The Military and the Violation of Human Rights in Nigeria: A Focus on the Babangida's Administration (1985–1993)

Violation of citizen's rights by soldiers was a prominent feature of the Babangida administration in Nigeria from 1985–1993. Examples abound. Physical assault against civilians by “the men in khaki” occurred at the slightest provocation, ostensibly as a demonstration of their military might and arrogant show of power. The victims were often the ordinary citizens such as commercial drivers and their conductors (usually over bus fare), roadside traders during street-cleaning operations or in fact, it may just well be any unarmed person who happened to get involved with a soldier or his relation in an argument or misunderstanding. This paper examines the Babangida military administration in Nigeria with particular reference to violations of human rights by the military high and low command. Cases such as indiscriminate harassment of workers, students, organized labour movements, etc, during peaceful demonstrations are the focus of this paper. The paper concludes that the goal of any developing country such as Nigeria is to have a sustainable human rights policy since development and human rights are interrelated. The Babangida military administration with its poor human rights records was not disposed to attaining developmental goals.