NEW SPOTLIGHT ON EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002259 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL, INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR NI SUBJECT: NEW SPOTLIGHT ON EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS BY NIGERIAN POLICE Classified By: Political Counselor James P. McAnulty for reasons in sections 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has come under intense international scrutiny and criticism in recent days over alleged abuses, particularly extrajudicial killings. In some cases, numbers may be exaggerated, but Amnesty International, BBC, and past Embassy human rights reporting have documented numerous extrajudicial killings over the years. The NPF, which plays a central role in maintaining domestic stability, remains undertrained and underpaid and suffers from insufficient oversight and low public esteem. END SUMMARY. -------------- AI RELEASES REPORT ON UNLAWFUL KILLINGS -------------- ¶2. (U) Amnesty International released its report "Killing At Will, Extrajudicial Executions and Other Unlawful Killings by the Police in Nigeria" at a December 9 press conference in Abuja. The NPF spokesperson who attended the press conference angrily denied the accusations, alleging that AI attempted to discredit police forces around the world. AI's 56-page report includes information on 39 people allegedly killed in police custody from July 2007 through October 2009, with the authors changing some victims' names to protect surviving relatives. The panel at the press conference included the father of Chika Ibeku, a young man who disappeared while in police custody, and Vincent Obetta, who witnessed a police shooting while driving his car. Obetta said he had stopped at the scene to insist that the police report the incident as it happened, rather than attempting to allege that police had shot a fleeing criminal. ¶3. (U) The media have reported many cases described in the AI report. Embassy has also reported on extrajudicial killings over the years, including via the annual Human Rights reports. Such reports cite numerous incidents of police acting with impunity when using lethal force and committing other violations against human rights. AI officials called for the repeal of Force Order 237, which permits police officers to shoot suspects and detainees who attempt to escape custody or avoid arrest. -------------- BODIES PILE UP AT MORGUE -------------- ¶4. (U) The BBC reported December 8 that the Chief Medical Director Dr. Anthony Mba of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu said the NPF had forced his staff to conduct mass burials for bodies delivered to the hospital by police. Most corpses showed signs of gunshot wounds, while still others showed welts. When BBC reporters visited the Enugu hospital morgue in late November, they reported seeing bodies "stacked on the floor sometimes four and five deep." The BBC reported that seven people, each accused of kidnapping, last appeared alive in police custody at a press conference in early September. Their names later appeared on the morgue register on September 15 and 16, but authorities did not notify their families for over two months. The Medical Director reportedly said that another mass burial would occur soon. The record book at the morgue listed the names of over 150 bodies, most with bullet wounds, deposited at the morgue between August and December 2009. None of the Qat the morgue between August and December 2009. None of the deceased had arrests on record. -------------- BUT HOW MANY IS UNCLEAR -------------- ¶5. (C) A medical doctor and long-time contact of ConGen Lagos resident in Enugu told us that, as of December 10, the morgue did not have as many bodies as alleged. He said that, as a matter of policy, the NPF routinely deposited bodies at the hospital morgue. (N.B.: Additionally, as the hospital in Edo is a teaching hospital, the possibility exists that bodies accumulated there during the four-month university strike that ended in October. END NOTE.) This contact said ABUJA 00002259 002 OF 002 that the hospital's Chief Medical Director insists that BBC misquoted him in the report. -------------- POLICE RETALIATION IN OGUN STATE -------------- ¶6. (U) A riot occurred December 5 at Ijebu Ife, Ogun State, between youths and the state-sponsored vigilante force over the beating death of a deaf tailor, according to the press. Police Area Commander Omoludun reportedly traveled to the village to try to calm the rioting, but a mob killed him in the melee and burned his body. The Mobile Police force, in apparent retaliation, began firing their weapons and burning homes, causing citizens to flee. On December 6, police deposited nine unidentified bodies at the morgue. -------------- - NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ADDS ITS VOICE -------------- - ¶7. (C) PolOff obtained an advance copy December 9 of the National Human Rights Commission's annual report on "The State Of Human Rights In Nigeria -- 2008." In the first chapter on "Extra-Judicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions," the Commission reported that "Nigeria's police and other security forces continued to be implicated in widespread acts of torture, ill-treatment, extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrest, and property destruction." The Commission has no authority within the GON other than to report abuses that they hear about from their six zonal offices and citizens. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) The international and local media have focused increasing attention on allegations of extrajudicial killings by police, often committed with impunity. Various reports have documented numerous extrajudicial killings in recent years. Such incidents appear widespread, even if some media reports may exaggerate the numbers. The NPF remains underfunded, understaffed, and undertrained. The police also lacks sufficient oversight and suffers from poor public esteem, which undercuts efforts to recruit qualified personnel. We can expect the NPF to continue to appeal to international partners, including the U.S., to increase support for training and equipment. The NPR often resorts to heavy-handed measures; because of this, these reports have merit. END COMMENT ¶9. (U) Embassy Abuja coordinated this telegram with ConGen Lagos. SANDERS