NIGERIA: NSA MOHAMMED ON BENUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002985

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2011
TAGS: PGOV MOPS MARR PINS NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NSA MOHAMMED ON BENUE


REF: ABJUA 2982


(U) Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter; Reasons 1.5 (b)
and (d).



1. (C) SUMMARY: Ambassador Jeter, accompanied by PolCouns and
PolMilOff, called on NSA Aliyu Mohammed on November 11. The
President's Special Coordinator on Sudan, Dr. Usman Bugaje
also attended. This message covers their conversation on
recent events in Benue.



2. (C) SUMMARY CONTINUED: Defensive of the President and the
Federal Government, Mohammed placed the blame for the
civilian deaths squarely on the shoulders of the Tiv militia
in Benue. While the military and security services have
begun inquiries, the NSA was unsure if the Federal Government
would carry out its own investigation or whether a Benue
State Government investigation would be undertaken.
Ambassador urged the NSA to move quickly to a transparent
review. END SUMMARY.


===============
THE NSA'S OPTIC
===============



3. (C) The NSA, responding to the Ambassador's request for
explanation of what happened in Benue, explained that after
recent failed local and state government interventions to
cool the Tin-Jukun conflict, Tiv militia had set roadblocks
throughout the area. Anyone passing would have to pay a
toll, unless they were Jukun or Fulani, in which case they
could be killed. When the police could not contain and
eliminate the militia activities, the Governors of Benue and
Taraba States had asked the President to send in the Army.
At one roadblock in the area near Zaki-Biam, 20 soldiers had
come upon a roadblock, and had asked to speak with the Tiv
militia leader. To do so, the soldiers were informed, they
would have to put down their weapons, to which the Captain
agreed. After doing so, the soldiers were slaughtered "like
rams," Mohammed said, gesturing across his belly. The
President gave the Benue Governor, George Akume, 24 hours to
hand over the guilty militiamen. Akume said he was unable to
do so, and asked the President to send more soldiers,
according to the NSA.



4. (C) Ambassador Jeter noted that, according to reports that
we had received, between 100 and 300 unarmed civilians
reportedly had been killed, including women and children.
Who gave the orders, the Ambassador asked? The NSA responded
defensively, saying that the Federal Government was
responsible for the lives and property of each and every
Nigerian. Nigeria has lost over one million people in the
civil war, and more in coups and ethnic conflicts. The
President's first act on May 29, 1999, the NSA declared, was
to commute a death sentence of a Nigerian soldier, because,
as President, he "would not intentionally spill the blood of
a single Nigerian." "How could anyone believe that the
President would do such a thing?", the NSA asked. Many
people in Benue were heavily armed, and taking the law into
their own hands. To prove his point, the NSA said, that even
after the killing of the 19 soldiers, the Tiv militia had
continued to mount roadblocks and had ambushed the second
group of soldiers sent in.


=============================
JUDICIAL COMMISION OF INQUIRY
=============================



5. (C) Responding to recent press reports of a planned
judicial commission of inquiry, the NSA said he was unsure
the form the official inquiry would take. The military had
already begun an internal investigation; the security
services were undertaking one as well. However, Mohammed was
unsure whether the Federal Government or Benue State would
establish a commission, as had been done in Kaduna, Bauchi
and Jos. In any case, the terms of reference were still
being worked out. Ambassador Jeter explained that without an
open and transparent inquiry, and an exhaustive and fair
response, the U.S.-Nigeria military-to-military relationship
could be affected. The USG and Congress were watching this
development closely.



6. (C) Ambassador Jeter went on to note that he planned to
travel to Benue soon to see for himself what had happened.
The NSA said that was a matter for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, but, almost as an aside, he said he would not expect
Ambassador Aminu to go to Chicago "to see for himself" if
something similar had happened there. In any case, there was
still tension in the area and such a trip could be dangerous,
the NSA warned.



7. (C) COMMENT: Popular perceptions of Tiv culpability,
coupled with horrific acts against government soldiers (the
last line of defense in internal conflicts),have muted the
GON's response to apparent Army brutality. The village-to
-village action, which could have been driven in part by
pursuit of fleeing Tiv militia, will have to be clarified in
an open and transparent fashion. Only an independent and
impartial review will allow the GON to clear its name and
sanction those who may have been responsible.



8. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: The NSA's aggressive response of
the President was surprising, as the Ambassador never stated
or implied that the President was responsible for giving the
fatal order. However, early public claims from Benue Governor
Akume and Tiv leaders that placed blame at the President's
feet (since retracted by the Governor) may have been the
source of the NSA's unease.

9. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: More than most, the NSA clearly
understands the depth of U.S. concerns about the Benue
massacre, and the serious implications for our bilateral
military-to-military relationship if senior-level culpability
is confirmed. END COMMENT.
Jeter