According to a 3 February 1997 Xinhua dispatch, the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian reported that on 2 February 1997 "the telephone exchange with 10,000 analogue lines was burnt down in Benin [City], the capital of southern Nigeria's Edo state." The dispatch added that this was the third time in two years that a telecommunications exchange had been destroyed in Nigeria.

A 4 February 1997 Reuters dispatch reported that four people had been arrested in Benin City in connection with the fire at the telephone exchange.

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 find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reuters. 4 February 1997. BC Cycle. "Press Digest ( Nigeria ( Feb. 4." (NEXIS)

Xinhua News Agency. 3 February 1997. "Major News Items in Leading Nigerian Newspapers." (NEXIS)

Africa Confidential [London]. 3 January 1997-14 March 1997.

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Cambridge]. January 1997-March 1997.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. January 1997-February 1997.

New African [London]. January 1997-March 1997.

Electronic sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank, LEXIS/NEXIS, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World News Connection (WNC).