Youth leader urges Australia to push for Nigerian expulsion By Shelly Simonds Australia should push for Nigeria's expulsion from the Commonwealth when heads of state meet in Britain next month, an ANU forum was told. Mr Komene Famaa, a representative of Nigeria's Ogoni people, visited Canberra and the ANU at the end of May to build awareness of the continued brutality of Nigeria's military dictatorship lead by General Sani Abacha. Nigeria, which has spent 25 of the 36 years since independence under military rule, is suspended from the Commonwealth because of human rights abuses. Mr Famaa's visit was timed to pressure Australia to support Nigeria's continued suspension, or preferably expulsion, from the international organisation. "We don't have democratic election in Nigeria, we have military selection," Mr Famaa said. "We have a leader who hand picks his allies for office." Human rights abuses in Nigeria have been documented by Amnesty International, the US Department of State and the United Nations. Abuses by government include disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, use of excessive force to quell protests, and infringements on freedom of the press, speech and assembly. International groups also point to the government's heavy reliance on military tribunals which deny defendants due process. Renowned Ogoni writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was convicted and executed by a military tribunal in 1995. Mr Famaa, a co-worker of Mr Saro-Wiwa, said there are still 20 other detained Ogoni activists who face execution. Mr Famaa recommended that Australia impose a trade embargo on Nigeria. He also urged individuals to put pressure on Shell, the largest oil producer in Nigeria, to improve its environmental record and stance on human rights. "When they can not solve their own problems, they call the military in," said Mr Famaa who accused Shell of participating in an unholy alliance with the military government, which receives about 80 per cent of its funding from oil revenue. According to Greenpeace, from 1982 to 1992 Shell spilt more than 6.4 million litres of oil in Nigeria. That's more oil than was released by the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. The Ogoni people are asking Shell to compensate them for environmental damage to their homeland. Shell closed its operation on Ogoni land in 1993 and said it has no plans to resume production there. Earlier this year Shell introduced a community project which would provide job training for over 300 Ogoni youth. The deputy managing director of Shell Nigeria officially inaugurated the program with Military Administrator Colonel Musa Shehu.