Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

1. Overview

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a freelance journalist who writes about Nigerian culture indicated that the Osu caste is a cultural system linked to Igbo people and limited to regions and states located in Southeastern Nigeria, where they are the majority (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

Sources indicate that that Igbo people in Nigeria recognize two caste systems: one for the Ohu who "were owned by humans" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020) or "said to have inherited slavery in perpetuity" (The Guardian 27 Dec. 2018) and another for the Osu who "were owned by gods" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020) or "dedicated to a deity" (The Guardian 27 Dec. 2018).

According to a professor of African studies at the University of California, Berkeley, cited by the BBC, who believes the Osu "were wrongly classified as slaves by the missionaries," "'Osu is worse than slavery'" since "'[s]laves could transcend slavery'" whereas the Osu, including "unborn" generations of Osu, never could (BBC 14 Sept. 2020). The BBC article states that "breaking taboos" regarding the Osu inspires fear, not just of "social stigma, but of punishment by the gods who supposedly own them" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020).

2. Legislation and Implementation

The Section 42(2) of Nigeria's Constitution states: "No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth" (Nigeria 1999). The freelance journalist stated that the provisions from the Nigerian Constitution concerning discrimination cannot be used to prohibit acts relating to the Osu caste as a cultural system (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). The same source noted that acts of discrimination linked to the Osu caste system are "not easy to identify legally," and that the courts created by the government are "not theoretically competent to prosecute such acts since this is the jurisdiction of judges from traditional tribunals which are under the responsibility of local kingdoms" (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). The BBC article similarly notes that it has been "difficult" to enforce the Constitution's provisions against discrimination to protect Osu people (BBC 14 Sept. 2020).

Sources report that in 1956 Igbo lawmakers (BBC 14 Sept. 2020) or the former Eastern Nigerian House of Assembly (Vanguard 19 Nov. 2018; The Guardian 20 Jan. 2019) passed a law intended to abolish discrimination against Osu people (Vanguard 19 Nov. 2018; The Guardian 20 Jan. 2019; BBC 14 Sept. 2020). However, the same sources indicate that the law was not implemented (Vanguard 19 Nov. 2018) or has been "difficult to enforce" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020) or was not effective (The Guardian 20 Jan. 2019). According to Anthony Obinna, a Catholic archbishop advocating to end discrimination against slave descendants in Imo State, "'[l]egal proscriptions are not enough to abolish certain primordial customs … You need more grassroots engagement'" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020).

The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper, reports that a bill prohibiting opposition to a marriage on the basis of the Osu caste system has passed its second reading in the Imo State House of Assembly (The Guardian 19 Mar. 2021). Information on the current status of the bill could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Abolition of the Osu Caste System in Certain Regions of Igboland

Sources indicate that in October 2018, Igwe Nnaemaka Achebe, the Obi [1] of Onitsha [Anambra State], called to abolish the Osu caste system in Igboland, stating that its practice has "no place" in the current century (The Guardian 12 Oct. 2018; The Punch 12 Oct. 2018) and calling it "'outdated'" (The Guardian 12 Oct. 2018) or "antiquated, unlawful, and obnoxious" (The Punch 12 Oct. 2018). The same sources cite the Obi of Onitsha as stating that the Initiative for the Eradication of Traditional and Cultural Stigmatization in Our Society (IFETACSIOS) [2] would be collaborating with him on a project to abolish the Osu caste system (The Guardian 12 Oct. 2018; The Punch 12 Oct. 2018). According to the freelance journalist, the Obi of Onitsha has a "certain influence" on Igbo people as the kingdom he heads is the "largest and the most populous town" in Igboland (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

Sources report that the event abolishing the Osu caste was set to take place (Leadership 28 Dec. 2018) or took place (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022) in Nri [in Anambra State], the "ancestral home" of the Igbo Nation (Leadership 28 Dec. 2018; cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022) on 28 December 2018 (Leadership 28 Dec. 2018). The freelance journalist noted that Nri's significance to the Igbo made the choice of location a "strong symbol" (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). In a December 2018 article, the Guardian indicated that the ceremony would be conducted by southeast traditional rulers and religious leaders and that the Obi of Idumuje Kingdom in Delta State would "back the exercise" and attend the ceremony with "his entire cabinet"; the same source noted that Igbo socio-cultural organizations and Christian groups were in support of the abolition (The Guardian 27 Dec. 2018). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), established by the government of Nigeria (NAN n.d.), cites Anthony Obinna, the "outgoing" Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Owerri, as indicating that "the Church has completely abolished the Osu caste system in Igbo land" (NAN 18 Mar. 2022). According to the freelance journalist, neither the federal government nor the Anambra State government were involved in the abolition process as it is a cultural system which depends on cultural institutions (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

