11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

There were numerous reports of street mobs apprehending and killing suspected criminals ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 19473]

"There continued to be numerous reports of street mobs apprehending and killing suspected criminals during the year. There were no arrests reported from these mob actions, and there were no developments in cases from previous years. The practice of "necklacing" suspected criminals (placing a gasoline-soaked tire around a victim's neck or torso and then igniting it to burn the victim to death) by street mobs continued."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Numerous reports of street mobs apprehending and killing suspected criminals ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 15689]

"There were numerous reports of street mobs apprehending and killing suspected criminals during the year. There were no arrests reported from these mob actions, and there were no developments in cases from previous years. The practice of "necklacing" suspected criminals (placing a gasoline-soaked tire around a victim's neck or torso and then igniting it to burn the victim to death) by street mobs continued."

Document(s): Open document

06.11.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Niger Delta: at least 5 Nigerian policemen killed when their patrol boat came under fire from gunmen suspected to be sea pirates ("Five policemen die in gun battle with sea pirates") [#17432],  [ID 15298]

Document(s): Open document

13.10.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Availability of small weapons in Niger Delta region leading to ever increasing insecurity that manifests as armed robbery and piracy ("Focus on efforts to remove small arms from Niger Delta") [#16661],  [ID 15300]

"In Okrika, a small town near Nigeria's oil industry capital, Port Harcourt, two local chieftains had by inconvenient coincidence scheduled funerals of relatives on the same day in September.

When efforts to get one or the other to move his event to another date failed, their rival supporters engaged in a shootout, using automatic rifles that included AK-47s. Three people died. [...]

Rights activists and security agencies worry that the Niger Delta - for long a centre of discontent among impoverished communities feeling cheated out of the region's oil wealth by government and oil companies - is awash with small weapons.

Residents in the area resort to the gun even over minor communal disputes, leading to ever increasing insecurity that manifests as armed robbery and piracy on the regions innumerable waterways."

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Crime increases in Nigeria ("Country Report - October 2003") [#17332],  [ID 15301]

"5.35 Nation-wide there has been an increase in crime. In Lagos in particular, there has been a serious breakdown in law and order. There have been frequent clashes between the police and armed criminal gangs. There have been reports that a number of soldiers may be involved in crime, and the availability of weapons has also contributed to this increase. The police have been accused of being heavy handed in their response. However, the perceived inability of the police to deal with this violence has encouraged the formation of vigilante groups in Lagos and elsewhere, who have been responsible for the murder of a number of suspected criminals."

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Police undisciplined, badly trained, under-resourced and unable to deal with the level of violent crime in the country ("Country Report - October 2003") [#17332],  [ID 15304]

"5.39 The police are widely seen as being undisciplined, badly trained and poorly led, and unable to deal with the level of violent crime that they have to face. Police numbers are also low for the population that they have to police, and they are under-resourced. The police have often resorted to the use of lethal force to defend themselves, and the public, from criminals who are quite prepared to kill. The excessive use of force has been condemned by human rights organisations, as an abuse of power, and has resulted in the deaths of innocent bystanders. There are also reports of the use of torture against those suspected of crimes, and ill treatment has resulted in deaths of people while in custody. Police are also reported to use arrest and detention, or the threat of such action, as a means of soliciting bribes.

5.40 Despite Government commitment to improvements, conditions for the police remain poor, and arrears in pay resulted in a one-day strike on 1 February 2002. President Obasanjo responded by releasing funds to meet the welfare needs of the police. He also sacked the head of the police service Musiliu Smith, and a number of other senior officers. The police have threatened to resume industrial action, if they do not see a sustained improvement.

5.41 There are also reliable reports that some police officers have been involved in violent crime. Three police officers have been sentenced to death for their part in robbery and murder; but these sentences has yet to be carried out. Poor discipline, pay and conditions are sighted as reasons for these crimes, but where they have come to light the Nigerian authorities have investigated, and where possible instigated criminal proceedings."

Document(s): Open document

22.10.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Vandalization of pipelines reported; 589 arrested from April to December 2000 ("The Niger delta: No democratic dividend") [#9184],  [ID 15306]

"In April 2000, the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with the NNPC, established a “task force”on pipeline vandalization. From April 2000 to December 2001, the police investigated 101 reported cases of vandalization of oil pipelines, and arrested a total of 589 people; 490 of these were charged with various offenses."

Document(s): Open document

22.10.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Mafia reportedly stealing crude oil and finished products from pipelines in the Niger Delta region ("The Niger delta: No democratic dividend") [#9184],  [ID 15308]

"Another major threat to the oil industry … arises from the activities of a ‘cartel or mafia’, composed of highly placed and powerful individuals within the society, who run a network of agents to steal crude oil and finished produced from pipelines in the Niger Delta region."

Document(s): Open document