In a 28 May 1998 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Administrative Director at the National Democratic Coalition of Nigeria (NADECO) in Washington, who was also a researcher for the 1997 revised edition of Behind the Walls: Prisons in Nigeria, stated that political prisoners are routinely released on the condition that they report to the authorities on a bi-weekly, weekly or monthly basis depending on their offences. The director added that these reporting conditions are means to ensure that these political prisoners do not leave the country.

Country Reports 1997 and Country Reports 1996 provide two examples in which detained persons were subject to reporting conditions; Country Reports 1997 states that those persons who have witnessed a crime are sometimes detained for periods of up to several months and then are asked to report to the authorities for further questioning after their release (1998, 263). Country Reports 1996 states that three Amnesty International representatives were arrested and detained for a day in November 1996, and then, upon their release, were asked to report to the authorities for the next few days (1997, 221).

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.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 1998. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Printing Office.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. 1997. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Printing Office

National Democratic Coalition of Nigeria (NADECO), Washington. 28 May 1998. Telephone interview with the Administrative Director.

Amnesty International. April 1997. Nigeria: No Significant Change — Human Rights Violations Continue.

Behind the Wall: A Report on Prison Conditions in Nigeria and the Nigerian Prison System. 1991.

News from Africa Watch [New York]. 1995-1997.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1998. 1997.

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