned to death merely for defending the environment in their country,

E. aware that, as with the other victims, these activists have been imprisoned without any proper charge and without access to any form of defence whatsoever and that they have been refused all visits from their families,

F. informed that a detainee has already died in prison through lack of medical care, that 10 other Ogoni activists have already disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and that over 180 people have been executed since the present military government came to power,

G. recalling that no legal measures have been taken against the various killings and acts of arbitrary detention widely attributed to Nigerian government security forces sent to Ogoniland to 'maintain order' in 1994,

H. recalling that Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues had been leading the campaign against environmental damage and inadequate compensation for the destruction of land and crops in Ogoniland by oil companies, notably Royal Dutch Shell; noting, however, that this company has denied that it was responsible for serious environmental damage,

I. recalling its long-standing and universal opposition to the death penalty,

1. Firmly condemns the Nigerian regime for the brutal executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists; asks for the bodies of the victims to be returned to their families;

2. Demands that the European Union and its Member States take all possible measures to bring about the restoration of democratic government to Nigeria;

3. Welcomes the decision of the Commission to end all aid to Nigeria under the Lomé Convention;

4. Supports the decision by the Conference of Commonwealth Heads of State or Government, meeting in New Zealand, to issue an ultimatum seeking to exclude Nigeria from membership, but regrets that the deadline set for a return to democracy in Nigeria is as long as two years hence;

5. Welcomes the decision by the European Union to recall its representatives;

6. Welcomes the embargo on military sales to Nigeria already announced by certain governments, for instance that of the United Kingdom, and calls on all EU Member States to take a similar step;

7. Calls for the sanctions to include a freeze on the bank accounts of the Nigerian leaders in Europe and in particular the United Kingdom; hopes that the Government of Switzerland, through which substantial sums of money have passed, will adopt the same procedure;

8. Calls on the European Union to suspend the visas of all members of the Nigerian Government and army and their families;

9. Renews its call for the immediate release of the political prisoners, and in particular the 43 persons accused of plotting a coup d'état, and for the release of Moshood Abiola, the winner of the elections annulled by the military regime in 1993;

10. Is of the opinion that an oil embargo is one of the most effective ways to put pressure on the Nigerian Government and therefore calls on the Commission and the Council, taking into account the situation of the Nigerian population, to consider imposing such a measure;

11. Calls for the establishment of a sports boycott, and in particular the cancellation of the Junior Football World Championship which is due to be held in Nigeria;

12. Calls on the Commission and Council to reflect upon their efforts to restore human rights to Nigeria, and to report to the European Parliament on both past and future efforts to this end;

13. Calls on all the oil companies operating in Nigeria to open an environment restoration fund whose purpose will be to repair the environmental damage caused by oil operations in Nigeria and to make appropriate contributions to this fund, which should be co-managed by representatives of the populations directly affected;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Nigerian Government, the Commonwealth, the UN, the OAU, the World Bank, the Swiss Government, and oil companies operating in Nigeria.