Criminal Politics: Violence, âGodfathersâ and Corruption in Nigeria

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officers who are stationed at his home and accompany him wherever he goes. It remains to be seen whether any of this will change under the Yar’Adua government. Aftermath Some residents of Oyo State expressed the hope that once the political battles surrounding the election were over, they could at least hope for peace to take root in Oyo. As one activist put it before the elections, “The whole problem is that he [Adedibu] is the godfather and his authority was toppled and he will not stand for it. Once he has won it will become quiet.” 221 Unfortunately this has not come to pass and violence has continued since the elections came to a close. Much of that violence has seen Ladoja’s former supporters harassed and attacked. Tawa, leader of the pro-Ladoja faction of NURTW, was reportedly abducted, attacked with machetes and badly wounded by Tokyo’s supporters just days before Ladoja handed over to Akala as governor. 222 A pro-Tawa NURTW leader in Ogbomoso was murdered on June 22. 223 And in early July 2007 Ladoja’s own house was attacked by armed thugs alleged in the employ of Adedibu and Governor Akala. 224 The police made no arrests. There are also signs that Oyo’s culture of political violence has become so entrenched that it is continuing to worsen in relation to issues not connected with the election at all. On June 27, 2007, a group of NURTW thugs armed with clubs and machetes allegedly attacked a group of state government employees who were staging a peaceful protest against the Akala administration’s recent decision to reduce their salaries. Twenty protesters suffered machete and club wounds in the attack and at least three of them were hospitalized. The workers accused the state government of masterminding the attack and demanded an investigation. Commissioner of Police Jonathan Johnson responded by publicly accusing the civil 221 Human Rights Watch interview, Ibadan, February 8, 2007. 222 Human Rights Watch email correspondence with Ibadan-based activist, June 2007. 223 Tunde Sanni, “Police Arrest 11 over Murder of NURTW chief,” This Day, June 25, 2007. 224 See Akeeb Alarape, “Adedibu, Akala Behind Attack on my House—Ladoja,” Daily Sun, July 6, 2007. 65 Human Rights Watch October 2007
servants of attacking the NURTW men. 225 As of the time of writing no one has been held to account for the attack. 225 See, e.g., Iyabo Lawal, “Thugs attack protesting workers in Oyo,” The Guardian, June 27, 2007. Criminal Politics 66
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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
Page 13 and 14:
Historical Background and Context N
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Many Nigerians initially welcomed t
Page 17 and 18: elections should it choose to do so
Page 19 and 20: Foreign observers and Nigerian civi
Page 21 and 22: undertaken by Human Rights Watch an
Page 23 and 24: killed during the weeks surrounding
Page 25 and 26: and I fell down. After I fell down
Page 27 and 28: dating back to their days at univer
Page 29 and 30: Nnamdi Azikwe campus in Awka had be
Page 31 and 32: Human Rights Watch days later, his
Page 33 and 34: There is no question we can’t rel
Page 35 and 36: over the eight years of the Obasanj
Page 37 and 38: Money flows up and down…these hon
Page 39 and 40: along with at least two to three bu
Page 41 and 42: The best thing you can get is a mul
Page 43 and 44: During the 2007 elections, oppositi
Page 45 and 46: followed up by any meaningful actio
Page 47 and 48: police force and address serious po
Page 49 and 50: police’s shortcomings as an insti
Page 51 and 52: 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: apparent purpose of creating lists
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 104: and encourages a greater scale of l
Page 105 and 106: A few minutes earlier, internationa
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
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Criminal Politics 116
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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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Criminal Politics: Violence, âGodfathersâ and Corruption in Nigeria