uring the last week of May and the first week of June two historical events took place in Nigeria that will surely go down in history book. Otunba Iyiola Omisore, the leading suspect in the murder case of Chief Bola Ige was granted bail and same sworn in as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The presiding Judge in the case, Justice Olagoke Ige, granted the plea of Omisore's counsel, Mr. Kunle Kalejaiye for bail. The decision of the judge to grant Omisore bail on the murder case of this nature drew criticism from many quarters, especially those that sympathize with the Ige family.

To some people, like Professor Wole Soyinka, the dimension the case is taking is not a surprise. At the funeral ceremony of the slain Justice Minister, Soyinka alleged that the assassination of Chief Ige was a high wire conspiracy, planned and executed by powerful people in authority. During the funeral service at the Liberty stadium in Ibadan, the Nobel Laureate said in clear terms ''those who killed Ige are right here among us.'' On another occasion, he said that ''those who are at the centre of the conspiracy to kill were so confident because they knew that nothing could be traced to them.''

Ige's case is not peculiar as no high wire murder case in Nigeria has ever been investigated and culprits brought to justice. From 1985 to date, successive governments in Nigeria with its police and other security agencies have failed to bring to book killers of murder victims.

In October 1986, Nigerians were greeted with the shock of Dele Giwa's letter bomb attack on that fateful Sunday. Dele Giwa, Editor-in Chief of Newswatch Magazine was killed by a letter bomb alleged to have carried Nigeria coat of Arm. Shortly before the time, he had received a call from Brig Halilu Akilu who called to confirm if he was at home. Few minutes, a dispatcher brought a parcel, Dele Giwa seemed to have been expecting it, and he asked them to bring it in to him immediately. While chatting with his colleague, Kayode Soyinka and trying to open the envelope, the bomb exploded and that was it.

In 1990, Colonel Odeleke, husband of Bishop Bola Odeleke died mysteriously in Abuja. According to official report, a hit and run car knocked him down, but the family was not allowed to carry out a postmortem to ascertain the cause of his death. Military sources disclosed that Odeleke had been lured with juicy political appointments but he preferred to be a professional and never cease to condemn the incursion of the military in politics at every opportunity he had; this according to our source may have been his undoing. Curiously he was reportedly knocked down by car, same day he was prepared for burial, dressed even before his wife and other members of the family could see him. They were not allowed to his body. Colonel Dan Archibong, then Military Governor of Cross River State was said to have died in a ghastly motor accident. He was returning to his State after a meeting with President Ibrahim Babangida, the then Military dictator at Dodan Barracks, Lagos. It is believed that the accident was a make-up to cover up a state master-minded murder to silence Archibong because of what he was believed to know about Gloria Okon saga that led to the death of Dele Giwa. What is curious about Archibong's accident is that it was him alone who died in the accident, no other vehicle was involved and nobody passerby witnessed the accident.

Under the terror regime of late Sani Abacha, Rear Admiral Babatunde Elegbede was the first to die by the bullet of hired killers tagged armed robbers. The retired Naval Officer was felled by assassins' bullet right in the presence of his wife. Since 1994 when he was killed his killers have not been found by the State. Another Naval Officer, Omotehinwa, was unlucky to have been associated with Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade that he paid with his dear life. Alani Akinrinade was among those who formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) to fight the tyrannical government of Sani Abacha.

In January 1995, 14 people were killed in a plane crash. The aircraft left Lagos for Kano and did not get there. In the plane were Ibrahim Abacha, and his friends. Something strange happened and the puzzle has not been resolved to date. Fifteen passengers were said to have boarded the plane from Lagos to attend an Abacha family engagement that never took place, but at the scene of accident only 14 bodies were found, the fifteenth person, a Lebanese was not found, and the Head of State never bothered to order an investigation, In spite of the fact that his eldest son was killed in the crash. But event that unfolded later show that Ibrahim Abacha was not Sani Abacha's son but child of his wife for another man, Binta Yaradua's father. No wonder the bodies of those who died I the crash were not released to the families for proper burial. An impeccable source disclosed that Abacha's bodies was still fresh in spite of the crash and that of Princewill his friend who reportedly died in the crash.

