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Africa Policy E-JournalNigeria: Ogoni Press Release +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++ Region: West Africa +++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ July 28th 1998 FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Tim Concannon, Ledum Mitee Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), NIGERIAN MILITARY DEFY DEMANDS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND REFUSE TO RELEASE THE OGONI 20 ON BAIL JULY 28th 1998, PORT HARCOURT PRISON, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA - 20 Ogoni continue to languish in the jail cell where they have been held since May 1994, after the Nigerian police have refused to obey a High Court ruling to release 15 of the detainees on bail. Police have told the 20's lawyers that the prisoners will not be released without direct orders from military commanders in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The 20's legal defense team are petitioning the head of state General Abubakar, and have filed an application for the security forces to be held in contempt of court for refusing to release the detainees. The 20 face the same politically motivated murder charges, the same violations of their human rights in prison and to a fair trial, the same military appointed tribunal and the same hangman's noose which killed MOSOP President Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders in November 1995. Ogoni is currently under combined army and security forces occupation, with the normal duties of the police subject to oversight by the military [1]. The European Union has directly appealed to Nigeria's head of state General Abubakar to act on the 20's case. UK Foreign Minister Tony Lloyd said `[the European Union called for] the early resolution of the case of Chief Abiola and the 20 Ogonis, as well as the release of the remaining detainees' when he held face to face talks with General Abubakar, in Abuja on June 28th 1998. The refusal to release the prisoners follows a decision made yesterday by a High Court Judge, Mr. Justice Ebie Daniel-Kalio in Port Harcourt to delay a ruling on a bail application made on behalf of 5 of the detainees till October 14th. This is the fourth occasion on which the Judge has adjourned a ruling on their application. Other rulings have been adjourned from June 15th, June 29th and July 13th 1998. MOSOP believes this to be clear evidence that the regime is trying to keep the plight of the Ogoni 20 out of the international spotlight. Anxious to avoid another show trial of Ogoni detainees likely to incur international condemnation, the state has delayed the 20's court proceedings for more than four years by deliberate obstruction of the due process of law. Responding to the police refusal to release 15 of the Ogoni 20, MOSOP's Acting President Ledum Mitee remarked: `I am alarmed and saddened by this deliberate - and clearly illegal - delay in releasing the Ogoni 20 on bail. This development demonstrates the need for urgent international action to secure the release of the Ogoni 20'. 'With all this talk of democratic change in Nigeria, surely the world cannot stand by and allow another 20 Ogoni men to suffer the fate of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders murdered by the regime in 1995'. 'MOSOP calls on Shell to make an immediate public statement demanding the authorities obey Nigerian law and release the Ogoni 20 on bail'. 'MOSOP calls on Nigerians and the international community to demand that the military authorities abide by Nigerian law and allows the 20 to be released on bail'.
BACKGROUND "As proof of the genuineness of the call for reconciliation on the part of this Administration, and the desire to have all hands on deck for the new dispensation, this Administration has released all political detainees. Government has also decided to withdraw all charges against political offenders. I therefore call on all Nigerians to reciprocate this gesture. Those in self-exile should return and join our efforts to build a greater nation" - Nigerian military ruler General Abdulsalam Abuba "[The case of the Ogoni 20] has been stymied by the Government's indifference to constituting a new tribunal composed of only civilian members to hear their case" - U.S. Department of State country report on human rights in Nigeria, January 1998. "[The European Union calls for] the early resolution of the case of Chief Abiola and the 20 Ogonis, as well as the release of the remaining detainees" - UK Foreign Minister Tony Lloyd, following face to face talks with General Abubakar, June 28th 1998. The Nigerian military routinely and deliberately frustrate the due process of law to punish perceived political opponents by illegally prolonging their detention, including by refusing to obey bail rulings from the Courts.
In closing his ruling, Mr. Justice Daniel-Kalio, said: "I think the prosecution has a duty, if I may use a modern expression, to be `pro-active' towards the case of the applicants [the Ogoni 20]. The respondent [the state] has not shown what it has been doing all these years of the applicants incarceration in prison custody with respect to ensuring that they are prosecuted for the offence for which they have been held is custody. By not being `pro-active' the impression is being given although it may well be erroneous, that the respondent is sati "The courts frown at any passive attitude towards cases of persons held in custody for long periods of time and in appropriate cases will grant bail [...] Let me say in closing that the presumption of innocence remains a backbone of our criminal justice system. If that backbone is trampled upon, God forbid, the concomitant effect will be too horrid to contemplate, much less express".
The regime knows that executing the 20, or even trying them, will draw unwanted attention. Instead, the authorities seem prepared to let them die from disease or through torture and maltreatment in detention. Whether the Ogoni 20 are executed following a show trial, or they are allowed to die in prison through disease or maltreatment, the military authorities' political motivations for detaining them are the same:
Like the 9 Ogoni killed in 1995, the regime is making an example of the Ogoni 20. FOOTNOTES: [1] The Rivers State Internal Security Task Force is a combined Nigerian military operation in Ogoni that has been overtly operating under this title since 1994. [2] 'Suit No PHC/ 150M/ 97: Commissioner of Police v Sampson Ntignee & others (Ogoni 20)', High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. [3] Michael Birnbaum QC, July 3rd 1998, `Note on the Ogoni 20', London, UK. ENDS. MOSOP has now prepared a detailed Ogoni File - `The Ogoni 20: their arrest, detention and continued abuses of their fundamental rights by the Nigerian state'. Copies are available by e-mail on request (if you want the document sent to you by email as an attachment, please specify the compression format your system and software accepts (Word 6.0 for Pc, Word for Mac etc).
Additional Note from MOSOP International Secretariat Dear Friends - Today's development is clear evidence that the Ogoni 20 remain political hostages of the Nigerian military. The regime knows that executing the 20, or even trying them will draw unwanted attention. In his treatment of the Ogoni 20, Abubakar is showing himself to be no different from his predecessor. He intends to let them die from disease or through torture and maltreatment in detention. MOSOP calls on Nigerians, the international community and supporters of the cause of human rights in Ogoni to:
Write to: General Abdulsalam Abubakar, And to diplomatic representatives of Nigeria accredited to your country. Cor Herkstroter, Salutation: `Dear Mr. Herkstroter' And to the member of the Royal/ Dutch Shell group in your country ( http://www.countonshell.com/SOC/index.html -- page no longer available 10/99 -- lists them all with their respective e-mail addresses). Tim Concannon, Communications Coordinator.
Documents previously distributed in the e-journal are
available on the Africa Action website: To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list, write to e-journal@africaaction.org. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the source mentioned in the posting.
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Africa Policy E-Journal
