NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP FOR JUNE 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001838 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP FOR JUNE 2006 REF: A. ABUJA 01547 ¶B. ABUJA 01660 ¶C. ABUJA 01653 ¶D. ABUJA 01355 ¶E. LAGOS 00874 ¶1. SUMMARY. To augment the required annual reporting, Embassy Abuja will be sending regular round-up cables detailing human rights incidents in Nigeria. This cable mimics the format of the Annual Report on Human Rights and a section at the end will discuss issues to which we will be paying particular attention. We will continue to send cables about individual events as needed. END SUMMARY. RESPECT FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE PERSON, INCLUDING FREEDOM FROM: ¶2. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life. Crime statistics from the local police say that in the first week of June, 41 robbers were arrested and there were 8 "dead robbers." Post has no information on how these suspects died, and statistics were not given for other weeks. ¶3. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life. Police policy requires that the police must issue a written report before a victim of a gunshot wound can be treated in hospital. This level of delay could have fatal consequences for the victim. Media reports speculate that sometimes reports are delayed due to police involvement in a shooting. Post cannot independently confirm any individual cases in which this has happened, but we will continue to monitor the situation and report any new developments. ¶4. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life. Media reports from Anambra State say that police conducted a major raid on MASSOB, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra. 69 people were arrested and 2 were killed. Afterwards, the local police chief told the media he believed the earlier kidnappings of 4 of his officers were tied to MASSOB, thus raising the possibility the raid was in revenge. ¶5. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life. Media reports indicate Juth Akpowbo was arrested in Kano State after being accused of robbing the staff quarters of Bayero University. Two weeks later, he died in hospital after apparently never having been released from custody. ¶6. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention. A U.S. citizen photojournalist was arrested in Bayelsa State after taking pictures of an oil installation. Established government policy prohibits photographing official installations. The �00A;photographer was detained by State Security for 3 days before being released without charges. RESPECT FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES, INCLUDING: ¶7. Freedom of Speech and Press. As post reported in septel (Ref A and B),agents of the State Security Service (SSS) raided the offices of Africa Independent Television (AIT) on June 14 and arrested presenter Gbenga Mike Aruleba. The previous day, he had read on air a report critical of the government. He was released the next day on bail, but later re-arrested along with journalist Rotimi Durojaiye. The arrests were due to a story Aruleba aired and that Durojaiye wrote saying President Obasanjo had purchased a second hand airplane after having received funds to buy a new plane. Both journalists were released on bail June 29, but face another hearing July 25. They are being charged with sedition. ¶8. Freedom of Speech and Press. In late March, Freedom Radio in Kano was restricted by the GON and not allowed to broadcast each day from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.-- prime hours for revenue generation. While the ban only lasted a few days, it came in response to Freedom Radio's airing of live call-in shows where many people were openly critical of the government. ¶9. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association. The Nigerian legislature is currently considering an "anti-gay marriage" bill. However, homosexual acts are already illegal in Nigeria. Section 7 of the new bill would ban the "registration of gay Clubs, Societies, and organizations" and would penalize anyone who does not turn in other people involved in advocacy of gay issues. Post will continue to ABUJA 00001838 002 OF 003 monitor the progress of this legislation. ¶10. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association. Embassy contacts report that the Public Order Act has been used to break up political gatherings critical of the government. One contact, a member of the federal House of Representatives, says he was at an anti-third term rally this spring which was broken up under writ of this act. ¶11. Freedom of Religion. An embassy contact in the Christian community from Kaduna state aired complaints against the implementation of sharia law in his state. The resources of the state are being used to administer justice in sharia courts, but people who are not Muslim are excluded from receiving employment or otherwise participating in these courts. This contact's problem with sharia law was not the severity of its punishments but that in sharia courts state resources are being used to the benefit of only one faith group. Authorities respond that traditional courts (distinct from the normal civil courts) could hear cases from other religious groups. While these courts might be helpful to traditional religious groups, they are not useful to Nigeria's large Christian population. ¶12. Freedom of Religion. In theory, justice