Legit.ng, a Nigerian online news publisher (Legit.ng n.d.), reports that the Irete Autonomous Community in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State abolished the Osu caste system in July 2018, with a celebration ceremony set to be held in December 2018 (Legit.ng 18 July 2018). According to the same source, citing reporting by the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard, "not less than eighteen villages had advocated the abolishment of the Osu caste system" before this abolition that was declared by the King of Irete, Eze E.C. Ekwelibe (Legit.ng 18 July 2018).

A July 2020 Vanguard article reports that Owere Nsukka Autonomous Community in the Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State abolished the Osu caste system based on the decision of community leaders (Vanguard 15 July 2020). These included the traditional ruler of the Enugu community, Felix Ugwu, who told the newspaper that "the practice was against the ordinance of God which enjoins everyone to be treated with love" and "that all human beings are equal before God" (Vanguard 15 July 2020). An April 2021 Vanguard article indicates that another abolition ceremony took place on 7 April 2021 in Nsukka town, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, where 119 villages in the nine autonomous communities "formalised the eradication" of the Osu Caste system" following a decision by "monarchs, town unions and other traditional institutions" from the communities, with the help of IFETACSIOS and the support of religious leaders (Vanguard 7 Apr. 2021).

Orient Daily, a newspaper distributed in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria (Orient Daily n.d.), reports that in Ishi-Ozalla town, in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, three years after "the much-celebrated abolishment" of the Osu caste system in 2018, the practice "appears to have resurfaced" (Orient Daily 23 Mar. 2021). Similarly, a September 2020 Vanguard article reports that, "despite effort[s] by groups, including churches," to end the Osu caste system, "[i]nvestigation" found that it remained a "dominant" practice in "many Igbo communities" (Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020).

4. Areas Where the Osu Caste System Is Still Practised

Information on the areas where the Osu caste system is practiced was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to Vanguard in a November 2018 article, the Osu caste system is "prevalent" in Anambra and Imo states as well as in "some areas" of Ebonyi State (Vanguard 19 Nov. 2018). The freelance journalist stated that the Osu caste system is "scattered throughout" southeastern Nigeria, or Igboland, but is "more prevalent" in Anambra and Imo states (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

Vanguard indicates in a September 2020 article that the caste system is "most prominent in parts of Enugu State," specifically in "Nkanu land" or the Enugu East Senatorial District, "where cultural and political issues are laced with the segregation"; it "also exists in parts of Nsukka, particularly Enugu Ezike community" (Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020).

4.1 Osu Villages in Imo State

Information on the existence of Osu villages in Imo State was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The freelance journalist stated that there are more than 30 villages that "could be considered" Osu villages in Imo State (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

4.2 Existence of All-Osu Villages in Nigeria

Information on the existence of all-Osu villages in Nigeria was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The freelance journalist stated that there are "no real all-Osu" villages in Nigeria, but it is "common" in Igboland to find small all-Osu settlements within larger villages populated by other Igbo people, as Osu are "excluded" and "rejected" by other communities (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). According to the same source, those small all-Osu settlements are often located in "less developed places close to former shrines" (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

5. Treatment of People Considered Osu

Information on the treatment of people considered Osu by society and/or by authorities was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5.1 Treatment by Society

The Vanguard September 2020 article states that Osu people are seen as "second class citizens" in communities where the caste system is still practised (Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020). Sources state that Osu people cannot hold traditional leadership positions (BBC 14 Sept. 2020; Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020) or chieftaincy titles (Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020; Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). Legit.ng reports that in July 2018 a chieftaincy title was conferred on a person "who was once termed an 'Osu'" in the context of the abolishment of the Osu caste system in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, "[i]n order to indicate the seriousness" of the decision (Legit.ng 18 July 2018).

