Lt.-General Ishaiya Bamaiyi, was reportedly charged with the murder of former minister of the interior and publisher of the Guardian newspaper, Alex Ibru, on 2 February 1996 (AFP 10 Dec. 1999).

Bamaiaya was arrested in October and detained at a military barracks, from where was brought to Lagos to face trial along with Danbaba, a former Lagos police commissioner; Yakubu, a former state military administrator; major Hamzat al-Mustapha, former secuity aide to the late dictator Sani Abacha; and Mohammed Rabo Lawal, a chief superintendent of police. ...Bamaiyi, seen as one of the key henchmen of the 1993-1998 Abacha regime, was chief of army staff until Abacha's death in 1998 (ibid.).

Although Bamaiyi and the four others were formally charged in Ikeja on November 23 1999 "with conspiracy and attempted murder, the Federal High Court in Abuja reportedly ordered his release "pending the determination of a substantive suit he filed." Bamaiyi he was not released (ibid.; AFP 17 November 1999).

A petition for his release by his brother, Senator Danladi Bamaiyi, who in November 1999 was chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, was not successful (The News 22 Nov. 1999).

In December 1999 Lt.-General Ishaiya Bamaiyi reportedly applied for bail claiming that he "was not involved in any human rights violations or the attempted murder of Alex Ibru" (NT 20 Dec. 1999). However, the prosecution argued against the release claiming that if granted, not only would he jump bail, but it was also likely, given his social status, professional training, especially in security matters, that he would "tamper with" prosecution witnesses (ibid.).

No reports on Lt.-General Ishaya Bamaiyi's sons and their names could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 17 November 1999. "Un tribunal nigérian ordonne la libération de l'ancien chef de l'armée." (NEXIS)

_____. 10 December 1999. "Ex-Nigerian Army Chief Brought to Court Despite Release Order." (NEXIS)

The News [Lagos]. 22 November 1999. Tony Orilade. "Nigeria: Fighting for Freedom." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Nigerian Television (NT). 20 December 1999. "Former Army Chief Applies for Bail in Murder Case." (BBC Summary 23 Dec. 1999/NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential [London]. 1999.

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. 1998.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1997. 1998. Departement d'État des États-Unis. Washington, DC : Imprimerie du gouvernement des États-Unis.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1998-1999.

New African [Londres]. 1998-1999.

West Africa [London]. 1999-2000.