VZCZCXRO4255
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0653/01 1350838
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 150838Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7141
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W ANDREW SILSKI, CA/OCS/ACS/AF FALASHADE 
ROBINSON, EB/ESC/IEC/ENR, DS/IP/AF, INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ELAB KIRF NI
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE JAN TO APR 
2006 
 
 
¶1.  This is a roundup of various recent incidents 
representative of the human rights situation in southern 
Nigeria.  This summary is organized according to the sections 
of the annual Human Right Report.  These incidents have not 
been reported in other cables or are updates of previously 
reported items. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Section 1 - Respect for the Integrity of the Person 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  On January 10, policemen killed two suspected robbers in 
the Rivers State capital city of Port Harcourt.  A police 
spokesperson said the robbers, dressed in fake army uniforms, 
robbed several people before they were killed by the police. 
We do not know if the police officers first attempted to use 
non-lethal force to subdue the purported robbers prior to the 
resort to lethal force. 
 
¶3.  In February, there were outbreaks of religious violence 
in the Northern cities of Kano and Maiduguri, following 
protests against the Denmark publication of caricatures of 
Prophet Muhammed.  Reprisal killings against Muslims and 
Northerners followed in the southern, predominantly Christian 
city of Onitsha.  The Christian Association of Nigeria said 
at least 50 people were killed in the violence in the North, 
and on February 21, hundreds of youths in Onitsha killed as 
many as 100 Muslims in retaliation.  Violence expanded to the 
southern city of Enugu and the northern city of Kontagora. 
 
¶4.  On April 10, seven students were killed during clashes 
among three rival cult groups at the Ambrose Alli University 
in Edo State. University authorities confirmed the incident, 
and said the police have commenced investigation to unravel 
the cause of the clash. 
 
¶5.  On April 19, two people were killed when a car exploded 
at a military base in Port Harcourt. The Movement for the 
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility 
for the explosion and stated that the explosion at the 
military base was to send a signal to the Nigerian military 
forces that there was little they could do to stop MEND's 
campaign in the Niger Delta. Police investigation is still 
on-going in Port Harcourt. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Section 2 - Respect for Civil Liberties 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  In early January, five Lagos policeman were arrested for 
extorting money from innocent motorists at checkpoints. 
Lagos State Chief of Police Adebayo christened the effort 
"Operation Keep Moving," a directive under which police "are 
not to stagnate or impede traffic by collecting money or 
making unnecessary demands of motorists." 
 
¶7.  In January, police in Oyo State used teargas to disperse 
a high-profile demonstration protesting Governor Ladoja's 
impeachment and removal from office.  Nobel Laureate Wole 
Soyinka and other prominent anti-GON activists participated 
in the peaceful rally.  Police claimed protestors had not, in 
accordance with national law, applied for a permit to 
demonstrate, despite the Supreme Court's judgement that the 
law was unconstitutional. 
 
¶8.  On February 21, policemen arrested and detained 
twenty-four civil society representatives protesting the 
alleged third term agenda of President Olsegun Obasanjo 
during a zonal constitutional review conference held in 
Oshogbo, the Osun State capital. Police arraigned the 
protestors before an Oshogbo magistrate court, again using 
the pretext of unlawful assembly.  They were all granted 
bail, and the matter is still pending in court. 
 
¶9.  In March, an Abuja High Court granted bail on health 
grounds to Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, a factional leader of the 
Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).  (Note.  The OPC was founded in 
1997 and is a militant socio-political Yoruba nationalist 
group.  In March 2006, the FG publicly accused the OPC of 
killing 10,000 people over the last seven years in acts of 
vigilante justice.  End Note.)  Fasehun is facing trial on 
treason charges alongside other leaders of major ethnic 
militia groups, including Gani Adams, OPC factional leader, 
Alhaji Dokubo Asari, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples 
Volunteer Force (NDPVF), and Ralph Uwazurike, leader of the 
Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of 
Biafra (MASSOB).  None of the others have received bail nor 
have they been tried. 
 
 
LAGOS 00000653  002 OF 002 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
Section 3 - Respect for Political Rights:  Citizens' Right 
to Change Their Government 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶10.  On January 12, the Oyo State House of Assembly impeached 
Governor Rasheed Ladoja on charges of corruption and abuse of 
office.  Underlying the impeachment was a political feud 
pitting the Governor against the traditional political 
strongman in the state.  The latter enjoyed the tacit support 
of the Presidency.  Governor Ladoja has since filed a 
petition in the court challenging his removal.  The case is 
still pending in court. 
 
¶11.  On April 22, a by-election was held in Ekiti State to 
fill a vacant seat in the House of Representatives previously 
occupied by the Deputy Governor. The opposition Alliance for 
Democracy (AD) party claimed the ruling Peoples Democratic 
Party (PDP) colluded with election officials and police to 
rig the election.  The AD also reported several opposition 
politicians were arrested and held in Abuja to ensure 
elections went the PDP's way. The police denied the charge 
and claimed those arrested had tried unlawfully to disrupt 
the voting exercise. 
 
¶12.  Outspoken opponent of the President, Abia State Governor 
Orji Kalu, had his assets frozen by the Economic and 
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Section 5 - Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and 
Trafficking in Persons 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶13.  In February, two men were arrested in Delta State for 
their involvement in the alleged ritual killings of children. 
 One was arrested in possession of two human skulls, and the 
other was accused of battering and dismembering a 
ten-year-old girl. 
 
-------------------------- 
Section 6 - Workers Rights 
-------------------------- 
 
¶14.  On February 16, the Federal Government (FG) promised a 
N30.5 billion (approximately $235 million) severance package 
for all maritime workers.  The package was promised to 
assuage worker anxieties over the concessioning of FG ports. 
 
¶15.  In March in Delta State, 600 workers claiming membership 
in the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) 
reportedly went on strike, stopping all municipal works for 
several days, over the alleged mistreatment of 3 recently 
appointed union-friendly local government councillors.  FG 
workers are prohibited by law from unionizing. 
 
¶16.  The Ministry of Labor held a regional workshop in March, 
including labor leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and 
Liberia.  Nigerian Minister of Labor Hassan Lawal asserted 
the responsibility of all African countries to uphold workers 
rights through increased labor inspections, and he announced 
new training programs for labor and occupational safety 
inspectors. 
BROWNE