from sharia courts is only applied to Muslims who choose to participate in those courts. However, the same Embassy contact alleges that the cases of people who are not Muslim are being brought before Sharia courts. Additionally, sharia courts threaten severe punishment against those who leave Islam, thus limiting the ability of a Muslim to change his faith or for someone of another faith to practice outreach to Muslim communities. RESPECT FOR POLITICAL RIGHTS: THE RIGHT OF CITIZENS TO CHANGE THEIR GOVERNMENT ¶13. Elections and Political Participation. IFES, an international democracy building NGO, held a series of election conferences which concluded this month (Ref C). They pointed out many challenges Nigeria faces in preparing for next year's elections. One difficult issue is that the tribunals set up to hear election disputes do not have the power to implement their decisions. Another problem is a lack of trust among the polity which increases the likelihood someone will challenge the elections as unfair. The conference series also pointed to violence surrounding the 2003 elections and said the problem would likely recur in 2007 without important legal changes. ¶14. Government Corruption and Transparency. Media reports indicate that on June 6, President Obasanjo sent a report to the House of Representatives explaining why he withdrew 2.1 billion naira (16.4 million USD) from a petroleum account in support of the national census in March. Accusations persisted in the media for the rest of the month that proper channels were not followed for the withdrawal, and it appears the money was poorly accounted for. His explanation was that the money was needed on an emergency basis when the census had to be extended. The investigation continues. GOVERNMENT ATTITUDES REGARDING INTERNATIONAL AND NONGOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ¶15. A representative of an international NGO concerned with democracy promotion had to leave the country on an emergency basis and return to the U.S. this month due to an issue with the registration of his group. The group continues to operate, and the embassy is investigating to determine exactly what happened. DISCRIMINATION, SOCIETAL ABUSES, AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ¶16. Women. An NGO contact says that Nigerians describe widowhood practices, particularly in the South of the country, as "obnoxious." As an example, she mentioned that inheritance laws vary from state to state and frequently limit women's ability to inherit property when their husbands die. This results in some widows having no means of financially supporting themselves. An embassy contact who is a member of the House of Representatives indicated he has introduced a bill trying to alleviate the problem, but that it has been swamped underneath what legislative leaders ABUJA 00001838 003 OF 003 believe to be more pressing issues. ¶17. Trafficking in Persons. The TIP report released this month says that the national anti-trafficking agency, NAPTIP, is making valiant efforts to combat trafficking in Nigeria. However, a difficult operational environment hampers their efforts. Their headquarters was recently broken into by a group of between 20-40 men. The assailants tied up 2 guards. The embassy has received conflicting reports as to whether other staff were tied up, although no staff were seriously injured. PolOffs saw two heavily damaged file cabinets which had been broken into. The director of NAPTIP says that nothing was missing, thus causing speculation that the robbers did not find what they were looking for. Additionally, the home of a staff member was broken in to. Police have not developed any leads. ¶18. National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities. Human Rights Watch issued a report this spring, confirmed by contacts of PolOff, pointing out problems caused by discrimination against Nigerians not considered to be "native" to the region or city in which they reside. (Note: Nigerians are considered to be "indigenes" or natives of the home of their paternal relatives. End note.) As a result, people living in parts of the country which are not their "native" lands frequently experience discrimination from civil authorities. WORKER RIGHTS ¶19. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively. NITEL, the national telephone company, went on strike the first week of June (Ref D and E). This caused all land line telephones in the country to stop working for several days. The strike began because workers had not been paid in several months. At least 4 representatives of the National Association of Telecommunications Employees were arrested, although there are no charges known to be pending against anyone. The strike was eventually settled with no further reprisals. ¶20. Acceptable Conditions of Work. As reported in the previous item, the NITEL workers had not been paid since February 2006. The money which was eventually released to them did not meet the entire amount of their back wages and benefits. TRENDS TO WATCH ¶21. Preparations for next year's elections are a central concern of the Embassy and will remain a focus of our human rights reporting. We believe that other elements of human rights -- notably including press freedom -- are also an important indication of the government's plans for the 2007 election. We will continue monitoring the legislative progress of the anti-gay marriage bill and the sedition case against Aruleba and Durojaiye. FUREY