An 8 February 1999 report, The News, citing an unnamed community newspaper, claimed that a criminal group known variously as the "Mafians" or "Mafia" had terrorized Aba's inhabitants and subjected them to "untold hardship" as recently as October 1998, when the city's "residents and traders responded to this spate of attacks and other security problems with an uprising." The report added that the Mafians were accused of

messing up the whole town by turning some streets and sharp corners into dreaded and deadly zones before the great revolt, which began last October. They carved out their operations under fear-inducing cult-like names. Said to be composed of different deadly sub-groups such as the "China Groups," "Biafra group," "Down Below" and "Red Gate," among others, the Mafians, whose activities triggered the emergence of the "Bakassi" [a vigilante group] were said to be "sadists who enjoy beating and killing people." They were also accused of enjoying the stripping of their "prey" before dispossessing them of their belongings (ibid.).

Other news reports published in 1998 also described the activities of an Aba-based criminal group known as the "Mafia"; examples follow. According to a 31 August 1998 Post Express report, the president of Aba chapter of the Association of Anambra-Enugu States Development Union had asked the administrator of Abia State to "look into the activities of a clandestine group known as the 'Mafia' which has been terrorising the city." In a 12 November 1998 report, the Post Express claimed that members of the "Mafia" had "for some time now harassed, robbed and in some cases killed some traders who came to the town to buy goods in Ariaria Market."

No reports of anti-Christian activities or statements by individuals associated with the Mafians could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

According to the Post Express, shoe manufacturers initiated a "revolt" against the Mafians following an incident in October or November 1998 in which members of the gang killed a shoe trader and cut off the hand of another (12 Nov. 1998; ibid. 20 Nov. 1998). The shoe manufacturers reportedly attacked and killed the leader of the gang, triggering a series of violent clashes in which several other individuals were killed (ibid.). In an 8 February 1999 report, The News stated that Aba residents and merchants had formed a vigilante group, known as the "Bakassi," to "settle scores with suspected members of the local Mafia." This information is corroborated by the Post Express, which stated in a 4 January 1999 report that

In a bid to rid Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Eastern Nigeria, of criminals, residents in the city have constituted a "kangaroo court" where these dubious elements are arraigned, tried and consequently executed.

The exercise which has been on since September 19, 1998 is said to have claimed about sixty-seven lives among the suspected criminals. It is calculated that at least three persons get executed daily since the instant justice exercise commenced.

However, in January 1999 several members of the Bakassi vigilante group were killed in a confrontation with the Mafians, and on 28 January 1999 Aba was "virtually under siege ... as rival Mafia groups clashed over security enforcement in the crime-prone city" (The News 8 Feb. 1999). No information on the activities of the Mafians since January 1999 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Very little information on the authorities' response to the disturbances in Aba could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, in a 21 November 1998 report, the Post Express stated that the Abia State government had responded to the clashes in Aba by ordering security forces personnel into the area, and empowering them to "deal ruthlessly with any individual or group threatening the peace of the city."

However, in a 4 January 1999 Post Express article, an Aba-based trader was reported as saying that "since the police have failed in protecting us, we have decided to protect ourselves." The same report also claimed that the "police and ... state government appear to be showing no serious concern" regarding the killing of suspected gang members by vigilantes (ibid.). On 8 February 1999, The News reported that a spokesman for the Abia state police in Umuahia, the state capital, had said that the police force was "officially unaware of the clashes" between vigilantes and members of the Mafians in January 1999.

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.

The News [Lagos]. 8 February 1999. Segun Olanrewaju. "Gangs at War in Igboland." http://www.africanews.org/west/nigeria/stories/19990208_feat4.html [Accessed 26 May 2000]

Post Express [Lagos]. 4 January 1999. Okechukwu Jombo. "Lynching of Robbers Continues in Aba." http://www.postexpresswired.com [Accessed 26 May 2000]

_____. 21 November 1998. "Aba Mayhem: Govt Wades in, Deploys Security Agents." http://www.postexpresswired.com [Accessed 16 May 2000]

_____. 20 November 1998. Uche Nwosu. "Aba Traders Declare War on Robbers." http://www.postexpresswired.com [Accessed 16 May 2000]

_____. 12 November 1998. Uche Nwosu. "Five Die in Violent Face-off Between Vandals, Traders in Aba." http://www.postexpresswired.com [Accessed 26 May 2000]

_____. 31 August 1998. Uche Nwosu. "Aba Gives Priority to Road." http://www.postexpresswired.com [Accessed 26 May 2000]

Africa Confidential. Jan. 1998-Dec. 1998.

Africa Research Bulletin. Jan. 1998-Dec. 1998.

IRB databases.

LEXIS-NEXIS.

West Africa. Jan. 1998-Dec. 1998.

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

Africa News Online.

Newswatch.

Panafrican News Agency.