Akin Omotsola former Security Officer of the Nigerian Airport Authority died in a bomb blast planted in his car. But security operatives who carried out investigation came out to say it was Omotsola who had brought the bomb to the airport for use on behalf on NADECO, whereas Alhaji Abubarkar Tsav, Lagos Police Commissioner then who initially carried out an investigation said he did not found any bomb in Omotsola's office. The unofficial cause of his death was his affiliation to NADECO.

Alhaja Suliat Adedeji, the Ibadan strong politician and a friend of the Abacha family till her death was gruesomely murdered in her Ibadan home. To ensure that she did not survive, she was reportedly shot from her private part after attempt to get her driver make love her to her failed. The driver was asked to sleep with her after being stripped naked, the driver reportedly ran away and her assailants shot her, she bled to death. Her killers are still at large according to the police.

Alhaja Kudirat Abiola's life was terminated on her way to the Canadian High Commission on 4 June 1996. Her killers though now apprehended are living like kings at the Maximum Prison Kirikiri, Lagos. Chief Alfred Rewane, a backer of NADECO paid with his life for backing the pro-democracy organization. The police arranged some people as killers but it is now clear that Pa Rewane's death was a state-sponsored one.

Major-General Tunde Idiagbon was on a visit to a friend in Abuja the rest is now history. Architect Layi Balogun, former presidential aspirant lost his life in the hands of assassins later tagged-armed robbers. Air Commodore Anthony Ikhazobo former Minister and NFA chairman was killed in 1999 and his killers are yet to be brought to book.

Uche Orji a senatorial candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party ANPP for Imo state was killed in wake of the 2003 elections nobody has ever been apprehended. Last year, two murder cases were reported in the Eastern part of the country, the state Nigeria Bar Association Chairman was killed in Anambra state, Arthur Nwakwo's younger brother was killed, the killers are still at large.

Chief Harry Marshal, a former chieftain of People's Democratic Party and later coordinator of All Nigeria's Peoples party presidential campaign in South South was murdered in his Abuja home only for the Police to parade some people as armed robbers confessing to have killed the Chief. According to the robbers they went after the chief because of the campaign money they heard was with him. The question they did not answer or which they have not been asked is who informed them that Harry Marshal was collecting any money?

Before the election, the president's first child Iyabo escaped death but her friend's children in the car with her that fateful day paid with their lives to save her. The two kids under 13 were killed and no word from the police on who did it or any clue to the intention of the killers.

From 1999 to date more than six murder cases have been reported and the police and the entire security community in Nigeria have resolved no one. What could be responsible? Sources and evidence reveal that the police and other security agencies have compromised. Their attitude and the way they carry out their investigation make them culpable of assisting the killers to cover their tracks. Anthony Ikhazobo was said to have been killed by armed robbers yet they did not take anything from the him.

What is disturbing is that under the democratic government of President Obasanjo the Police have not been able resolve any murder case. The Kudirat Abiola's murder case was at the instance of Sergeant Jabilla a.k.a. Rogers who came out to confess. We have more murder cases in this government within a period of four years than in any government either military or civilian. In fact study show that between May 1999 and July 2001, 252 cases of extra-judicial killing of the police and other security agencies were recorded. Far higher than in the last two military regimes.

One of the most troubling cases of murder was the case of Napoleon Igboku-Out, journalist and environmental activist. Igboku-Out stumbled on a piece of information in 1999 that borders on national security. Perhaps if something had been done may be we may not have had the serious case of terrorism facing the world now. According to the information, extremist Palestinian Islamic group, Hamas, were to train some Islamic fundamentalists in Nigeria for an all-out Islamic Jihad against the non-muslims, they had recruited Iraqi dissident military officers. The Islamic Jihadists, the report says had already established training camps in Northern Nigeria and were recruiting Sudanese Muslims and smuggling them through Niger Republic into Maiduguri, Kano and Kaduna in readiness for the planned bloody campaign. The report named a certain Sheikh Omar Baleri, head of Hez Bothriah, an Islamic group with a bridgehead in Northern Nigeria as the brain behind the set up in Nigeria. Another Omar Bakri Mohammed was mentioned with email address: obm@mail.com, checks on this email in 2002 show that it has been deactivated.

