NIGERIA: POLICE NOT PREPARED FOR OCTOBER 9 STRIKE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 002080

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2013
TAGS: ASEC ELAB ENRG EPET KDEM PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: POLICE NOT PREPARED FOR OCTOBER 9 STRIKE

REF: A) LAGOS 02058 B) LAGOS 02043


Classified By: Consul General Robyn Hinson-Jones for reasons 1.5 (B) an


d (D).



1. (C) Haruna John (PROTECT),Deputy Commissioner of Police
(DCP) resident in Lagos State gave Pol/Econ Officer an update
on police preparedness for the planned nationwide strike on
October 9. According to John, the police force is not/not
prepared to deal with potential problems that a strike may
cause due to the GON's failure to supply funds for purchase
of police vehicles, fuel and other needed equipment. It is
his unhappy impression that the federal government is more
than negligent and is actually "unwilling" to support the
police.



2. (C) John complained that the GON had not given the police
advance notice of its intention to raise fuel prices October
1 to allow the police to prepare for possible demonstrations
or violence. The police have taken what steps they could,
under the circumstances, and placed 17,000-18,000 police on
standby; however, John pointed out that the force will be
short of fuel for the few vehicles it has. He added that in
past emergencies his officers had to ask friends and family
to pay for or supply fuel for the cars used for mobile
patrols. He also said the force has no tear gas for crowd
control.



3. (C) The DPC further said that the Oodu'a Peoples Congress
(OPC),a Yoruba vigilante organization, has publicly stated
its intention to involve itself in the strike. He sees the
OPC as an "ethnic militia" that is better equipped than the
police and could thus possibly thwart any police action. He
added that OPC members are rumored to have links with
high-level Lagos-based political operatives and will provoke
violence on order from these operatives. If the OPC involves
itself in the strike, John believes there will be more
trouble this time than during the strike last June when eight
people where killed. John said the police had received much
bad publicity following the June strike. But despite
investigations by both the Senate and House of
Representatives, it has not yet been determined if the police
was at fault in any of the deaths. John said this time
around the police may not be as willing to defuse angry
crowds of protesters or demonstrators as they were in June.
Concluding that he and other officials have decided not to
take risks if a strike occurs, he said, "our hands are tied."


HINSON-JONES