I. SUMMARY

Nigeria has witnessed an increase in the activities of ethnic and regional militia, vigilantes, and other armed groups in the last few years. One of the better-known of these groups is the O'odua People's Congress (OPC), an organization active in the southwest of Nigeria which campaigns to protect the interests of the Yoruba ethnic group and seeks autonomy for the Yoruba people. The OPC is a complex organization, which has taken on several different roles as it has adapted to the changing political and security environment in Nigeria. One of several Yoruba self-determination groups, it was established in 1994 with the aim of overcoming what it alleged was the political marginalization of the Yoruba. It has since evolved in several different directions. Its activities have ranged from political agitation for Yoruba autonomy and promotion of Yoruba culture to violent confrontation with members of other ethnic groups, and, more recently, vigilantism and crime-fighting. In its two main spheres of activity-ethnic militancy and vigilantism-the OPC has been responsible for numerous human rights abuses and acts of violence, and its members have killed or injured hundreds of unarmed civilians. However, OPC members have been victims as well as perpetrators of human rights abuses. Hundreds of real or suspected OPC members have been killed by the police; many others have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and detained without trial for extended periods.

The most widespread killings by the OPC took place in the context of clashes between Yoruba and other ethnic groups, which reached a peak during 2000; however, violence and human rights abuses continued in 2001 and 2002. There have also been numerous individual cases in which OPC members have killed or injured people, in the course of their vigilante work and in attempts to extort money. The OPC's activities have led them into direct confrontation with the police: there have been repeated, violent clashes between the two, with casualties on both sides. OPC members have attacked police stations on many occasions, and have killed and injured several policemen.

Part self-determination organization, part vigilante group, the OPC has defied easy classification. The usual description of the OPC as an ethnic militia, while accurate, is also misleading, in that not all the acts of violence committed by its members have been ethnically motivated. Many of the conflicts in which the OPC has got involved have been among Yoruba, and consequently victims of OPC violence have included Yoruba. The contrast between, on the one hand, the clearly articulated ideological discourse and sophisticated propaganda of some OPC leaders, and on the other hand, the mindless thuggery which characterizes many of its operations, has also posed a challenge in defining appropriate reactions to the organization. In a sense, the OPC combines aspects of two distinct types of organizations which have emerged in Nigeria: those which advocate for the specific interests of their particular ethnic, regional or religious group in a broadly political context¹, and those which have taken on the task of fighting crime, without an explicit political agenda of their own.² In addition, OPC members frequently carry out acts of intimidation and violence which appear to be motivated more by a desire to rob their victims of money or possessions, than by any ideological objective.

Despite public statements by the federal government condemning ethnic and vigilante violence, little effective action has been taken to keep these groups in check or to enforce accountability; on the contrary, some of these groups have benefited from the financial and political support of influential political figures, including state government officials. Several government officials maintain close links with the OPC leadership, and OPC members have provided security arrangements at official and public functions, in the presence of government officials. Where action has been taken by the federal government to crack down on the violence, it has often resulted in further human rights violations by the police, including extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests. The weakness of the Nigerian police force, its apparent inability to maintain law and order, and the lack of public confidence in its effectiveness have aggravated the problem and have given many armed groups the freedom to operate according to their own rules, and to carry out serious human rights abuses with impunity.

In 1999, the federal government announced a ban on the OPC and gave the police orders to deal with the organization ruthlessly. Instructions to the police to "shoot on sight," combined with the OPC's defiance of the ban, provoked a heavy-handed and brutal response from the police. The police regularly raided and broke up OPC meetings; scores of OPC members were killed by the police and hundreds arrested. Few of the arrests have resulted in successful prosecution. In many cases, suspects were detained for a short period then released on bail; in others, they have remained in detention for prolonged periods awaiting trial. The actions of the Nigerian government and the police against the OPC have been in violation of Nigeria's national and international human rights obligations.

Despite this crackdown, the OPC has continued to function, sometimes underground, but more often boldly and openly challenging the federal government's and the police's attempts to crush it. In some of the states where it operates in the southwest, it enjoys close relations with state government authorities and even the explicit support of governors-a support which, to some extent, may have provided it with a level of protection.

Human Rights Watch does not take a position on the legitimacy of the political demands of the OPC or other self-determination groups, but believes that the federal government's strategy in responding to these groups has been inappropriate and counter-productive. Not only has it resulted directly in human rights violations against members of these groups, but it appears to have strengthened the determination of some of them, notably the OPC, to fight against the existing political system, often using violence with the justification that this is the only way to be heard. The weakness and corruption within the judicial system have meant that the vast majority of members of these groups responsible for violence have not been brought to justice, while many of those detained may well have been innocent. Justice has been selective, discriminatory and often arbitrary.

By early 2003, incidents of large-scale killings by the OPC have decreased, but clashes between different ethnic groups, including the Yoruba, are still taking place, and ethnic tensions have not abated. The OPC remains active and visible. Its leaders have not accepted responsibility for the serious human rights abuses committed by their members, despite the fact that the organization has a clear structure, chain of command and disciplinary procedures. The OPC continues to enjoy significant support among sectors of the population in southwestern Nigeria and among state government officials. There could be a resurgence of violence at any time, and the OPC remains poised to intervene in the event of ethnic or political crises, which remain a common feature of the Nigerian landscape.

