Nigeria: No justice for Kaduna killings

(Abuja, July 22, 2003) - Not a single member of the Nigerian police or
security forces has been charged with dozens of killings during the "Miss
World" riots in Kaduna last November, Human Rights Watch said in a new
report released today.

The 32-page report, "The 'Miss World riots': continued impunity for
killings in Kaduna,"
provides detailed eyewitness accounts of how soldiers and police killed
people in cold blood between November 21 and 23, during an operation
intended to restore law and order.

One of the most serious cases described in the report is the November 22
execution of eight men by a group of police and military, led by a member
of a local defense force. Eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch how the
perpetrators picked out their victims one by one, tied them together, led
them to a rubbish dump by a riverside and shot them dead at close range.

Fighting between Muslims and Christians broke out in the northern city of
Kaduna in November 2002 following controversy around the Miss World beauty
contest. Some Muslims considered an article in the newspaper ThisDay to be
blasphemous. Muslim youths started attacking Christians, Christians
retaliated, and within three days, around 250 people were killed.

"The Nigerian government has not brought anyone to justice for these
terrible killings," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the
Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "This lack of response raises
serious questions about the government´s commitment to protecting the
lives of ordinary Nigerians."

Not only did the security forces fail to intervene at the first signs of
violence, but once they were deployed, they contributed significantly to
the violence by killing and injuring people who were not posing any threat
to security.

For reasons that remain unknown, orders were not given to deploy special
military "strike force" units, which had been stationed in Kaduna since
2000 with the specific aim of averting such clashes.

When confronted with rioters, the police and soldiers who were deployed
often made no attempt to arrest criminal suspects, instead shooting them
dead on the spot. The victims included children.

In several cases, the security forces shot people arbitrarily. One man was
shot dead by a soldier without warning as he was trying to enter his house
in the Nasarawa area. According to eyewitnesses, the soldier shot him in
the chest, from the front, then walked away. The victim was unarmed.

The police executed several other people, in some cases after forcing
their way into their homes. In several cases, eyewitnesses claimed to have
identified the perpetrators.

In response to complaints from local residents, the police said they were
launching investigations into some of these cases. However, police
threatened and intimidated witnesses who gave statements to them. Several
policemen were arrested, but were released within a few days and posted
elsewhere. Human Rights Watch does not know of any case that has resulted
in formal charges or prosecution.

The Human Rights Watch report also describes well-organized attacks by
Muslim and Christian youths during the three days of violence. Youths of
both faiths singled out their victims and attacked them purely on the
basis of their religion. In addition to killing scores of people, they
destroyed many buildings, including churches, mosques, schools and homes.

"Like the security forces, the people who organized and carried out the
riots have not been brought to justice," said Takirambudde. Around 350
people were arrested in connection with the riots, but most were released
within a short period. No one has been charged or tried for organizing the
violence.

The Human Rights Watch report concludes that the conflict in Kaduna was
more political than religious and stemmed from unresolved disputes between
different ethnic and political groups. It links the 2002 riots to clashes
between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna in 2000, in which more than 2,000
people were killed following disagreements over the introduction of Sharia
(Islamic law).

"The Miss World issue was just the trigger," said Takirambudde. "Sooner or
later, violence in Kaduna would have erupted again anyway, because the
government has never satisfactorily addressed the underlying tensions
which caused such massive loss of life in 2000."

The report makes a number of recommendations to the Nigerian government
including:

* Investigating and bringing to justice those responsible for the killings
in Kaduna in November 2002, including those who planned the inter-communal
violence, and members of the Nigerian security forces.
* Immediately suspending from active duty individual members of the police
and military reported to have committed killings, pending investigation and
prosecution.
* Issuing clear instructions to the police and the military that operations
to restore law and order are never a justification for extrajudicial
killings, and that every effort should be made to arrest criminal suspects
without using lethal force.
*Intensifying efforts to prevent inter-communal violence, including by
supporting grassroots initiatives to foster dialogue between Muslims and
Christians, and making a concerted effort to listen to the grievances of
local communities.

Human Rights Watch Press release