Igboku-Out contacted the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) Colonel Kayode Are (rtd) who did not see anything serious and alarming in the information. Are's only response was to lodge the activist in a hotel in Abuja while he pussyfooted. His attempt to see President Obasanjo directly was rebuffed. A day after he came back from his fruitless trip to Abuja, Igboku-Out was visited by unknown assissins, the rest his history. He got killed, according to report he was slaughtered and what the SSS could do was to ask for the document of the information Igboku-Out was working on. His gone so is the case. The file has been thrown into the dustbin of the police just like the ones before him. From 2000 to date Nigeria has had many religious-motivated demonstrations where many lives were lost. In February 2000, riots erupted in Kaduna, over 2000 people were killed and nobody was brought to book, in spite of the fact that someone was caught in the security report to have supplied machetes to Muslims to attack Christains. More than 3000 died in Kano in 2001 while 200 were killed in 2002. For all these deaths no one has been arrested or charged.

That fifth columnists are within the system is not untrue. The president once hinted in 2001 December that there are a lot of things that he ought to know that he was not briefed. The president's suspicion of his security aides underscores the belief that these people are working to frustrate the government. But the president is not helping matter by retaining them in government.

What is disturbing and disappointing is the case of chief Bola Ige and the kids killed in the President daughter's car. Not many people belief that the Ige case will not go the way of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane and Suliat Adedeji. The PDP chairman Audu Ogbeh scored high when he refused Omisore application to join the party, but event that took place after this showed that the PDP chairman was speaking with his tongue within his cheek. After the arrest of Omisore, Commodore Bode George and Alhaji Atiku, who reportedly wept in the house of Chief Ige when he paid his condolence visit was present when Omisore's name was mentioned as the PDP's senatorial candidate, curiously in Chief Bola Ige's senatorial district. The following day, Vincent Ogbuluafor, PDP General Secretary addressed the press debunking the claim by Bode George that Omisore is their candidate, according to him, the impeached Deputy Governor of Osun State is still standing trial of a murder case not until when he is cleared the party will not accept him. But on the Election Day, Omisore contested from detention and defeated Alliance for Democracy candidate, Senator Akinfenwa, the Independent Electoral commission, declared him winner.

Who sent Omisore's form to INEC when Audu Ogbeh and Ogbuluafor have told the world that they were not fielding persons with questionable records as candidate? How come INEC registered someone standing trial of murder of a former Justice Minister? Who cleared him? Which of the security agency gave him clearance to contest? How did he sign his form? All these and many are questions begging for answers. In London recently, Audu Ogbeh told a journalist in an interview that he warned his colleagues in PDP to drop Omisore, but they insisted. The question is who are these South western PDP stalwarts who insisted in fielding Omisore? The question is not far-fetched. Bode George who was in Chief Ige's house shedding crocodile tears wanted someone standing trial of Ige's murder to contest an election, even from the Late Ige's Senatorial district.

Investigation revealed that Omisore was shocked that he could be picked and detained. A source disclosed it was he threatened to mention names of Yoruba leaders involved that Bode George went to Osogbo in company of Vice President Atiku to announce Omisore's candidature.

Just after the murder of Chief Ige, Deputy Inspector general of Police Abimbola Ojomo, now retired, who was then the Head of the Force Criminal Investigation Department was commissioned to handle the case. She enlisted the services of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad under Assistant Commissioner of Police Amusa Bello to find Ige's killers. After combing Ibadan, Osogbo and Ife most of Omisore's aides became guests of the Alagbaon office of the FCID, but suddenly Ojomo was retired and Bello was redeployed. A serious dimension in the case was the double speak of Chief Bola Ige security guard, Andrew Olotu, who went to court three days after Omisore won his election that he was tortured to implicate Omisore. Just like a script written and been acted, events began to unfold, following the change of statement by the key prosecution witness, the widow of the slain Justice Minister died of heart attack, Omisore regain his freedom after Justice Olagoke Ige granted him bail, he was sworn in as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

