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RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0482/01 1791500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281500Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9176
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 8980
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 0447
RUEHCD/AMCONSUL CIUDAD JUAREZ 0426
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0425
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 0407
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 LAGOS 000482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W 
STATE FOR INR/AA 
STATE FOR G/DRL 
DOE FOR CAROLYN GAY 
WARSAW FOR LISA PIASCIK 
CIUDAD JUAREZ FOR DONNA BLAIR 
ISTANBUL FOR TASHAWNA SMITH 
SAO PAOLO FOR ANDREW WITHERSPOON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KIRF NI
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE THROUGH JUNE 
2007 
 
REF: LAGOS 337 
 
LAGOS 00000482  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This is a roundup of 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. 
--------------------------- 
Section 1 - Respect for the 
Integrity of the Person 
--------------------------- 
 
a.  Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life 
 
¶2.  (U) On March 28, Matthew Mato from Benin City was 
reportedly killed in a prison in Abuja by police seeking to 
restore order.  Mato, a former mobile policeman, was in 
prison for masterminding the heist of an Abuja bank in 
December 2005, but he maintained that his confession to the 
crime was obtained through torture. 
 
¶3.  (U) The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights 
and Justice Organization asked the Anambra State government 
to investigate the July 2006 death of Chioma Uwa.  The NGO 
reported Uwa was killed in the cross-fire between a joint 
army/police patrol and vigilantes during a sweep of Onitsha. 
 
c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment 
or Punishment 
 
¶4.  (U) Amnesty International reported an attack in Port 
Harcourt on May 19 against the family of Bari-ara Kpalap, a 
staff member of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni 
People (MOSOP).  According to the report, four unidentified 
men broke in the Kpalap home searching for Bari-ara.  These 
attackers hit the children and bruised Bari-ara's wife, 
Baridi, before departing with a warning they would return. 
 
¶5.  (U) Ethel Godson, a resident of Mbano local government in 
Imo State, claimed harassment by police in search of her 
husband, who is an official in the Movement for the 
Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). 
Godson claimed the police had burned their house and she had 
not seen her husband since October 2005. 
 
¶6.  (U) On March 30, the Supreme Court in a unanimous 
decision on the case of Bayo Johnson v Lagos State, upheld 
the determination of the Lagos High Court that the holding 
charge was legal and constitutional.  The holding charge or 
remand proceeding allows the police to hold a suspect pending 
the conclusion of an investigation and filing of charges. 
The NGO Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS), which assisted 
Johnson in filing his brief, agreed that the court came to a 
reasoned conclusion.  However, HURILAWS criticized the law's 
abuse by law enforcement, which it said often committed 
prisoners to long periods without trial and this has led to 
the overcrowding crisis in the nation's prisons. 
 
f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence 
 
¶7.  (U) The NGO Center for Victims of Extra-Judicial Killings 
and Torture (CVEKT) asked Inspector General of Police Sunday 
Ehindero to launch an inquiry into the alleged police attack 
on the villages of Amaruru and Ihetenansa in Imo State.  The 
CVEKT reported that on January 24, police killed a man for 
refusing to pay a bribe.  After incensed villagers set the 
local police station ablaze, the next day the police arrived 
with reinforcements and razed 100 homes. 
 
¶8.  (U) On June 14, The Police and Community Relations 
Committee (PCRC) in Ilupeju, Lagos State, marked the opening 
of a new office.  The PCRC was created a decade ago to 
influence the police force to be more humane in its dealings 
with the community.  According to news reports, the Ilupeju 
Police Division has won five awards as the best police 
 
LAGOS 00000482  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
station in Nigeria. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Section 2 - Respect for Civil Liberties 
--------------------------------------- 
 
a.  Freedom of Speech and Press 
 
¶9.  (U) The Media for Democracy (MFD) in Nigeria condemned 
the May 1 police attack in Akure on cameraman Dare Folorunso 
of the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation, who was attempting 
to film political protests against the election during the 
Workers' Day Celebration.  Reports cited Assistant Police 
Commissioner Joshua Mumbo as leading 10 policemen in the 
attack.  Ondo State Nigerian Union of Journalists Chairman 
Dele Atunbi also condemned the action, calling it a 
confirmation of the Nigerian Police Force's "flagrant 
disregard for human rights". 
 
¶10. (U) In celebration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 
the MFD condemned the refusal of President Obasanjo to sign 
the Freedom of Information Bill (FOIB) and called for his 
immediate signature.  Former United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees Eduardo Cue, speaking at a tele-conference at 
the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, said passing the FOIB would help 
curb corruption and give credence to democracy in Nigeria. 
 
¶11. (U) Reporters without Borders (RWB) reported journalist 
Adeola Balogun had received death threats after publishing an 
article in the May 22 edition of The Punch detailing a 
possible case of baby theft. 
 
¶12. (U) On May 23, political thugs in Ibadan halted 
programming by the radio Broadcasting Corporation Service 
(BCOS) of Oyo State.  The attack was believed to be 
instigated by Governor-elect Adebayo Alao-Akala and his 
political patron Lamidi Adedibu, in their attempt to halt the 
Local Government Council (LGC) elections declared by Governor 
Rashidi Ladoja.  Attackers macheted 10 employees and forced 
the others to flee, after which the thugs vandalized the 
station equipment and antenna. 
 
