NIGERIA the O‘ODUA PEOPLE‘S CONGRESS: Fighting Violence with Violence
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January 2003 Vol. 15, No. 4 (A) NIGERIA THE O‘ODUA PEOPLE‘S CONGRESS: Fighting Violence with Violence I. SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................ 1 II. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE OPC............................................................................... 4 The Emergence of the OPC .................................................................................................................... 4 Other Yoruba Self-determination Groups............................................................................................... 6 Structure, Composition and Membership of the OPC ............................................................................ 6 Vigilantism.............................................................................................................................................. 8 III. KILLINGS AND ABUSES BY THE OPC....................................................................................... 10 Ethnic Clashes....................................................................................................................................... 11 Sagamu.............................................................................................................................................. 12 Ketu / Mile 12 Market....................................................................................................................... 12 Alaba Market .................................................................................................................................... 15 Ajegunle............................................................................................................................................ 16 Idi-Araba........................................................................................................................................... 20 Other Incidents of Ethnic Violence................................................................................................... 22 Vigilante Violence and Other Cases of Killings of Civilians............................................................... 24 Killings of Policemen ........................................................................................................................... 30 IV. CONFLICTS OVER TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP TITLES...................................................... 32 V. THE RESPONSE OF THE OPC TO ALLEGATIONS OF VIOLENCE.......................................... 36 VI. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST REAL OR SUSPECTED OPC MEMBERS .......... 38 Arrests, Detention and Torture ............................................................................................................. 40 Arrests of Rank-and-File Members .................................................................................................. 40 Arrests of OPC Leaders .................................................................................................................... 43 Extrajudicial Executions ....................................................................................................................... 43 VII. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE OPC, THE GOVERNMENT, AND THE POLICE..................... 45 Relations between the OPC and the Federal Government.................................................................... 45 Relations between the OPC and State Governments in the Southwest ................................................ 47 Relations between the OPC and the Police........................................................................................... 51 VIII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................... 52 Recommendations:................................................................................................................................ 54 To the Leaders of the OPC................................................................................................................ 54 To the Nigerian Federal and State Governments.............................................................................. 54 To the Nigerian Police ...................................................................................................................... 56 To Foreign Governments and Intergovernmental Organizations ..................................................... 57 IX. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................... 58 I. SUMMARY Nigeria has witnessed an increase in the activities of ethnic and regional militia, vigilantes, and other armed groups in the last few years. One of the better-known of these groups is the O‘odua People‘s Congress (OPC), an organization active in the southwest of Nigeria which campaigns to protect the interests of the Yoruba ethnic group and seeks autonomy for the Yoruba people. The OPC is a complex organization, which has taken on several different roles as it has adapted to the changing political and security environment in Nigeria. One of several Yoruba self-determination groups, it was established in 1994 with the aim of overcoming what it alleged was the political marginalization of the Yoruba. It has since evolved in several different directions. Its activities have ranged from political agitation for Yoruba autonomy and promotion of Yoruba culture to violent confrontation with members of other ethnic groups, and, more recently, vigilantism and crime-fighting. In its two main spheres of activity–ethnic militancy and vigilantism–the OPC has been responsible for numerous human rights abuses and acts of violence, and its members have killed or injured hundreds of unarmed civilians. However, OPC members have been victims as well as perpetrators of human rights abuses. Hundreds of real or suspected OPC members have been killed by the police; many others have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and detained without trial for extended periods. The most widespread killings by the OPC took place in the context of clashes between Yoruba and other ethnic groups, which reached a peak during 2000; however, violence and human rights abuses continued in 2001 and 2002. There have also been numerous individual cases in which OPC members have killed or injured people, in the course of their vigilante work and in attempts to extort money. The OPC‘s activities have led them into direct confrontation with the police: there have been repeated, violent clashes between the two, with casualties on both sides. OPC members have attacked police stations on many occasions, and have killed and injured several policemen. Part self-determination organization, part vigilante group, the OPC has defied easy classification. The usual description of the OPC as an ethnic militia, while accurate, is also misleading, in that not all the acts of violence committed by its members have been ethnically motivated. Many of the conflicts in which the OPC has got involved have been among Yoruba, and consequently victims of OPC violence have included Yoruba. The contrast between, on the one hand, the clearly articulated ideological discourse and sophisticated propaganda of some OPC leaders, and on the other hand, the mindless thuggery which characterizes many of its operations, has also posed a challenge in defining appropriate reactions to the organization. In a sense, the OPC combines aspects of two distinct types of organizations which have emerged in Nigeria: those which advocate for the specific interests of their particular ethnic, regional or religious group in a broadly political context1, and those which have taken on the task of fighting crime, without an explicit political agenda of their own.2 In addition, OPC members frequently carry out acts of intimidation and violence which appear to be motivated more by a desire to rob their victims of money or possessions, than by any ideological objective. Despite public statements by the federal government condemning ethnic and vigilante violence, little effective action has been taken to keep these groups in check or to enforce accountability; on the contrary, some of these groups have benefited from the financial and political support of influential political figures, including state government officials. Several government officials maintain close links with the OPC leadership, and OPC members have provided security arrangements at official and public functions, in the presence of government officials. Where action has been taken by the federal government to crack down on the violence, it has often resulted in further human rights violations by the police, including extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests. The weakness of the Nigerian police force, its apparent inability to maintain law and order, and the lack of public 1 These include several organizations representing the interests of northerners; the interests of the Igbo ethnic group in the southeast; the Ijaw in the south; and many other groups in different parts of the country. 2 These include the Bakassi Boys, a vigilante group active in the southeast, and local vigilante groups in other parts of the country. Although these groups generally do not articulate a political agenda, some, such as the Bakassi Boys, have been used by politicians to further their own ends. See Human Rights Watch/CLEEN report —The Bakassi Boys: The Legitimization of Murder and Torture,“ May 2002. Human Rights Watch 1 February