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Document #1330207
ACCORD – Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (Author)
In response to your above request we may provide you with the following information:
According to the Nigeria Country Report, published by ACCORD in September 2002, the “Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra” (MASSOB) was founded in 1998/99 and is a separatist movement of the Igbo. MASSOB advocates the reactivation of the Republic of Biafra, whose foundation led to a civil war in 1968 which resulted in more than a million deaths. MASSOB is led by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.
In April 2002 President Obasanjo submitted to the National Assembly a bill outlawing certain organisations and ethnic militia, entitled “The Prohibition of Certain Associations Act”, which would also affect MASSOB. In the sources consulted by ACCORD no information could be found whether this bill was passed into law. (ACCORD, 14 September 2002, chap. 8.3.4.; on the Prohibition of Certain Associations Act see also HRW, 28 February 2003, chap. VII)
In its human rights report for 2003, the US Department of State (USDOS) mentions that police reportedly harassed members of MASSOB, MOSOP, and other groups. On March 29, anti-riot police had killed seven MASSOB members in Imo state after reportedly disrupting a MASSOB meeting. (USDOS, 25 February 2004, sec. 2.b.) This incident is also mentioned in the latest UK Home Office Country Report, published in April 2004, whereas the UK Home Office adds:
“The police claim that they were attacked, but MASSOB has denied this saying the police’s actions were unprovoked.” (UK Home Office, April 2004, para 6.56)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) provides in its report on freedom of opinion of December 2003 a more detailed description of these events:
“Although MASSOB does not appear to enjoy the kind of massive popular support which would represent a serious political threat to the government, MASSOB members have been persistently harassed by the police, acting on orders from the federal government. The clashes between MASSOB and the police are reminiscent of those between the OPC and the police, with the police raiding MASSOB premises and its leader Ralph Uwazuruike’s house on several occasions in 2000 and 2001.
MASSOB have claimed that scores of their members have been extrajudicially killed by the police, particularly during 2000 and 2001. One of the most serious recent incidents occurred on March 29, 2003, just before the elections, when MASSOB members clashed with the police. The police reportedly stopped a large convoy of MASSOB members at Umulolo, near Okigwe, in Imo State, attempted to disperse them, then shot and killed several of them. According to their leader Ralph Uwazuruike, who was with the convoy at the time, those who were shot had been trying to run away from the tear-gas. The number of dead has not been confirmed by independent sources, and numbers quoted have ranged from seven to more than fifty. While the police stated that seven were shot dead on the spot, MASSOB put the figure much higher: “The police carried away about ten bodies and later my members recovered about fifty other bodies.” There was speculation that attempts by the police to block the MASSOB convoy may have been prompted by rumours that they were planning to disrupt the election campaign of Achike Udenwa, the Imo state governor—an allegation which MASSOB have denied. (HRW, December 2003, S. 33; see also IRIN, 31 March 2003; Newswatch, 28 April 2003)
Human Rights Watch further continues:
“A newspaper article reported that on June 16, 2003, seventeen MASSOB members were killed and eleven injured during a police raid on their secretariat at Nkpor, near the town of Onitsha, Anambra State. Human Rights Watch has not been able to confirm this incident. The police denied any incident involving MASSOB, claiming that the incident which occurred on that day was an armed robbery, which led to a shoot-out between the robbers and the police. [...]
Hundreds of MASSOB members have been arrested since 1999 and many have been detained without trial, and sometimes without charge, for prolonged periods. [...]
By mid 2003, an unknown number of MASSOB members remained in detention, in various locations in the southeast, as well as in other parts of the country. For example, at least seven MASSOB members who had been arrested during a meeting in Abuja were detained in Asokoro police station in Abuja for around three months in 2003; they were later released on bail.” (Human Rights Watch, December 2003, p. 34; see also Vanguard, 17 June 2003)
According to a Human Rights Watch report of February 2003, members of MASSOB have been victims of arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment, extrajudicial executions, and restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly, including during 2002. (HRW, February 2003, p. 38)
In its report of March 2003 (covering the year 2002), the US Department of State (USDOS) refers to the MASSOB leader Uwazurike who claims that 1,000 MASSOB members remained in detention without charge in Umuahia, Abia State:
“In September in Port Harcourt, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) charged that 20 MASSOB activists were detained unlawfully and tortured in Owerri, Imo State. [...]
In September mobile policemen reportedly raided MASSOB’s headquarters and made arrests following allegations that MASSOB and Bakassi Boys were responsible for the murders of Barnabas and Abigail Igwe in Anambra State. The Constitutional Rights Project (CRP), the pan-Yoruba group Afenifere, and the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos publicly criticized the police tactics used to deal with MASSOB. MASSOB leader Ralph Uwazurike claimed that 1,000 MASSOB members remained in detention without charge in Umuahia, Abia State. [...]
