0704 Summer 2003.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

(Continued from page 5)“certificate of sound mental fitness” froma psychiatric clinic. (Source: ChicagoTribune, 6/20/003)Amina Lawal’s Stoning AppealAdjourned Until August 27Amina Lawal, a mother of four, hashad her appeal to overturn her convictionadjourned until August 27, two days afterthe date set for her execution. But, thecourt assured her that the execution willnot go ahead before the appeal has beenheard. A court in Katsina state convictedLawal of adultery in March 2002. Shehad borne a child out of wedlock.Although she had been divorced for someyears, the mandatory punishment underIslamic law is still death by stoning. Shehas already lost one appeal. After theIslamic court, Lawal will have one morechance to appeal—before Nigeria’sSupreme Court.President Obasanjo has promised thatthe sentence would not be carried out,but he has chosen his words carefully. Hewill not intervene directly, nor will hechallenge the right of Islamic courts toimpose such punishments. But, he saysthat he is confident that the courts willoverturn the conviction.Another case is also being appealed.A couple in the north-central state ofNiger, Fatima Usman and AhmaduIbrahim, had originally been sentenced toterms of imprisonment. But, when thefather of the woman challenged theseverity of the prison terms, the sentencewas amended to impose the far harsherdeath sentences. The case highlights whatdefense lawyers dislike about thesystem—the arbitrary nature of theSharia legal system. (Source: BBC News,6/3/03; CNN, 6/3/03).U.S. Ambassador Says Nigeriais Vulnerable to Al QaedaU.S. Ambassador Howard Jeter hassaid that Nigeria faces a real threat ofterror attack from the al Qaeda networkbecause of its close ties with Washington.It is guilt by association, which means thatNigeria is being looked at as a kind of86FON NEWSLETTERenemy. Jeter said that like other countries,Nigeria is not immune to attack and urgednations interested in global peace to jointhe international effort to combatterrorism. In February, al Jazeeratelevision broadcast a message allegedlyfrom bin Laden listing Nigeria as one ofsix countries that needed to be “liberated”from U.S. “enslavement.” The other sixstates, which he said Muslims mustliberate by waging jihad against them areJordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,and Yemen. (Source: NY Times, 6/14/03).U.S. Ambassador AwardsScholarships to 50 GirlsU.S. Ambassador Howard Jeterpresented scholarships to 50 girl studentsfrom disadvantaged circumstances. Theyinclude girls who are orphaned, havephysical disabilities, and who are fromeconomically poor households in OgunState. The scholarships come under theAmbassador’s Girls Scholarship Program(AGSP) of the Education forDevelopment and Democracy Initiative.The AGSP has been underway in 36African countries since 1999, helpingmore than 10,000 girls throughout thecontinent. In Nigeria, the program willassist 600 girls in 12 states, representingthe six geo-political zones, with two statesselected in each zone. They are: Borno,Cross River, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo,Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Niger, Sokoto andthe Federal Capital Territory. (Source:This Day [Lagos], 6/11/03).Oil Pipeline Fire Kills 125The death toll of a fire that engulfedpeople as they scooped petrol from aburst pipeline in southeast Nigeriareached 125, according to the Red Cross.The pipeline transporting fuel fromrefineries in Port Harcourt to Enugu andparts of central and northern Nigeria wasruptured by thieves at Onicha-Amaiyivillage, 40 km. south of Umuahia, theAbia state capital, in early May. Witnessessaid that authorities had continued topump fuel through the line, despite beinginformed of the breakage, but officials ofthe state-owned Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation denied knowledgeof the leakage. Witnesses also said thatpolice colluded with the vandals bycharging villagers 80 cents to scoop upbuckets and barrels of fuel for resale.The pipeline caught fire and exploded onThursday, June 19 when it was ignited bya spark from a passing motorcycle.Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia Statewho visited the scene ruled out anypossibility of paying compensation to thevictims of the explosion who he saidwere sabotaging the government. Kalublamed traditional rulers who were awareof the vandalization of the pipeline butrefused to bring it to the attention of thestate government. Yet, he alsoacknowledged that poverty and hungermake people risk the danger of scooping.The Nigerian Navy reported recently thatthe nation is losing about N10 billionmonthly in revenue through oil pipelinevandalization and illegal bunkering/scooping. (Source: BBC News, 6/22/03,6/23/03; NY Times,6/21/03, 6/22/03;UN Integrated Regional InformationNetwork (IRIN), 6/23/03; This Day[Lagos], 625/03; Vanguard [Lagos], 6/7/03).Nigerian Customs ServiceConfronts SmugglersThe Nigeria Customs Service seizedand buried 287,500 cartons of frozenchicken and turkey worth N1.7 billion inthe past year. In response to the publicoutcry over the destruction, thegovernment explained that it was todiscourage importers from going “fowl”of the law. The government banned theimportation of frozen foods last year toencourage local production.The Customs Task Force onSmuggling has now acquired bullet proofvests and enough vehicles to confrontsmugglers. In addition to frozen food,the largest seizure last year was of livecartridges and used vehicles valued atN246.5 million. (Source: This Day[Lagos], 6/24/03).