On 1 May 1998 pro-democracy anti-government demonstrations were held in the southern city of Ibadan, calling for the ouster of General Sani Abacha and the release of detained politician Moshood Abiola, and protesting the annulment of elections five years earlier (AP 1 May 1998; BBC 1 May 1998; The Journal 15 May 1998; AFP 25 May 1998; ibid. 1 May 1998). According to AP, police claimed that over 5,000 people participated (1 May 1998), although an editor of the Ibadan bureau of The Tribune estimated that 10,000 people participated, aged primarily between 9 and 15 years of age (BBC 1 May 1998). Plainclothed police fired into a rioting crowd that smashed cars and set buildings and vehicles on fire (AP 1 May 1998; The Journal 15 May 1998; BBC 1 May 1998; AFP 1 May 1998). At least seven deaths were reported (ibid.; BBC 1 May 1998; AP 1 May 1998; The Journal 15 May 1998). AP reported that military and police reinforcements were sent into Ibadan later that day (1 May 1998).

According to The Journal, the 1 May 1998 protest in Ibadan was the "largest demonstration against military rule since 1994" (15 May 1998). The BBC correspondent referred to these demonstrations as the "biggest anti-government rallies in recent years" stating that they "present a tricky problem for the government, which insists that its opponents are in the minority" (1 May 1998). According to AP, opposition to Abacha's military rule had been intensifying in the months preceding the events (1 May 1998; ).

On 8 May 1998 AFP reported that at least 12 human rights and pro-democracy activists had been arrested following the 1 May 1998 Ibadan demonstrations, including Bola Ige (former civilian governor of Oyo state), Ayo Opadokun (secretary-general of the opposition coalition National Democratic Coalition (NADECO)), and Olisa Agbakoba (national president of the United Action for Democracy (UAD) coalition) who was arrested on 8 May 1998 upon return from a trip abroad. On 25 May 1998 bail was refused to Femi Adeoti, editor of the Sunday Tribune, and 39 opposition activists who had been charged with rioting, arson, and other offences in relation to the 1 May 1998 Ibadan demonstrations (AFP 25 May 1998). Due to the tense political atmosphere in Ibadan, the judge stated that bail could only be reconsidered after 12 June 1998, but gave the detainees permission to appeal to a higher court if they wanted bail before then (ibid.). The case was adjourned to 24 June 1998 (ibid.).

On 25 June the High Court in Ibadan "discharged 33" of those arrested following pro-democracy protests on 1 May in Ibadan (AI 29 June 1998). Olisa Agbakoba, Chief Ayo Opadokun and Olusegun Maiyegun were released from detention without charge or trial under the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree, No. 2 of 1984 (ibid.). A 29 June 1998 Amnesty International release stated that

Those discharged by the High Court in Ibadan included three charged with arson and rioting: Alhaji Lam Adesina, a former senator and currently Secretary of the Oyo State branch of Afenifere, an association of the Yoruba ethnic group predominant in southwest Nigeria; Alhaji Lateef Akinsola, National Vice-Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers; and Femi Adeoti, editor of the Sunday Tribune, an Ibadan newspaper, also charged with sedition. Lateef Akinsola and Femi Adeoti had been released on bail on 4 June. Ola Oni, a leading member of the United Action for Democracy who was released on bail on 23 June 1998, still faces charges of unlawful assembly and sedition.

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.

Amnesty International (AI). 29 June 1998. Nigeria: Further Releases of Prisoners of Conscience-A Step Forward. [Internet] wysiwyg://5/http://www.amnesty .org.uk [Accessed 2 Feb. 1999]

Agence France Presse (AFP). 25 May 1998. "Nigerian Court Refuses bail Over Anti-Government Protest." (NEXIS)

_____. 8 May 1998. "Prominent Nigerian Opposition leader Arrested at Airport." (NEXIS)

_____. 1 May 1998. "Seven Killed in Nigeria as Opposition Rally Turns Violent." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP). 1 May 1998. Frank Aigbobun. "Seven Reported Killed in Nigerian Riot; Junta Says Plot Uncov[ered]." (NEXIS)

BBC. 1 May 1998. "Nigerian Police Open Fire on Protesters." [Internet] http://news.bbc.co.uk [Accessed 2 Feb. 1999]

The Journal. 15 May 1998. "Nigerian Opposition Promises More Action." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)