Nigeria: Cease Sponsoring Vigilante Violence

Nigeria: Cease Sponsoring Vigilante Violence
Joint Statement by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Centre for Law
Enforcement Education (CLEEN)

(Lagos, June 21, 2002) -- Ebonyi State in south-eastern Nigeria should
not endorse the activities of vigilante groups, Human Rights Watch and
the Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN) said today.

The human rights groups were responding to recent reports that the
governor of Ebonyi, Sam Egwu, was planning to introduce the vigilante
group, known as the Bakassi Boys, into his state and to sign a law
establishing them there. The Bakassi Boys have been responsible for
numerous human rights abuses in the neighboring states of southeastern
Nigeria where they operate, including extrajudicial killings, public
burnings, mutilations, torture, and unlawful detentions.

"The Bakassi Boys' violent record and their complete disregard of the
law are well-known," said Carina Tertsakian, researcher at Human Rights
Watch. "If they have killed and tortured with impunity in Anambra,
Abia, and Imo states, why would they behave any differently in Ebonyi
State- especially when they are being welcomed there by the governor
himself?"

These abuses, as well as the deployment of the Bakassi Boys to target
perceived political opponents of state governments, were documented in a
detailed report published by Human Rights Watch (headquartered in New
York) and CLEEN (headquartered in Lagos) on May 20, 2002, titled "The
Bakassi Boys: The Legitimization of Murder and Torture,"
(http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/nigeria2/).

Further killings by the Bakassi Boys have been reported in recent weeks,
particularly in Anambra State: more than twenty people, including
several women, were reportedly killed by the Bakassi Boys in Onitsha in
the last week of May, and further killings were reported in Onitsha as
recently as mid-June.

The two human rights organizations said that state governors have a
responsibility to prevent, not encourage, the spread of vigilante
violence. They appealed to Governor Sam Egwu to reconsider his decision
and to resist public pressure to introduce the Bakassi Boys into Ebonyi.

"We recognize high levels of violent crime pose a serious problem in
many parts of Nigeria," said Innocent Chukwuma, Executive Director of
CLEEN. "But the solution is not to continue resorting to extrajudicial
means or to support vigilante violence."

The two human rights groups also described as regrettable recent
statements by Orji Uzor Kalu, the governor of Abia State - the state
where the Bakassi Boys were first formed, and where they are still
active. Speaking to journalists in early June 2002, Governor Kalu
announced that he would defy any attempts to prevent the Bakassi Boys
from operating in his state. The Vanguard newspaper of June 1 quoted
him as saying: "No law can stop us from having the vigilante group in
Abia. Even if the National Assembly passes the law, it is not going to
work in Abia. I have the mandate of the people to govern this state and
anybody posted here who does not cooperate with the people will be asked
to get out." Referring to a recent incident in which the Bakassi Boys
had clashed with the police, he said: "We are not ready to tolerate any
commissioner of police arresting any member of Bakassi as a robber." On
June 11, The Daily Champion newspaper quoted him as saying: "Any plan by
the Federal Government to ban Bakassi under whatever guise would amount
to undue interference."

"Such statements amount to an explicit approval of the violent and
arbitrary methods used by the Bakassi Boys under the pretext of
'fighting crime,'" said Tertsakian. "If state governors want to show
commitment to ensuring the security of the population, they should
condemn these human rights abuses, disband the Bakassi Boys, and support
the introduction of law enforcement mechanisms, which will genuinely
protect people and bring criminals to justice, within the framework of
the law."

The two organizations also reiterated their appeal to the federal
government to produce effective and long-lasting solutions to the dual
problems of widespread crime and increasing vigilante violence. The
HRW/CLEEN report published in May included a set of recommendations for
national police reform that would ensure effective enforcement of law
and order and protection and security for the population.