Fighting impeachment attempts, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo admitted on Wednesday that he ordered 2001 military operations in which hundreds of civilians were killed, but insisted he had acted to ”save lives and property.”
Obasanjo said he had not needed parliament’s approval to deploy the army to quell civil unrest. His statements came in a written response to 17 charges of ”gross misconduct” leveled against him by lawmakers from his own ruling party who are seeking to impeach him.
It was the first time Obasanjo has publicly said he ordered the missions.
The Peoples Democratic Party caucus, which controls the House of Representatives, accused Obasanjo of ordering soldiers to massacre civilians in the southern Niger Delta town of Odi in November 1999 and central Benue state in October 2001 after security agents were killed in both areas.
The army killed an estimated 1 000 people in Odi and hundreds in Benue.
Obasanjo said as commander in chief, he does not need permission to order military missions.
”This allegation is, with due respect, totally misconceived and the use of the term ‘massacre’ is particularly offensive and inciting,” Obasanjo wrote.
”This was done within my constitutional powers and in absolute good faith, with the aim of containing worsening situations … and save lives and property,” he said.
Farouk Lawan, chairman of the House Information Committee, accused Obasanjo on Wednesday of misreading the constitution, saying it states the president cannot use the military without the Senate’s permission.
”The word ‘massacre’ is quite appropriate given the loss of life,” Lawan said. ”It was an unnecessary, excessive use of force.”
The killings are the most damning charges in a list that also accuses the president of violating the constitution by withdrawing more than $265-million from central bank accounts without needed parliamentary approval, failing to pay full entitlements to state governments and violating principles of transparency and accountability in managing government finances.
Obasanjo said most of the charges were the result of misunderstandings and a lack of communication between the executive and legislative branches.
Lawmakers demanded last month that Obasanjo resign or be impeached. The ruling party caucus announced a list of specific charges last week after the Senate threw its support behind them last month.
Party leaders are expected to use the president’s response to talk lawmakers out of impeaching Obasanjo.
The Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture and the Lagos-based Center for Law Enforcement Education asked the United Nations and ministers of the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies to investigate the role Obasanjo’s government played in ethnic and religious clashes, which they said have killed more than 10 000 people since he came to power.
This is not the first time the threat of impeachment has hung over Obasanjo. Previous attempts by the House to impeach the president have failed, and the Senate called off its attempts in June after Obasanjo negotiated a truce with Senate leaders.
Analysts said the actions are designed to damage Obasanjo politically, but they doubted the new charges would lead to his removal.
Obasanjo, whose 1999 election ended decades of brutal and corrupt military rule, has announced his candidacy for a second term in presidential elections tentatively expected to be held in April. He has warned of the danger of growing violence as politicians jockey for position ahead of the polls. – Sapa-AP