[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 82 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5950-S5951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CONDITIONS IN NIGERIA

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to comment on the further 
disintegration of the human rights situation in Nigeria.
  A few days ago, another assassination occurred which appears to be 
politically motivated.
  Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Moshood Abiola, the winner of the 1993 
presidential election, was brutally murdered by a group of armed men 
near a military checkpoint in Lagos, the capital. According to reports, 
they jumped out of a car, pulled Mrs. Abiola out of her own car, and 
shot her in the forehead--execution style. Both Mrs. Abiola and her 
driver died a few hours later in a Lagos hospital.
  Obviously, at this point in time, the facts have not been established 
and it is important not to jump to conclusions before full information 
is available, but according to most accounts, this was a political 
assassination.
  Mr. President, just 4 months ago, Alex Ibru, the publisher of the 
Nation, one of Nigeria's leading newspapers was shot at on a Lagos 
street. Fortunately, he was only wounded.
  The shooting this week is yet another indication of the deteriorating 
human rights situation in Nigeria. The assassination of the spouse of a 
political leader is an act which is deeply shocking. Political 
assassination itself is a horrifying assault upon a democratic process, 
but when the family members of political figures become the targets for 
this kind of heinous act, the injury goes even deeper.
  Mrs. Abiola's husband, Moshood Abiola, has been imprisoned for nearly 
2 years. Kudirat Abiola herself was detained by the current regime just 
last month apparently because she had on her person documents which 
suggested that her husband should be the rightful leader of the 
country. She was released, but it is difficult not to see a

[[Page S5951]]

connection between the tragic ending to her life and the earlier 
detention. Mrs. Abiola had been an outspoken critic of Gen. Sani 
Abacha's regime. For nearly 2 years, she had been working tirelessly--
both in private and in public for the release of her husband. She had 
become a prominent individual in her own right, working to bring 
democracy to her country. Just last week, she met with John Shattuck, 
our Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights.
  The assassination of this leading figure, following the executions 
last year of a group of human rights activists, including the renowned 
playwright, Ken Sara-Wiwa, has drawn international condemnation and 
rightly so. According to press reports, thousands of university 
students marched yesterday in Ibadan, joined by many others. Over 3,000 
people attended Ms. Abiola's funeral yesterday, including 
representatives from a number of nations.
  Mr. President, Nigeria is an important country in regional and 
international politics. It is the most populous country in Africa and 
an active member of many international bodies. Nigeria's fate is thus 
of great significance. It has the potential to become a major world 
trading partner and an influential member of the international 
community. Yet its leadership continues to squander this potential 
through this horrific behavior. The military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha 
continues to be associated with rampant corruption, brutal policies of 
repression and execution and severe economic mismanagement.
  I spoke yesterday with the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States 
and communicated my own concern that the most recent assassination is a 
matter of grave concern and urged that his government conduct a full 
and transparent investigation of the circumstances leading to Mrs. 
Abiola's assassination and take steps to bring her murderers to 
justice.
  The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, on which I serve 
as the ranking minority member, recently held a hearing on United 
States policy on Nigeria. As I said then, and as I have said many times 
on this floor, the track of decline and violence in Nigeria causes 
great pain and instability in all of Africa. The brutal assassinations 
and executions underscore this problem.
  The situation in Nigeria today stands in stark contrast to the trend 
in many African countries toward pluralism, transparency, and 
constitutional guarantees of fundamental human rights. Nigeria 
continues to move in the opposite direction. The international 
community needs to send very strong messages that this course of action 
will make Nigeria an international pariah, shunned by all nations and 
all people committed to human rights and democracy.

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