Eze Anaba
Since Sani Abacha, head of Nigeria’s military government, dissolved his Cabinet and announced the impending release of some political detainees last month, the mood in his country has changed from elation to anxiety.
Instead of releases, there has been a spate of new detentions, among them the wife of a journalist who fled into exile.
Ladi Olorunyomi, wife of journalist Dagbo Olorunyomi – who is in exile in the United States – was among the targets in a crackdown on journalists and activists around the time of Abacha’s November 17 announcement. The “amnesty” was hailed in some quarters as another step towards the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, but the results have yet to be seen.
Olorunyomi was seized by security agents who scaled a fenced wall to enter her house in the early hours of the morning. She was reportedly driven around Lagos for two hours before being taken to a notorious Directorate of Military Intelligence detention centre.
Other new detentions included lawyer Ebun Olu Adegborinwa, the brains behind a series of birthday parties for political detainees. He was also part of an organising committee for the send-off party for Walter Carrington, the departing United States ambassador to Nigeria. Security men violently disrupted the party, causing a diplomatic incident between the two countries.
Another victim was Ogaga Ifowodo of the Civil Liberties Organisation, who was arrested at Murtala Mohammed Airport on his way home from the Commonwealth summit in Edinburgh, where he and other activists – largely unsuccessfully – had put the case for stronger sanctions against Abacha’s government.
Days after Abacha broadcast his intention to release detainees, a caveat was added to the effect that political detainees to benefit would be those whose release would not affect “peace and security” – dimming hopes that the likes of Chief Moshood Abiola, presumed winner of the annulled 1993 presidential elections, would be freed.
Despite that, another announcement said security agencies were still compiling a list of those suitable for release. At last count, some government sources said 73 political detainees were in custody and that they were still compiling.
Among detainees speculated to be in line for release is Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Federal Government. He was arrested early this year in connection with his alleged role in a spate of bomb blasts. He was arraigned before a magistrate’s court that had no jurisdiction to try him, and has been in police custody pending another court appearance. Dr Frederick Fasehun, acting president of the Campaign for Democracy and also arrested after the bombings, may benefit as well.
Another in this category may be businessman Otunba Olabiyi Durojaiye, a leader in the Nadeco opposition group, after repeated judicial orders that he be produced in court were ignored by military authorities.
But many Nigerians remain sceptical. What good will come from a few releases when men like Abiola and oil union chief Frank Kokori remain in jail, and new arrests swell the ranks of those already in detention?