Remembering the Dark Days of Military Rule

weeks ago, armed men invaded the Lagos home of Mr Segun Olatunji, editor of FirstNews, grabbed him, loaded him onto a vehicle and sped off. There was no warrant of arrest, as you would expect in a democracy, or a word to his family on what his offence was. There was no information on where he was being taken. The newspaper issued press release upon press release raising the alarm, but there was no response from any quarters: the military, the police, the DSS, or even Boys Brigade. Sadly, only sections of the mainstream media gave prominent coverage to this disturbing development — after all, Olatunji is only a journalist, not a politician or billionaire. The irony!

The military authorities played dumb for long. It took a dogged move by the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria, under the leadership of Mr Musikilu Mojeed, the editor-in-chief of Premium Times, to uncover the fact that Olatunji was seized by men of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). If Olatunji, reportedly asthmatic, had suffered a medical crisis on the way and died, his body could have been fed to alligators and we would be here asking “Where is Segun Olatunji?” until the world comes to an end. The military would never claim responsibility. In a country where kidnapping is two for one kobo, how can you pick up someone without disclosing who you are and what you want?

I hope criminals will not imitate this method and leave us guessing if it is the military authorities at it again. If journalists who have voice and institutions behind them can be treated like this, imagine what will happen to an average Joe. This dangerous development must be thoroughly investigated. Whoever is culpable must be brought to book. It is extremely dangerous for the security agencies to be picking up people in a Gestapo manner. This must not become the norm. If a journalist has committed an infraction, due process must be followed in terms of invitation, arrest and trial. Journalists are not above the law, but they should also not be treated without respect for the law.

Olatunji is lucky to be alive. He was lucky that the military finally admitted that he was in their custody and released him thereafter. When Nigeria was under military rule, the story might have been completely different. Mr Chinedu Offoaro, a reporter with The Guardian, disappeared one weekend in May 1996 and never returned. No dead body has been found till this day. I remember attending a prayer meeting organised by The Guardian seeking his safe return. Till today, we know nothing about his fate. We presume he is dead because that is the only sane thing to do under the circumstance. But how can you ever heal and come to closure when all you have is presumption?

In the heyday of His Royal Madness, Gen Sani Abacha, media houses were shut down or bombed with glee. I still tease my wife that she would never have agreed to marry me if we had met under military rule. Journalists and activists were routinely harassed, arrested, tortured or killed. Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of Bashorun MKO Abiola, was killed by Abacha’s goons in daylight. Her killers were reportedly asked to rape her first (they allegedly got a pittance of N50,000 for not following the order to the letter). Pa Alfred Rewane, a 79-year-old businessman, was assassinated on the suspicion that he was funding the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the leading pro-democracy group.

In 1995, Abacha said there was a coup plot against him, led by Col Lawan Gwadabe. Abacha rounded up dozens of suspects and set up the special investigation panel (SIP), led by Gen Patrick Aziza, for preliminary interrogations. TheNews magazine reported that the suspects had been exonerated by the panel. Thereafter, soldiers invaded the magazine’s office at Omole, Lagos, in search of Mr Bayo Onanuga (now presidential adviser) and Mr Dapo Olorunyomi (now publisher of Premium Times). They were not around. Mr Kunle Ajibade, the most senior editor around, instantly became unfortunate. He was arrested, charged with coup plotting and sentenced to life imprisonment.

I will never forget the tragic case of Bagauda Kaltho, a journalist at TheNews at the time of the phantom coup. He disappeared in 1996. We suspected that it might have to do with the cover story on the Aziza Panel as he was one of those who contributed to the report. Kaltho’s friends and family lived in suspense for years. The next thing we heard from Mr Zakari Biu, head of Abacha’s anti-terror squad,