The Nigerian Press Under the Military - Joan Shorenstein Center on ...

subject of three favorable editorials in <strong>the</strong> magazine.
Indeed, <strong>the</strong> editor's opinion columns " criticized
anyone. . . who attempted to make li{e unpleasant for
Babangida." See Dele Olojede and Onukaba Adinoyi-
Ojo, page 162.
83. Tell was founded about 1991 by a splinter group of
Newswatch iournalists led by Nosa lgiebor. Having
established itself as a serious alternative to
Newswatch, some of whose directors had started to
patronize <strong>the</strong> military (director Alex Akinyele became
<strong>the</strong> Minister of Information, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Dan Agbese got appointed to <strong>the</strong> Board of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Nigerian</strong>
Television Authorityl, TeIl suflercd tremendous
blows in <strong>the</strong> hands of <strong>the</strong> military tn 1993 for publishing
stories uncomplimentary of <strong>the</strong> Babangida regime,
beginning from a lS-page interview with former head
of state, Gen. Olusegun Obasanio, who described
President Babangida as a fraud lSee Tell April 19,
I993: Lagos, Nigeria). <strong>The</strong> following issue carried a
cover "Go, IBB, Go," a cail on Gen. Ibrahim B.
Babangida, to follow through with his hand-over plan,
while in May 1993, <strong>the</strong> magazine carried ano<strong>the</strong>r
cover, "Transition Against Handover," a story which
highlighted 21 traps against <strong>the</strong> transition program.
Security officials seized 70,000 copies of that edition.
Telllater got a court injunction restraining government
security forces from sealing off its offices. See
"<strong>The</strong>
Siege on TelI," African Concord (Lagos, Nigeria)
May 17, 1993, page 3.
84. <strong>The</strong> News was founded in 1993 by a group of
African Concord f oumalists who resigned.in protest
after publisher Moshood Abiola {who later ran for
President and was believed to have won before his
election was annulled by President Babangida, his
self-admitted friend) ordered <strong>the</strong>m to apologize to <strong>the</strong>
military government over some stories carried in
African Concord which had caused a government
siege on <strong>the</strong> magazine.
S5.<strong>The</strong>Washington Post, March 17,1987, page Al9.
86. For full text of letter, see Dele Oloiede and
Onukaba Adinoyi-Ofo, Botn to Run: <strong>The</strong> Story of Dele
Giwc (Spectrum: 1986), pages 191-192)
87. Ibid., page 173.
88. Ibid., page 177.
89.Ibid., page 182.
9O. <strong>The</strong> Washington Post, March 17
, 1987
, page A19.
9 t . Chief Gani Fawehin'mi has {iled at least 32 cases
and made 315 court appearance on <strong>the</strong> Dele Giwa
issue. See West Aftican News, {New York) November
8, 1993, a story culled from TeIl magazine (Lagos,
Nigeria).
92. Newswatcft did not, however, escape government
recrimination. Less than one year alter <strong>the</strong> murder of
its founding editor, <strong>the</strong> magazine was proscribed by
<strong>the</strong> Babangida regime for allegedly publishing "classified
and confidential matters in its Volume 5, No. 15
issue of Apfil 13, 1-987." <strong>The</strong> decree that proscribed
N ewswatch, "Newswatch (Proscription and Prohibition
from Circulation) Decree 6 of 1987," was signed
by <strong>the</strong> President on April 6,1987, but it purported to
punish an in{raction committed on April L3, 1987,
indicating retroactivity. To give <strong>the</strong> action <strong>the</strong> force of
<strong>the</strong> constitution, <strong>the</strong> preamble to <strong>the</strong> decree cites
section 36(31 of <strong>the</strong> 1979 constitution, <strong>the</strong> section
dealing with <strong>the</strong> legal grounds of press control. See
footnote 8, page 4.
93. See "Echoes of Dele Giwa" , Newswatch, (Lagos,
Nigeria) April26, 1993, page 33. While in <strong>the</strong> April 4,
1993 edition of Newbreed, it was alleged that some
eminent <strong>Nigerian</strong>s, including President Babangida,
First Republic President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, former
President Shehu Shagari, were members of a secret
cult, Newbreed staffers believed that this had nothing
to do with <strong>the</strong> real reason <strong>the</strong>y were arrested. <strong>The</strong>y
believed that <strong>the</strong> real reason had to do with <strong>the</strong>
magazine's possession of a taped confession of Dele
Giwa's rnurderer.
94. Culled by West AfricanNews (New York), November
8, 1993, pages 10-1 1.
95. rbid.
96. <strong>The</strong> official exchange rate of <strong>the</strong> naira in 1985 was
one naira to $1.08, but on <strong>the</strong> black market, four naira
was being sold for $1. In 1993, <strong>the</strong> official exchange
rate fluctuates around $l to 20 naira, but <strong>the</strong> parallel
{black} market is $1 to up to 40 naira.
97. Editorials in<strong>The</strong> Daily Star said: "IMF Loan: A
Tentacle of Capitalism" and<strong>The</strong> Sunday Heruld asked
"IMF: What For?". See <strong>The</strong> Chicago Tribune, October
10, 1985, page26.
98. <strong>The</strong> Chicago Tribune, October 10, 1985, page 26.
99. <strong>The</strong> New York Times, October 8, 1985, page 8.
100. <strong>The</strong> News, (Lagos, Nigeria) |une 28,
page23.
24 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Nigerian</strong> <strong>Press</strong> <strong>Under</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Military</strong>: Persecution, Resilience and Political Crisis (1983-1993)
1993,