That Omisore is connected at the top is no news and not under any contest. While his crisis with his boss, Governor Bisi Akande was on, he was seen more in Abuja, State House than Osogbo. Investigation showed that his host was Vice President Atiku. This then explained why the Vice president was in Osogbo to declare Omisore PDP candidate. What could be the relationship between the Vice- President and Omisore? Adebayo Damola (Fryo) gave the answer when he told the Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo that the Aso Rock backer of Omisore during the crisis was in the Presidency. Things took a new twist immediately after Ige's murder, Omisore who was a regular face at the State House, Abuja became unwanted by his host. What has been President Obasanjo to this development? Why is he maintaining the unusual silence the matter?

According to a source, the case of Chief Ige's murder is just like that of Chief M.K.O Abiola in which the government of General Abdusalami Abubakar still find it difficult to exonerate itself from. President Obasanjo's dropping of a ministerial nominee under the guise of being allegedly mentioned and interrogated on Ige's murder is very questionable. The man according to report was given security clearance but inspite of that Obasanjo dropped him while the prime suspect is sitting in the Senate chamber as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It surprising that the President who is trying to maintain a see-no-evil attitude over Ige's murder case is now stepping into the Anambra State crisis. According to reports, he has ordered that the matter be investigated even when the matter is already a matter of litigation in a court of law. The federal government is now being represented in the case while there was no objection on the federal's part to the bail a High Court granted Omisore.

A new twist to the case came recently when the new judge handling the case ordered that Omisore should be remanded in prison, by implication over-ruling the earlier bail granted by the former judge. Observers are watching the unfolding drama, perhaps if the killers of the Cicero of Esa-Oke were brought to book. So far available evidence still points to Omisore as the prime suspect. Besides Alani Omisore who was identified by Ige's security guard, Andrew Olotu, Muyiwa Ige, son of the slain Minister also identified another suspect. In late March 2003, at he resume trial of suspects in the murder trial, emotion hit the boiling point when on sighting Pade Omisore, another cousin of Iyiola Omisore, Muyiwa Ige identified him as one of those who killed his father. According to the interview he granted a Nigerian news Magazine he said: ' everywhere was bright and the gunmen were facing me. When I was ordered to lie down, I lay on the bed, so I had a good view of the room. My recollection is correct I saw one of the two gunmen that held us hostage in my mother's room with pump action gun in this court on Wednesday, March 26 and I pointed him to the police.'' Pade Omisore was afterward arrested and detained by the police.

Though Andrew Olotu had denied his earlier statement, Assistant Commissioner of Police Amusa Bello who was the chief investigator of the case declared in the court that Olotu was never tortured according to the Police officer, it was Olotu who came to him to report that he has seen one of the killers at the Police Station Alagbon. According to police sources, Olotu was to be released on bail after his interrogation, ''and as he awaits his release Iyiola Omisore's were entering when Olotu sighted Alao Omisore and called the attention of ACP Bello,'' our source said. At the Police station, Olotu demonstrated how he was held at gun-point by the suspected assailants to lead them to Ige's bedroom, unknowing to Olotu, his confessions and the drama was recorded by Amusa Bello, Bello has promised to release the tape to the court as evidence that Olotu was never tortured to give false witness against Omisore. The Osun State Commissioner of Police also told the court that it was Iyiola Omisore who told him first that Chief Ige had been murdered. Who told Omisore is what the court will want to know soon.

