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AbachaMinister of Foreign Affairs· 1995 — 1998

Chief Tom Ikimi

Foreign Minister during Nigeria's Commonwealth suspension over the Ogoni Nine.

The record

Tom Ikimi, an Edo politician and architect, was Foreign Minister during Nigeria's lowest international standing in the modern era. The execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other eight Ogoni activists on 10 November 1995 triggered Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth at the Auckland CHOGM the following day.

He led the Nigerian delegation that re-engaged with the international community after Abacha's death in June 1998, paving the readmission of Nigeria to the Commonwealth in 1999.

Sources

  • Commonwealth Secretariat — Communiqué of the Auckland CHOGM, November 1995
  • Karl Maier, This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis (PublicAffairs, 2000)
Methodology

Tier 1 · primary

Courts. Gazettes. National archives.

Tier 2 · corroborating

OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.

Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged

Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.