Criminal Politics: Violence, âGodfathersâ and Corruption in Nigeria

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and killed a child, a girl. The residents chased the PDP officials out of the town and set fire to the police station. Two PDP members were injured with machetes and were committed to the Federal Medical Centre in Gombe town. 359 Prior to the April 2007 elections, the police in Gombe detained dozens of opposition supporters, mostly Action Congress members, in the run-up to the elections. Many activists and community leaders complained to Human Rights Watch about the number of political detainees being kept in Gombe prison ahead of the elections. Even the Emir, the traditional ruler of Gombe, a government sympathizer, expressed concern about politically-motivated detentions. In an interview with Human Rights Watch he said, “These are not robbers who have committed any crime. The approach of the police is not humane, they are simply grabbing people and throwing them into jail…The police should help the public, not terrorize them.” 360 One opposition lawyer told Human Rights Watch that he was representing over 200 cases of opposition party members who had been unlawfully detained without trial in the months preceding the elections. 361 On April 20, 2007, the night before the presidential elections, Human Rights Watch interviewed ten opposition supporters being held in one cell in Gombe police headquarters. Their police guards acknowledged that they had been detained for purely political reasons. “They should be released,” one of the policeman said. “They should be free, they are human beings like you; they have human rights.” 362 The police officers and the prisoners claimed that there were many more detainees being held in separate cells in the Criminal Investigation Department. The head of Gombe’s Criminal Investigation Department told Human Rights Watch there were no political detainees in CID custody, but refused to allow access to the CID cells, stating: “If I say we don’t have such people here, then we don’t have.” 363 359 Human Rights Watch interview with IDASA monitor [name withheld], Gombe town, April 22, 2007. 360 Human Rights Watch interview with the Emir of Gombe, Gombe town, April 20, 2007. 361 Human Rights Watch interview with Yusuf Mailouma, Barrister, Mailouma and Co., Gombe town, April 20, 2007. 362 Human Rights Watch interview with prisoners [names on file with HRW] and with Unnamed Police Officer, Gombe police station, April 20, 2007. 363 Human Rights Watch interview with Assistant Commissioner of Police, Salisu A.Fagge, Head of CID, Gombe State, April 20, 2007. 101 Human Rights Watch October 2007
A few minutes earlier, international election observers had been told by the Commissioner of Police that there were no political detainees on the premises, in CID custody or otherwise. 364 On the day of the presidential poll, Human Rights Watch spoke to a government official of the federal government’s National Orientation Agency in one local government area. He confirmed that opposition party officials had been arrested in his area to allow for rigging by the ruling party and INEC: Do you understand our tricks here? All of the opposition leaders here have been arrested so there is no one to lead the protest…There were 10 arrested here this morning, the police said they were troublemakers. 365 Fourteen detainees, members of the Action Congress Party, were arrested on April 14, the day of the gubernatorial polls, and then moved to the central police station in Abuja almost immediately. According to lawyers representing them, at least twelve remained in custody as of July 2007. 366 364 Human Rights Watch interview with international election observers [names withheld], Gombe police station, April 20, 2007. 365 Human Rights Watch interview with member of National Orientation Agency official, [name withheld], Deba, April 21, 2007. 366 Human Rights Watch interview with Zac Sofa, Barrister, by phone, Abuja, May 17, 2007. Criminal Politics 102
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Nigeria Criminal Politics Violence,
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The Nigerian Police and Impunity fo
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In 1999, Nigeria’s military relin
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to account for their open mobilizat
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Recommendations To the government o
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To the Nigerian Police Force • Pr
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Historical Background and Context N
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Many Nigerians initially welcomed t
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elections should it choose to do so
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Foreign observers and Nigerian civi
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undertaken by Human Rights Watch an
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killed during the weeks surrounding
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and I fell down. After I fell down
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dating back to their days at univer
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Nnamdi Azikwe campus in Awka had be
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Human Rights Watch days later, his
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There is no question we can’t rel
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over the eight years of the Obasanj
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Money flows up and down…these hon
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along with at least two to three bu
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The best thing you can get is a mul
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During the 2007 elections, oppositi
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followed up by any meaningful actio
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police force and address serious po
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police’s shortcomings as an insti
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One should expect by now that issue
Page 53 and 54: 2007 elections but then taken off i
Page 55 and 56: Case Study A: Oyo State This is whe
Page 57 and 58: Adedibu’s War Against Ladoja Rash
Page 59 and 60: The attempt to impeach Ladoja ended
Page 61 and 62: saw four or five people and they ju
Page 63 and 64: Ibadan. 197 Especially in Ibadan, A
Page 65 and 66: Box 4: A Future Governor Discusses
Page 67 and 68: apparent purpose of creating lists
Page 69 and 70: servants of attacking the NURTW men
Page 71 and 72: Among the politicians Chris Uba “
Page 73 and 74: Ngige—like much of the Nigerian p
Page 75 and 76: that purported “impeachment” pr
Page 77 and 78: Peter Obi was reinstated in Februar
Page 79 and 80: Fighting Over the Spoils According
Page 81 and 82: in Anambra reached the same conclus
Page 83 and 84: Case Study C: Rivers State They buy
Page 85 and 86: There are widespread complaints amo
Page 87 and 88: esponse to concerns that Igodo was
Page 89 and 90: In 1999 and 2003, [Governor] Odili
Page 91 and 92: The night before the April 14 elect
Page 93 and 94: Tom, or their former political spon
Page 95 and 96: In parallel with other situations d
Page 97 and 98: Kalare Violence and the 2007 Electi
Page 99 and 100: International observers told Human
Page 101 and 102: eportedly urged his disgruntled opp
Page 103: and encourages a greater scale of l
Page 107 and 108: problems that have crippled the cap
Page 109 and 110: Yar’Adua has also promised to str
Page 111 and 112: The International Response to Niger
Page 113 and 114: after the rigged elections made no
Page 115 and 116: firmly fixed at the opposite extrem
Page 117 and 118: Criminal Politics 114
Page 125: H UMAN R I GHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Ave
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Criminal Politics: Violence, âGodfathersâ and Corruption in Nigeria

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