There was also a report that Omisore was sighted in front of his father-in-law's house at 4pm of 23 December holding meeting with his aides, according to our source the street at Eleyele, Olorunsogo area of Ile-Ife was deserted that day. Our source disclosed that they were armed with sophisticated weapons with Omisore directing the affairs. The occupants of a house near Chief Ige's house have been identified as Omisore's political allies. Checks revealed that the house belongs to Omisore, that he bought the house uncompleted months before the murder of Chief Ige. Surprisingly, the occupants of the house developed wings and disappeared into the thin air Monday 24 December, a day after Ige was murdered, and the Police have declared them wanted. With Iyiola Omisore back in prison custody, Nigerians await what becomes of the case. but the ruling PDP will have to a mile further to clear itself of complicity in this case. Also we shall soon know why Atiku was at the Osun State campaign where Omisore was declared candidate. Curiously he did not feature in any other south west campaign before and after Osun state's.

NIGERIA: REDEFINING REGIONAL POSITION

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SHARIA LAW

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Date Added: Tuesday, May 6th, 2003
Contributed by: RCN Administrator

Susie Steiner explains the Islamic legal system which has sentenced a Nigerian woman to be stoned to death --
Why is sharia law in the news?
An Islamic court in Nigeria yesterday upheld a sentence of death by stoning for a woman accused of adultery. The case is the latest in a series of sentences passed under sharia law - a set of religious laws adopted over the past two years in northern regions of Nigeria, which have predominantly Muslim inhabitants. Sharia law, which derives from the teachings of the Koran and from Sunna (the practice of the prophet Mohammed), is implemented to varying degrees in different Islamic countries - from the beheadings of Saudi Arabia, to the relatively liberal social mores of Malaysia.


The word sharia means "the path to a watering hole". It denotes an Islamic way of life that is more than a system of criminal justice. Sharia is a religious code for living, in the same way that the Bible offers a moral system for Christians.
It is adopted by most Muslims to a greater or lesser degree as a matter of personal conscience, but it can also be formally instituted as law by certain states and enforced by the courts. Many Islamic countries have adopted elements of sharia law, governing areas such as inheritance, banking and contract law.

What does sharia decree?
Sharia offers a code for living governing all elements of life, from prayers to fasting to donations to the poor. It decrees that men and women should dress modestly, which in some countries is interpreted as women taking the veil and the sexes being segregated.
"Sharia governs the lives of people in ways which are not governed by the law," says Lynn Welchman, director of the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law. "Over 50 countries are members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, and you can expect there will be some form of compliance with sharia - either in people’s personal lives or enforced through the courts by the state. A lot of states in the Middle East are taking more elements of sharia into their state laws."

What are Hadd offences?
Within sharia law, there is a specific set of offences known as the Hadd offences. These are crimes punished by specific penalties, such as stoning, lashes or the severing of a hand. The penalties for Hadd offences are not universally adopted as law in Islamic countries.
Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, claim to live under pure sharia law and enforce the penalties for Hadd offences. In others, such as Pakistan, the penalties have not been enforced. The majority of Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, have not adopted Hadd offences as part of their state laws.
Hadd offences carry specific penalties, set by the Koran and by the prophet Mohammed. These include unlawful sexual intercourse (outside marriage); false accusation of unlawful intercourse; the drinking of alcohol; theft; and highway robbery. Sexual offences carry a penalty of stoning to death or flogging while theft is punished with cutting off a hand.

"This is a system of criminal law which has become a potent symbol of Islamisicing the law," says Dr Welchman. "But there is the question of whether it’s actually applied in the countries which have adopted it. There is supposed to be a very high burden of proof, but that clearly often doesn’t happen in practice."
Many Islamic countries will have adultery and the drinking of alcohol defined as criminal offences in law, but they are not defined as Hadd offences because they do not carry the Hadd penalty. They are often punishable by a prison term instead.

What is likely to happen to the woman sentenced to death in Nigeria?
Amina Lawal, 30, has been sentenced to death by stoning - a fate which would involve being buried up to her neck in sand and have rocks thrown at her head. However, the Islamic court has ruled that the penalty cannot be carried out until Lawal has finished breastfeeding her baby daughter, Wasila, which the judge said would not be before January 2004.

