NIGERIA: VETTING OF NIGERIAN BATTALIONS FOR

UNCLAS ABUJA 001302 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL MARR MASS SL NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: VETTING OF NIGERIAN BATTALIONS FOR LIBERIA REF: A. STATE 217905 ¶B. FREETOWN 776 ¶1. (U) Post has requested the name of the current commander of the 26th Infantry battalion as well as other key officers in the battalion. The Nigerian military has yet to respond to the request, thus we have not been able to vet the names of the battalion commander and his core officers. However, we have checked all available records at Post and thus far have found no information indicating involvement of that battalion in any gross human rights violations. We also have not found any derogatory information about NIBATT 15 currently deployed in Sierra Leone under UNAMSIL. ¶2. (U) Post will vet the names of the battalion commander and his senior officers once they have been provided by the GON. ¶3. (U) ACTION REQUEST: For Department: Please complete human rights vetting for these battalions as soon as possible and inform Embassy Abuja of findings. LIBERI