Sources indicate that Osu are not allowed to marry people considered "free born" (Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020) or are not allowed to marry outside of their community (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

The BBC article reports that a couple from Okija, south-eastern Anambra State, killed themselves in September 2020, after their parents forbid their marriage because one of them had slave ancestors (BBC 14 Sept. 2020). The BBC article also indicates that "descendants of freed slaves among the Igbo ethnic group [which include, according to the article, both Ohu and Osu people] still inherit the status of their ancestors and they are forbidden by local culture from marrying those Igbos seen as 'freeborn'" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020). The same source notes that Archbishop Obinna has been criticized for officiating weddings for "'mixed couples'," and cites Obinna as stating that he has "'had to safeguard some of the couples from the violence of their parents and relatives'"(BBC 14 Sept. 2020).

The freelance journalist stated that people considered Osu are "stigmatized" and experience "discriminat[ion]" from others in the Igboland, but do not face "abuse or violence" from society (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). The same source noted that the past "ill-treatment" of Osu people related to blood sacrifice at shrines is "no longer practised" (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). The source also noted that it is possible for Osu people to experience better societal treatment if they leave southeastern Nigeria and relocate elsewhere in the country, as the Osu caste system is limited to Igboland (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

5.2 Treatment by Authorities

The freelance journalist stated that government officials "generally" take a "neutral" attitude towards Osu people, explaining that as they are not "considered cultural leaders," action on their part to "protect" the Osu might be perceived by kingdoms as "interference" (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022). However, the same source notes that the situation can "become confusing" in the case of government employees of Igbo origin (Cultural journalist 27 Oct. 2022).

Sources indicate that Osu people cannot serve as town union leaders (Vanguard 16 Sept. 2020) or are "often prevented" from pursuing political office or serving in parliament (BBC 14 Sept. 2020).

6. Government Measures and Support Services for People Viewed as Osu

Information on the government measures and support services for Osu people was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

6.1 Government Measures

In the November 2018 article, Vanguard reports that the Anambra State government adopted 28 December 2018 as the date of the Osu caste system's abolition in the region; the date was chosen by "major" traditional rulers in the South-East (Vanguard 27 Nov. 2018). According to the article, a letter addressed to those traditional rulers and made available to journalists by the Anambra State Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artwork and Tourism, states that the governments "support[s]" and "endors[es]" without "reservation" the project to abolish the Osu caste system in Igbo land (Vanguard 27 Nov. 2018).

The information in the following paragraph was provided in a March 2021 Guardian article:

The Enugu State government, through its Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, stated that the government had " abolished … the Osu caste system" and that "no individual or group of persons had the right to deny people their rights on the basis of the 'free-born and slave' mentality." The Commissioner was "reacting" to reports of the "ostracism" of the people of Edeaniagu [Edendiagu] village in Ishi-Ozalla Autonomous Community. According to the people of Edeaniagu, the leadership of Ishi-Ozalla was "tagging them as slaves." A spokesperson for the community added "that members of village had been humiliated and intimidated" in order to "scuttle the ambition of a member of the village" who "aspir[ed]" to become king of the autonomous community. The President-General of Ishi-Ozalla community "denied" that the ostracism took place (The Guardian 18 Mar. 2021).

A March 2021 article in the Orient Daily similarly reports that people from Edeaniagu "took to the streets … after they were allegedly ostracised by a section of the community" marching from the Enugu State House of Assembly to the Enugu State Government House where the Governor said "that the state government would take the necessary steps to restore normalcy in the area" and that the election for the community's kingship would be "suspended" (Orient Daily 23 Mar. 2021). According to the same source, the House Committee Chairman on Chieftaincy "received" the "over 200" protesters and "assured them" that legislators would intervene "to ensure that the right things were done in the community" (Orient Daily 23 Mar. 2021).

6.2 Support Services

The IFETACSIOS website states that the organization is "dedicated to the abolition of the Osu caste system in all the communities" of Nigeria's South-East region (IFETACSIOS n.d.b). The same source indicates, in the context of their broader work to "eradicate all forms of caste system" in Africa, that they interact with "various concerned individuals and groups," including "the perpetrators, victims and the traditional rulers in the communities" (IFETACSIOS n.d.a). Sources report that IFETACSIOS collaborated with traditional rulers and religious leaders to abolish the Osu caste system in Anambra State (The Punch 12 Oct. 2018) and in Enugu State (Vanguard 7 Apr. 2021).