Meanwhile, the sentence is provoking civil unrest, with riots breaking out between Christian and Muslim communities over how far the rule of sharia might spread.
In sentencing Lawal, the Islamic court disregarded an earlier ruling by the federal courts, which deemed the death penalty unconstitutional for offences such as adultery.
The supreme court is likely to step in, particularly as many sharia trials fall short of the expected standards of proof. But it faces stiff opposition from governors of Nigeria’s northern states, which have made political capital out of promising a Saudi-Arabian style strictness in the adoption of sharia, offering it to the disenfranchised poor as a way of improving their lives. In the past two years, 12 out of Nigeria’s 36 states have adopted sharia law.

What sentences have been passed down so far in Nigeria?
Safiya Hussaini, 35, was sentenced to death by stoning in October for allegedly having a child with a married neighbour. She had the child after her divorce, but maintained the father was her former husband and that they were married when the child was conceived. The court convicted her, but Hussaini won an appeal, this time alleging that she had sex out of wedlock before sharia law took effect. Amina Lawal put forward a similar argument during her trial, but it was rejected by the courts.
Last year, a teenage single mother was given 100 lashes for adultery, even though she argued she was raped by three men. The court said Bariya Ibrahim Magazu could not prove that the men forced her to have sex.

In May this year, a sharia court in Jigawa sentenced Sarimu Mohammed, 50, to death by stoning for raping a nine-year-old girl - the first death sentence imposed on a man for rape or adultery. In Bauchi, Adama Unusua, who is 19 and pregnant, was recently sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex with her fiance.

Will sharia law prevail in Nigeria?
The issue is already provoking violence between Muslim and Christian communities, particularly in the south, where sharia law is not in force. Nigeria has a Christian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who hails from the south. He has stated that "sharia is not a new thing and it’s not a thing to be afraid of", and said the federal government would not dispute the rights of states to use it. General Obasanjo received significant support from northern Muslims at the last election.
He has attempted to deal with the sharia problem through compromise, by persuading courts in the north to modify their sentences. In March, the government ruled that the strict version of sharia law practised in Nigeria’s north was illegal under the country’s constitution. Though it did not explicitly mention the case of Safiya Hussaini, the ruling came days before her appeal hearing.

The justice minister, Godwin Agabi, wrote to the 12 northern states which have Muslim majorities, saying that "a Muslim should not be subjected to a punishment more severe than would be imposed on other Nigerians for the same offence". Mr Agabi noted that Nigeria "cannot be indifferent" to international outrage over the sentences. The situation is likely to be further inflamed in the run up to elections in April 2003

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ABUBARKAR TO APPEAR IN US COURT

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Date Added: Wednesday, January 23rd, 2002
Contributed by: RCN Administrator

Former Nigerian military Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar, is scheduled to appear at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit on Wednesday, January 23. His appearance is for deposition in a celebrated case in which a number of Nigerians have sued him.

In February of last year, a number of Nigerians took the unprecedented step of suing four of Nigeria’s former military and quasi-military rulers outside Nigeria. The plaintiffs include Chief Anthony Enahoro, a stalwart of Nigerian independence movement; Dr. Arthur Nwankwo, a fearless crusader for democracy and justice in Nigeria, and Ms Hafsat  Abiola, daughter of Chief Moshood Abiola who won the 1993 presidential election in Nigeria but was prevented from assuming office by Nigerian military dictators Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha and Abdusalami Abubakar. Chief Abiola eventually died in detention in 1998 under the watch of Abdusalami Abubakar.

Abdusalami Abubakar was the last of a series of brutal military dictators that orchestrated 16 years of terror on Africa’s most populous country between 1983 and 1999. Under the military, Nigerians endured brutal murders of opponents by hit squads sponsored by the various dictators. The generals also institutionalized an unprecedented culture of corruption through their blatant looting of the national treasury which still bedevils the civilian government they installed in 1999.

The plaintiffs are represented by a crack team of attorneys led by a brilliant Nigerian lawyer, Mr. Kayode Oladele. In the original case, the plaintiffs had sued General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdusalami Abubakar (all former military rulers) as well as Chief Ernest Shonekan, a military surrogate installed by General Babangida to head a so-called Interim National Government when the general was forced out of power by Nigerians in 1993.

