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joinafrica features |
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NIGERIA: Obasanjo admits
extrajudicial killings by police, pledges action
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
(IRIN) - Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo has confirmed
widespread extrajudicial killings of suspects and innocent citizens
by the country's police and promised tough action to clean-up the
force.
Obasanjo’s speech in Abuja on Thursday, ia a rare acknowledgement of
gross human rights violations by security forces, confirming recent
findings by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and rights
groups.
“These violations ranged from extra-judicial killings to torture and
unlawful detention,” Obasanjo said at the opening of a forum on
human rights called by the police.
According to Obasanjo, who headed a military government in the
1970s, Nigeria’s recent coup-riddled history has seen many
large-scale violations of citizens’ most basic rights by the
security forces.
But Obasanjo promised action in future, specifically in resolving a
recent case in which policemen allegedly executed six people in
Abuja and framed them as armed robbers.
“I wish to use this opportunity to reiterate that the government is
determined to get to the root of the matter,” said Obasanjo. “The
full weight of the law will be brought to bear on all who are found
to have been involved in the perpetration of this most heinous
crime."
The six officers could face the death penalty if found guilty.
A report released last month by New York-based Human Rights Watch
said torture and killing of suspects by police officials was rampant
in Nigeria and largely went unpunished.
A UN human rights expert on an official visit to review the human
rights situation in Nigeria earlier in the same month said that
police commonly use charges of armed robbery as a pretext for
detaining people and extorting money from them. Police were also
guilty of excessive force, often resulting in death, said the
expert.
Government officials had defended Obasanjo’s government against the
allegations, with Information Minister Frank Nweke denying that
torture was a routine occurrence inside police stations.
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