(New York, July 3, 2003) - Ending impunity for human rights abuses should top President Obasanjo’s agenda as he begins his second term in office, Human Rights Watch said in an open letter to the Nigerian President today.
The letter identifies several priorities for a new human rights agenda for Nigeria. Since President Obasanjo took office four years ago, the military has not been brought to justice for serious human rights violations, including the indiscriminate killing of hundreds of people in Odi, Bayelsa State, in November 1999, and of more than two hundred people in Benue State in October 2001.
“The Obasanjo government must prosecute those members of the military responsible for these horrific crimes,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch. “Only then will the government’s commitment to human rights be taken seriously.”
The police also have committed widespread extrajudicial executions and have routinely responded to suspected criminal activity with excessive force, the letter said. Security forces have assaulted and detained individuals, sometimes for lengthy periods without trial and without evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Scores of people have been detained apparently on the basis of their membership in self-determination groups.
In the oil-rich Niger Delta, entire communities have been indiscriminately targeted by security forces in response to local demands for resource control and protests against environmental damage. Human Rights Watch received reports that security forces fired indiscriminately on villages around Warri, Delta State, during the clashes in Warri in March 2003.
Human Rights Watch accused the government of failing to resolve the underlying causes of widespread communal violence, in which thousands of Nigerians have been killed since 1999. Members of the security forces, instead of responding promptly to the first signs of conflict, in many cases committed violations themselves during communal crises.
“President Obasanjo has repeatedly emphasized the importance of good governance in Africa, including in the context of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD),” said Takirambudde. “But in Nigeria, where he should have the greatest chance of effecting change, serious human rights abuses so far have largely not been addressed.”
Human Rights Watch also urged the government to investigate cases of political violence, which killed hundreds of people leading up to and during Nigeria’s recent elections, and to prosecute those responsible without regard to political affiliation.
Human Rights Watch also urged the government to address human rights abuses that occurred in implementing Sharia and other criminal codes, including lack of respect for due process rights and sentences that constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
In addition to concern about violations committed since 1999, Human Rights Watch expressed disappointment that the government has failed for over one year to publish the final report of the Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission (known as the Oputa Panel) set up to investigate abuses committed under previous regimes.