In a well-orchestrated strategy, a number of Nigerians in the United States stormed Chicago State University on February 23, 2001, where the four were to be guests at a so-called Abdusalami Abubakar Distinguished Lecture Series. This followed a tip-off by the Intelligence arm of the Nigerian Pro-Democracy Network (NPDN) that General Abubakar had stablished an Abdusalami Abubakar Foundation in Chicago which was doling out millions of dollars to educational causes when children in his own country lack the most basic educational infrastructure and equipment.

Due, no doubt, to the worldwide publicity blitz mounted by Nigerian pro-democracy and international human rights groups promising to have the four former Nigerian rulers arrested if they came to the US, Buhari, Babangida and Shonekan wisely abstained from the Chicago event. So did other invited dignitaries. General Abubakar, however, came to Chicago and was promptly served with the summons. The other three defendants were served through Dr.Jibril Aminu, the Nigerian ambassador to the US. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan decided to hear the case against Abubakar under the US Alien Tort Act, as there was incontrovertible evidence that he was served in person.

In the Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint filed on November 5, 2001, the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages for torture, wrongful death, arbitrary detention without trial, inhumane and degrading treatment, violation of the rights to life, liberty and security of person and peaceful assembly and association, assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other violations of customary international law, laws of the United States, the laws of the State of Michigan and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Depositions were scheduled for October 9 through 12, last year. However, while the plaintiffs arrived in the US for the purpose, General Abubakar failed to show up for his deposition on October 12. Hon. Judge Bernard Friedman gave Abubakar’s attorney the benefit of doubt as the attorney tried to explain circumstances that prevented his client from appearing. Since then, the attorneys on both sides have met with the court several times. At a Scheduling Conference in late October, the judge set January 23, 2002 as the ultimate date that General Abubakar must appear for his deposition.

The Nigerian Pro-Democracy Network (NPDN) was informed by the attorneys for the plaintiffs that all arrangements have been made for Abubakar’s deposition on January 23. World media reporters, members of the NPDN (which is acting in the capacity of facilitator for the plaintiffs) as well as other human rights activists have indicated interest in
attending the epoch-setting case.

Asked about the possibility that the general may not appear since he and others had flouted orders of the Oputa Reconciliation Panel in Nigeria, Dr. Kofi Egbo of the NPDN felt that that would be foolhardy of the general and his attorneys. The generals may feel that they are above the law in Nigeria but I doubt if a US court would treat that lightly. In his opinion, Dr. Kienuwa Obaseki, also of the NPDN, stated: Whether Abubakar comes or not, I am confident that the attorneys for the plaintiffs know where to go from there." Dr. Edward Oparaoji of NPDN, speaking from Indiana said: "NPDN will surely be there. If Abubakar does not show up, that in itself will be great news for the world media."

Coordination Center
Nigerian Pro-Democracy Network (NPDN)
E-Mail: NPDN2000@yahoo.com

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AIDS & AFRICA

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Date Added: Tuesday, April 24th, 2001
Contributed by: RCN Administrator

Statement by H.E. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity at the Technical/Ministerial Meeting

Your Excellency Mr. Atiku Abubakar, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Honourable Ministers, Deputy Executive Secretary Lalla Ben Barka, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an honour for me to have the opportunity of addressing you at this preparatory meeting of the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other related Infectious Diseases.

I wish on behalf of the OAU and my own behalf to express sincere thanks and gratitude to President Olesugun Obasanjo, to the Government and the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the very warm welcome and hospitality accorded to us since our arrival in this country.

Increasingly, the city of Abuja is becoming an important venue for the deliberation of critical issues concerning the destiny of African people. The gravity and magnitude of the HIV-AIDS pandemic need no overstating. We are only fully aware of the horrendous statistics and the heart-wrenching accounts of its devastation to our people as well as to our social and economic systems. At every level, numerous resolutions and declarations have been made, institutions established, and plans of action formulated. And yet, the agony and suffering continue, and no dent has been made in containing this pandemic.

