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Access to Justice Tackles Nigerian Government over Extrajudicial Killings at the African Commission, urges Commission to Recommend Active Use of Coroner Inquests

Following a Communication submitted since 2002, Access to Justice is using the mechanism of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to exert regional political and legal pressure on the Nigerian government to end a chronic spate of extralegal killings taking place in the country. At its two last sessions, the Commission has sought further information from AJ to decide whether, in view of its own rules of procedure, it can consider the Communication on its merits. In a well-supported memorandum to the Commission, Access to Justice argues that the Commission can, and should.

The Communication alleges that the Nigerian government under President Olusegun Obasanjo has authorized summary, arbitrary and extrajudicial executions since coming to power in 1999, has condoned widespread and repetitive summary and arbitrary killings by governmental and non-governmental agencies and groups, has derogated from its Charter responsibilities to take action towards ending unlawful killings, and has failed to search out, and punish perpetrators of extralegal killings and furthermore has failed to make reparation to families of victims of such killings.

At the 35th session of the Commission's sitting in Gambia, representatives for Nigeria claimed they had not been served with notice of the Communication, in response to which the Commission gave a copy of AJ's Communication to them. To afford Nigeria time to respond to AJ's Communication, the Commission adjourned hearing of the Communication to its next session in November 2004. The Commission is expected to make a preliminary determination whether the Communication alleges violations the nature and spread of which qualify it for consideration under the Commission's exceptional jurisdiction.

"It is the obligation of Governments to carry out full, independent and impartial investigations into all alleged violations of the right to life. When carrying out such investigations, Governments must meet the standards set forth in the pertinent international instruments, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions."

Excerpt of a Report by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Killings, Bacre Waly Ndiaye, to the Commission on Human Rights.