¶13. (U) RWB condemned the arrest warrants for Osun Defender 
editor Kola Olabisi, reporter Sola Jacobs, and human rights 
activist Amitolu Shittu.  Judge Jide Falola issued the 
warrants after a report in the paper accused the judge of 
releasing demonstrators in exchange for bribes. 
 
b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association 
 
¶14. (U) On the May 29 Inauguration Day, police arrested six 
human rights activists in Lagos after they carried a coffin 
to mark the death of the regime of President Olusegun 
Obasanjo.  The activists were members of the Labor and Civil 
Society Coalition (LASCO).  In Edo State, the National Labor 
Congress (NLC) reported the police firing to disperse the 
crowd and arresting seven protesters.  The police arrested 
demonstrators in Ibadan attempting to protest the 
inauguration of the Oyo State governor, and dispersed a group 
attempting a similar protest in Abeokuta against the 
inauguration of the Ogun State governor. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Section 3 - Respect for Political Rights: 
Citizens' Right to Change Their Government 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶15. (U) Human Rights Watch (HRW) observers in Rivers and 
Anambra states condemned the April elections as marred by 
fraud, intimidation, and violence.  HRW reported open rigging 
and violence being used to frighten voters.  In its report, 
HRW called for the vote to be re-run in all states where the 
"rights of voters have been systematically violated." 
 
¶16. (U) On April 26, a coalition of 17 civil society groups 
 
LAGOS 00000482  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 
to investigate the expenditures of the Independent National 
Electoral Commission (INEC).  In its statement, the groups 
cited the need for an investigation in order to "enable 
Nigerians to understand how resources earmarked for the 
elections were expended, given the widespread condemnations 
which greeted the results." 
 
¶17. (U) On May 2, Action Congress (AC) Osun State 
gubernatorial candidate Rauf Aregbesola accused the police of 
arresting over 200 of his supporters on trumped-up charges. 
 
¶18. (U) On May 10, in an attempt to halt LGC elections, 
political thugs associated with Adedibu and Akala stormed the 
offices of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission 
(OYSIEC), destroying election materials.  The police arrested 
10 suspects, including the Deputy Governor-elect, Taofik 
Arapaja, but no charges had been filed. 
 
¶19. (U) On May 10, the Abuja High Court granted Democratic 
People's Party gubernatorial candidate Ovedje Ogboru 
permission to institute a case against Inspector General of 
Police (IGP) Sunday Ehindero.  Ogboru planned to protest an 
order for his arrest issued by Ehindero, claiming it was an 
attempt to prevent him from filing a petition to the 
electoral tribunal.  Twenty other plaintiffs were also 
granted permission to ask the court to release them from 
detention. 
 
¶20. (U) Additional information about the April 2007 election 
can be found in mission cables. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Section 4 - Government Attitude Regarding International and 
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Human Rights 
Violations 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶21. (U) The International Coordinating Committee of National 
Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human 
Rights, a UN body, chose to defer the re-accreditation of 
Nigeria pending fulfillment of its pledge to investigate the 
removal of the Executive Secretary of its National Human 
Rights Commission (NHRC), Bukhari Bello.  The body asked the 
GON to provide it with documents concerning the appointment 
and dismissal of members of the commission as well as 
evidence the NHRC has continued to address human rights 
violations since Bello's removal on June 19 of last year. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Section 5 - Discrimination, Societal 
Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶22. (U) In April, Foreign Minister Joy Ogwu chaired the 
signing ceremony for the United Nations Convention on the 
Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  Ogwu said the National 
Assembly, in conjunction with the Convention, was in the 
process of finalizing a disability law to guarantee the 
rights of the disabled. 
 
¶23. (U) On May 1, the police arrested two young men in 
Uro-Irri, Delta State, who are believed to be connected to a 
human trafficking syndicate based in Libya.  The two men 
reportedly facilitated the transport of a young woman from 
Uro-Irri toQibya, and demanded 1 million naira 
(approximately $8,000) to assist in her return. 
 
¶24. (U) On May 23, police in Port Harcourt tear-gassed 25 
physically disabled protesters outside the Rivers State 
Government House.  The delegation was seeking an audience 
with Governor Peter Odili to discuss issues of the disabled 
who reside in Rivers State. 
 
¶25. (U) BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights representative 
 
LAGOS 00000482  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
Mufuliat Fijabi, speaking at a forum in Ibadan, spoke of the 
need to campaign to address the issue of violence against 
women in Nigeria.  Fijabi called on the National Assembly to 
pass the Bill to end Violence Against Women. 
 
-------------------------- 
Section 6 - Workers Rights 
-------------------------- 
 
¶26. (U) The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported 
over 6,000 children engaged in labour had been rehabilitated 
in Nigeria and Ghana between 2004 and 2006.  The ILO said 
this was part of the U.S. Department of Labor-funded 
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour to 
Combat Child Trafficking in West Africa.  ILO Director 
General Juan Somavia said that in Nigeria, the number of 
children repatriated internally were 99 male and 151 female; 
while 39 male and 71 female were repatriated outside Nigeria. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶27. (SBU) It is uncertain what priority the Umaru Yar'Adua 
administration will place on human rights.  Yar'Adua could 
signal a new commitment by the government to human rights by 
signing the FOIB.  A quick passage, followed by a genuine 
effort to reform the police and the desultory court process 
would also gain support from the Nigerian public, which 
dreads dealing with all facets of law enforcement.  The 
record of the police could be improved over time by promotig 
community policing and the need to be more accountable to the 
public.  In addition, the courts have a role in reform by 
prosecuting human rights violators through a more efficient 
judicial process. 
 
LATIMER