The BBC article also indicates that Osu people in Imo State formed a group called Nneji ("'from the same womb'") which arranges marriages for the children of its members worldwide thus "saving them the potential heartbreak of relationships with 'freeborn'" (BBC 14 Sept. 2020).

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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] According the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "obi" means "king" (Encyclopaedia Britannica 8 July 2019).

[2] The Initiative for the Eradication of Traditional and Cultural Stigmatization in Our Society (IFETACSIOS) is an NGO that aims "to eradicate all forms of caste system" in Africa (IFETACSIOS n.d.a).

References

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 14 September 2020. Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. "Nigeria's Slave Descendants Prevented from Marrying Who They Want." [Accessed 26 Oct. 2022]

Cultural journalist. 27 October 2022. Telephone interview with the Research Directorate.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 8 July 2019. "Onitsha." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2022]

The Guardian [Nigeria]. 19 March 2021. Collins Osuji. "Imo Assembly Moves to Unify Bride Price, Marriage Rites." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2022]

The Guardian [Nigeria]. 18 March 2021. Lawrence Njoku. "Enugu Government Restates Ban on Osu Caste System." [Accessed 26 Oct. 2022]

The Guardian [Nigeria]. 20 January 2019. Lawrence Njoku. "Taming Osu Caste System in Igbo Land." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

The Guardian [Nigeria]. 27 December 2018. Emeka Nwachukwu. "Abolition of Osu, Other Caste Systems Gets Delta Monarch's Backing." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2022]

The Guardian [Nigeria]. 12 October 2018. Urenna Ukiwe. "Obi of Onitsha Moves to Abolish Osu Caste System." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

Initiative for the Eradication of Traditional and Cultural Stigmatization in Our Society (IFETACSIOS). N.d.a. "About Us." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2022]

Initiative for the Eradication of Traditional and Cultural Stigmatization in Our Society (IFETACSIOS). N.d.b. "Projects." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2022]

Leadership. 28 December 2018. Okechukwu Obeta. "Nigeria: Osu Caste System in Igboland Ends Today." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

Legit.ng. 18 July 2018. Onyirioha Nnamdi. "Finally, LGA in Owerri Abolishes Osu Caste System." [Accessed 26 Oct. 2022]

Legit.ng. n.d. "About Us." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2022]

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). 18 March 2022. Victor Nwachukwu. "We've Put a Seal on the Abolition of the Osu Caste in Igbo Land – Archbishop Obinna." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2022]

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2022]

Nigeria. 1999. Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

Orient Daily. 23 March 2021. "Enugu Community in Disarray over Osu Caste System." [Accessed 26 Oct. 2022]

Orient Daily. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2022]

The Punch. 12 October 2018. "Obi of Onitsha Declares War Against Osu Culture." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2022]

Vanguard. 7 April 2021. Ikechukwu Odu. "119 Villages Abolish Osu Caste System Practice in Nsukka." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

Vanguard. 16 September 2020. Onayo Okoli, et al. "Osu Caste System: Fury in Igbo Land Over Continued Practice." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

Vanguard. 15 July 2020. Ikechukwu Odu. "Enugu Community Abolishes Osu Caste System." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2022]

Vanguard. 27 November 2018. Elizabeth Ewandu. "Anambra Govt, Religious Leaders Back Dec 28 Deadline to End Osu Caste System." [Accessed 26 Oct. 2022]

Vanguard. 19 November 2018. "Ending the Osu Caste System." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2022]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Associate professor of history at a Canadian university whose research touches the Nigerian ethnic organization; Initiative for the Eradication of Traditional and Cultural Stigmatization in Our Society; investigative journalists who have written on the Osu caste system in Nigeria (6); post-doctoral fellow at an American university whose doctoral thesis focused on the Osu caste system; professor at a British university who specializes in ethno-regional conflict in Nigeria.

Internet sites, including : Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; Australia – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Austria – Austrian Center for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation; Bertelsmann Stiftung; Factiva; France – Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; Nigeria – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, National Human Rights Commission, Nigeria Police Force; Netherlands – Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Organisation suisse d'aide aux réfugiés; Premium Times; Pulse.ng; UK – Home Office; UN – Refworld; US – Department of State; Voice of America.