Police also reportedly harassed members of the Bakassi Boys, Egbesu Boys, MASSOB, MOSOP, and other groups.“ (USDOS, 31 March 2003, sec. 1.c,1.d,2.b)
According to the UK Home Office Nigeria Country Report of April 2004, MASSOB appears to be generally able to pursue some of its political objectives without interference from the authorities. The UK Home Office continues:
“However, the authorities have acted against members of MASSOB involved in politically motivated criminal activity. [91]
6.56 In light of the civil war in the south-east in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, which sought to create a Biafran State, the Nigerian authorities are sensitive to any assertions of nationalism within the south-east of the country. As MASSOB is associated with a separatist agenda, by supporting a Biafran State, its members have faced some harassment from the security services, especially at meetings and protests. However, some of their activities have also been provocative, such as the raising of the Biafran flag and chanting pro-Biafran songs. [94] MASSOB activists continue to be targeted by police, and in March 2003 at least seven were killed at a political rally in Imo State. The police claim that they were attacked, but MASSOB has denied this saying the police’s actions were unprovoked. [195].” (UK Home Office, April 2003, para 6.55, 6.56)
Two articles of the newspapers „This Day“ and „Vanguard“ report on clashes between a mobile police unit and MASSOB members on 29 April 2003 in Lagos. 11 persons are reported to have been injured and 13 people arrested. A member of MASSOB was hit on the thigh by a bullet. According to Vanguard, two protesting members of MASSOB were feared dead.
(This Day, 30 April 2003; Vanguard, 30 April 2003)
In its annual report covering 2001, Human Rights Watch summarizes the treatment of MASSOB members by the police forces as follows:
“The police clamped down on the activities of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), a group which advocates autonomy for the Igbo people. MASSOB meetings were repeatedly and violently broken up by police, their offices raided, and hundreds of MASSOB members arrested; many were detained without charge. Their leader, Ralph Uwazuruike, was arrested several times. Police summarily executed several MASSOB members, in particular during a police attack on their office in Okigwe in Abia state, in February, when at least ten MASSOB members were reportedly killed.” (HRW, 16 January 2002; also BBC News, 08 February 2001)
For information on the treatment of MASSOB members in 2000 and 2001, please consult the Nigeria Country Report (“Nigeria - Länderbericht”), published by ACCORD in German in September 2002.
We have also enclosed a report of the West Africa Review of 2002 (see p. 6, 7), a report of the Conrad Adenauer Stiftung (published in December 2001 in German, see p. 41) and a query response of the Canada Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of 11 June 2002, which offer additional background information.
The Nigerian newspaper „This Day“ reports in an article of 29 April 2004 that the police in Anambra state had begun an intensive search for activists of the MASSOB saying their agitation for the rebirth of the defunct state of Biafra was treasonable. According to the Anambra State Police Command Public Relation Officer, some people had been arrested in connection with their MASSOB activities. (This Day, 29 April 2004) According to a more recent article of the Nigerian newspaper “P.M. News” of 27 May 2004 the Anambra State Government said it had uncovered a plan by MASSOB to use the state for the declaration of the state of Biafra. MASSOB was planning to cause disturbances in major cities of the state. The article also cites the Principal Secretary of the Governor, saying that the Anambra State government wished to warn members of the public to have any dealings with MASSOB members. The government had also warned the public against participating in MASSOB activities like participating in rallies and purchasing its vests and passports. (P.M. News, 27 May 2004)
According to a Vanguard article of 13 May 2004, MASSOB had alleged a fresh plan by the Federal Government to eliminate some top members of the group:
“Deputy Director of Information MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu who was recently released from detention with 20 other members of the group on their way to Okigwe in Imo state for a meeting, also alleged that the police in Asaba, Delta State capital killed one of the group chieftains, Chief Emmanuel Enulor in the early hours of Wednesday 5th May 2004 in his house in Asaba. (Vanguard, 13 May 2004)
Two newspapers, the “Daily Champion” of 10 May 2004 and the Vanguard of 10 May 2004, reported that several MASSOB members had been arrested by security forces during a church service in Kaduna. While MASSOB claimed that 150 people were arrested, police sources confirmed the arrest of only four members of MASSOB. (Daily Champion, 10 May 2004; Vanguard, 10 May 2004)
One article of P.M. News cites a government official stating that MASSOB members sold membership forms and Biafran passports. (P.M. News, 27 May 2004) Another article of Voice of Biafra International Broadcasts, published on the website www.biafraland.com, poses the question why anybody should be arrested for carrying a Biafran or MASSOB identity card. (Biafra Actualization Forum, 18 January 2003)
We have also enclosed an article of This Day of 27 February 2003 which also mentions MASSOB identity cards:
“The prosecution also alleged that the accused had on the same date and venue intended to intimidate or over-run the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by carrying MASSOB identity cards, Biafra stickers, Biafran flags [...]” (This Day, 27 February 2003)
Regrettably, no additional information concerning MASSOB membership cards could be found in the sources consulted by ACCORD.
Amnesty International states in an expert opinion of 18 July 2001 that against the background of political developments in Nigeria in 1999-2001, it could be assumed that even prominent members of oppositional organisations in exile whose political activities abroad were known to the Nigerian authorities would not face state sanctions upon their return to Nigeria. However, Amnesty International points out that members and leaders of “separatist movements”, like the OPC, MASSOB and the Bakassi Boys were an exception as they were illegal organisations, which were accused of terrorist or anti-state motives and associated with violent or criminal activities. Since the regime change, Amnesty International does not know of any arrests in connection with a deportation or return to Nigeria. (AI, 18 July 2001)
According to the report on the 8th European Country of Origin Information Seminar Vienna, organised by ACCORD in June 2002, the fact of having asked for asylum abroad will not create any difficulties upon return to Nigeria. (ACCORD, 28 November 2002, p.170)
In the sources consulted by ACCORD, no further information could be found whether MASSOB members or generally rejected asylum seekers face special sanctions upon return to Nigeria.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the ACCORD 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.
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