Embargoed for Release:
Friday, February 28, 2003
At 00:01 GMT
(For Friday's newspapers)

Nigeria: OPC a Continuing Threat to Security

(New York, February 28, 2003) - Militia and vigilante violence continues
to pose a real threat to security in Nigeria, especially in the period
leading up to elections in April 2003, Human Rights Watch said in a new
report released today. One of the more notorious groups is the O'odua
People's Congress (OPC), an organization active in the southwest, which
has killed or injured hundreds of people over the last few years.

The 58-page report, "The OPC: Fighting Violence with Violence," provides
detailed accounts of killings and other abuses by the OPC since the
government of President Olusegun Obasanjo came to power in 1999. An
organization that promotes self determination for the Yoruba ethnic
group, the OPC is also part ethnic militia and part vigilante group. It
has cashed in on a growing sense of disenfranchisement among the
population and has taken advantage of the inability of the police force
to maintain law and order.

"Vigilante violence in many parts of Nigeria is an increasing problem,"
said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa division at
Human Rights Watch. "The OPC is a particularly dangerous example of the
phenomenon."

Some of these killings occurred in the context of ethnic conflicts, for
example in the Idi-Araba area of Lagos in February 2002 when OPC members
and other Yoruba clashed with members of the Hausa ethnic group and more
than seventy people were killed. In one of the most serious incidents,
in October 2000, more than 250 people were killed in Ajegunle (also in
Lagos) as Yoruba and Hausa fought for several days; testimonies gathered
by Human Rights Watch confirmed that the OPC had played a central role
in the violence in Ajegunle. In other cases, OPC members publicly killed
and mutilated alleged criminals in the course of their vigilante work.
They have also attacked and killed policemen.

However, OPC members have been victims as well as perpetrators of human
rights abuses. The report describes the brutal response of the police,
which has resulted in the extrajudicial execution, arbitrary arrest,
torture and prolonged pre-trial detention of hundreds of suspected OPC
members. Police have frequently raided OPC meetings including in
situations where there was no evidence that those present were engaged
in criminal activity. Yet there have been few successful prosecutions of
OPC members or their leaders responsible for the violence.

"Fighting violence with violence will not solve the problem," said
Takirambudde. "On the contrary, it appears to have strengthened the
resolve of the OPC to fight."

The report highlights the role of some state governments in supporting
the OPC and in failing to publicly condemn the organization's use of
violence. Some state governors have turned a blind eye to the OPC's acts
of violence and attempted to justify using the group to fight crime on
the basis that the police have been unable to do so. But whatever the
weaknesses of the police force, government authorities have a
responsibility to prevent the population from resorting to
self-appointed vigilante groups that are known to engage in violence,
Human Rights Watch said.

In 1999, President Obasanjo declared a ban on the OPC, which remains in
force to this day, despite the absence of any legislation. Nevertheless,
OPC members have openly provided security arrangements at public
gatherings, including official events, such as the ceremony for the
lying-in-state of former Minister of Justice and Attorney General Bola
Ige, in January 2002, which was attended by many government officials,
including President Obasanjo.

In recent months, there have been fewer reports of OPC violence, but the
organization remains active and visible, and its leaders have not
accepted responsibility for the serious abuses committed by their
members.

"As pre-election violence is increasing across Nigeria, the OPC with its
large mass membership represents a powerful force, which could be
unleashed with disastrous consequences," said Takirambudde.

The report makes recommendations to the Nigerian government, including
identifying and bringing to justice OPC members responsible for acts of
violence, according to due process; issuing clear instructions to the
police to respect the right to life and to refrain from excessive use of
force; and reforming the police to ensure that it maintains law and
order effectively, without carrying out systematic human rights
violations.

Human Rights Watch also appealed to the leaders of the OPC to make clear
to their members that acts of criminal violence will not be tolerated,
and that abuses by the police, however serious, are never a
justification for responding in kind. Because the OPC has a clear
structure and chain of command, its leaders should be held responsible
for the actions of their members, and OPC leaders should refrain from
making any statements that could encourage violence.

"If the organization is claiming to fight crime, it should cooperate
with the police and hand over any suspected criminal," said
Takirambudde. "Under no circumstances should vigilante groups dispense
their own form of justice."

During the embargo period, the report will be available online at
http://docs.hrw.org/embargo/ [2] nigeria0203/ with the username: 'nigeria'
and the access-code: 'violence2k3'.

After the embargo period, the report will be online at
http://hrw.org//reports/2003/nigeria0203/ [3].

For further information, please contact:
In London, Carina Tertsakian: +44-207-713-2783
In New York, Peter Takirambudde: +1-212-216-1223
In Brussels, Vanessa Saenen: +32-2-732-2009

--
Jeff Scott
Africa Division
Human Rights Watch
Phone: +1-212-216-1834
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
http://www.hrw.org/africa/index.php [4]
en français, http://www.hrw.org/french/africa/ [5]