The coming months will be especially critical. As political tensions rise leading up elections in Nigeria in April 2003, and many ethnic and social groups are voicing increasing dissatisfaction with their political and economic situation, ethnic militia such as the OPC represent a powerful force which could be unleashed with disastrous consequences. By the end of 2002, the number of cases of political violence in different parts of the country, including the southwest, has increased significantly-an alarming signal of what may lie in store for local government, state, legislative and presidential elections. Candidates for the elections at all these levels, and their supporters, have made widespread use of thugs and other armed groups to intimidate and even eliminate their opponents. The OPC, with its large following and readiness to use violence, is one of many groups which can easily be mobilized in this context.³

In late 2002, OPC leaders publicly warned against the use of political violence in the pre-election period. Media reports quoted OPC leader Frederick Fasehun as stating that the "OPC would wage war against thuggery come year 2003 election, warning politicians that are contemplating using thugs to desist from it or have their names dragged in the mud."⁴ However, there is no guarantee that OPC rank-and-file members will feel bound by these words, especially when they see other groups and individuals carrying out abuses with impunity. Even the public positions of the OPC leaders themselves have been ambiguous. In December 2002, leaders of the OPC, including Frederick Fasehun, and of other self-determination groups vowed that there would be no election in Nigeria unless the government pledged to hold a "sovereign national conference." It was not clear what means they would envisage using to disrupt or prevent the elections.

There are also deeper, underlying problems which threaten to undermine the conduct of the 2003 elections and any attempts at installing a real democracy in Nigeria. The federal government has failed to address the grievances of the many groups which complain of marginalization and discrimination, opting to either ignore them, or to try to silence them. The long-awaited reform of the Nigerian constitution, which many civil society groups have been campaigning for several years, has not yet been completed. Many Nigerians, of various political and ethnic backgrounds, feel that their voices remain unheard. The OPC has provided a vehicle for those of Yoruba ethnicity to express some of these frustrations.

In addition to creating a political environment in which open and genuine debate can take place, the federal government should take effective measures to bring to justice members of militia and other armed groups who have been responsible for acts of violence. Rather than contenting itself with blanket bans and sweeping laws to outlaw such groups, it should ensure that individual members of the OPC who carried out these crimes, as well as those who planned and organized them, are charged and tried promptly, according to due process. It should also investigate the role of state government authorities in passively or actively condoning these abuses. The federal government should also ensure that members of the police force responsible for extrajudicial executions, torture and arbitrary arrests of OPC members are brought to justice. In the pre-election period, in particular, the government should pay special attention to the risks of an escalation of political violence and the dangerous role which such groups could play if they are led to believe they can continue terrorizing the population with impunity, and if they see members of the security forces who have killed their own people evade justice too.

The information in this report is based in large part on research conducted by Human Rights Watch in Nigeria between May and September 2002; additional information has been gathered from other sources inside and outside Nigeria. Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed a wide range of people in Nigeria, including victims and eye-witnesses of OPC violence from different ethnic groups, current and former members of the OPC (including their leaders and rank-and-file members), sympathizers and critics of the OPC, police and government officials, non-governmental organizations, and other sources. This report is not aiming to provide an exhaustive account of all the incidents of OPC violence or of all human rights violations of OPC members by the police. By concentrating on a limited number of incidents which have occurred over the last two to three years, it aims to illustrate the patterns of violence and presents an overview of the different faces of the OPC, highlighting the human rights impact of both the OPC's actions and those of the government and police. The report concentrates on events which took place since the present government of Nigeria came to power in May 1999. However, there were also many serious incidents of violence both by and against members of the OPC in previous years, which are not documented in this report.⁵

Human Rights Watch is aware that the OPC is not the only ethnic militia responsible for acts of violence, and that many of the groups with which they have been in conflict have themselves taken up arms, and killed and injured Yoruba civilians. Human Rights Watch also condemns the role of these groups in fuelling and perpetrating acts of ethnic violence. However, this report does not attempt to document those cases in detail, as its specific focus is the conduct and responsibility of the OPC and the response of the government and the security forces.

1 These include several organizations representing the interests of northerners; the interests of the Igbo ethnic group in the southeast; the Ijaw in the south; and many other groups in different parts of the country.

2 These include the Bakassi Boys, a vigilante group active in the southeast, and local vigilante groups in other parts of the country. Although these groups generally do not articulate a political agenda, some, such as the Bakassi Boys, have been used by politicians to further their own ends. See Human Rights Watch/CLEEN report "The Bakassi Boys: The Legitimization of Murder and Torture," May 2002.

3 See Human Rights Watch briefing paper "Nigeria at the crossroads: human rights concerns in the pre-election period," January 2003.

4 See "OPC to arrest political thugs during 2003 polls, says Fasehun," Vanguard (Lagos), December 13, 2002.

5 Earlier incidents have been documented by a variety of organizations, including the OPC itself, and several Nigerian human rights organizations such as the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).