To compound the situation, in the past decade, we have also seen a massive resurgence of other deadly diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and many that are associated with HIV/AIDS. Our leaders will be convening in Abuja in the next two days. This, and not even to simply underscore the gravity of the spectre in our midst. All those have already been done sufficiently. The Abuja Summit must be a Summit with a difference. It is intended to forge a common front for action. It should be an action oriented Summit aiming at pooling together, in a strategic manner, the Continental energies and those of our partners in confronting this deadly pandemic.

During the past two decades of living and fighting this pandemic we have acquired a lot of experience. Together with the trauma and devastation we have had to endure, there have been also occasions of optimism and achievement from some of the efforts made. The Abuja Summit cannot ignore this past experience. Definitely, the factors that have impaired our capacity to contain the spread of HIV- AIDS need to be unraveled. In the same manner, those which have brought about some ray of hope need to be capitalized upon and enhanced. We have reached a critical point for our very survival. We need to confront this challenge head-on and to mobilize ourselves in total -- in fact, as I have asserted elsewhere, we need to enter into a combat mode. Like in all combat situations, and in the particular cases of defending our very survival, all our energy and resources must be mobilized and effectively deployed. I am confident that in your deliberations you shall underline the primary role of prevention in containing the spread of this pandemic, particularly among the youths whose vulnerability is on the rise. We must make every effort to make sure every youth in Africa is aware of the virus. We must go further: we must change behaviour. Our greatest resource in this respect is young people themselves. We must locate where the children are, whether it be in schools, on the street; every household; every marketplace; every football match “ the message has to reach: awareness and knowledge and the importance of changing behaviour.

An important aspect of dealing with this disease is to destigmatize it. HIV/AIDS knows no ethnicity, colour, race, or social status. Anybody who is not prevented can be infected. We need to extend compassion, love and care to the victims. They should be neither discriminated nor looked down upon. Victims deserve dignity and respect which is accorded to every person. We need to be open about this disease. This is the only way we can deal with it. Let us find ways of removing the prevailing stigma. Accessibility to affordable drugs has been a vexing issues in the past four years.

The recent development in South Africa relating to the withdrawal of the suit filed by the large pharmaceutical companies is encouraging. I do hope that the implications of that case will be addressed and the necessary steps that need to be taken by other African countries also examined. In the meantime, I wish to call upon drug manufacturers and the International Community as a whole to realize that in our Global Village it is reprehensible for one part to live in affluence, prosperity and to have a capacity to overcoming adversities, while the others live in misery, agony, and even denied the means of overcoming a deadly pandemic such as HIV- AIDS. Definitely, the issue of drug affordability is critical. At the same time, it is important that appropriate infrastructure is developed that permits accessibility across the entire population.

There is a need, therefore, for addressing the consolidation of a comprehensive care for HIV-AIDS victims and the impact on related diseases. In order to fight this pandemic, tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases, we do recognize that we need a massive expansion of financing basic health programmes across Africa, with a special emphasis on HIV/AIDS. We recognize that the primary responsibility for mobilizing resources must come from within Africa itself. Nevertheless, we are also aware that no matter how hard we try, the economic and social reality of our countries can not allow us to cope with the resource requirements to fight this pandemic.

We, therefore, need international assistance. We need large amount of resources, not in a token or symbolic form but massive amounts, on a sustainable basis, to be able to fight this disease. Mr. Vice President, Let me now conclude my remarks. In the fight against the pandemic, we face many challenges. We have to combat stigma. Prevention of the spread of infection has not been easy either because it involves behaviour change.

Caring for AIDS affected children and widows, and providing affordable comprehensive care should be some of our immediate priority areas. In our strategies for prevention, let us target youth who are the window of hope. Control of HIV infection will not be complete unless we address prevention of mother to child transmission. Enabling people to have access to drugs is crucial.

In conclusion, I wish to underline that we at the OAU will remain at the frontline of this struggle. For, we believe that all our endeavours in conflict resolution; promotion of peace, stability and security; economic cooperation and integration; and the improvement of the welfare of African people will be meaningless if we allow ourselves to be decimated by this pandemic. I thank you.