ICTJ Activity

In October 2001, the Center sent a small delegation to Nigeria to coincide with the ending of the public hearings of the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission. The delegation—which included one member from Sierra Leone and another from Ghana, both of which were in the process of establishing truth commissions—met with NGO leaders and Commission members. During this time, the ICTJ worked closely with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Nigeria. The Center later sent information to the Commission to assist in the preparation of the Commission's final report. The ICTJ is currently working on a paper that will summarize some of the key elements of the Commission.

Background

Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960 and was ruled by a coalition of regional factions until 1965, when it disintegrated into civil war. More than a million people were killed in ethnic and political violence from 1967 to 1970. Since the 1970s, the country has been governed predominantly by military regimes. In May 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military ruler who spent three years in prison during the regime of General Sani Abacha, was elected president through a democratic ballot.

Within a month of assuming power, President Obasanjo established the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (widely known as the "Oputa Panel" for its chairman, former Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa), which investigated human rights abuses committed between January 19, 1966 and May 28, 1999. With varying degrees of success, the Commission called on current and retired military leaders and officials to appear before it in numerous public hearings, receiving extensive daily coverage in the press. The Commission issued its report to the president in June 2002, but was unable to make the report public. The president has never acted on or released the report.

(Updated Feb 06)