US embassy cable - 03LAGOS1937

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001937 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
LONDON FOR GURNEY, PARIS FOR NEARY 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2008 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, EPET, SENV, NI 
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN SNAPSHOTS - WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8, 2003 
 
REF: LAGOS 1862 AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AN 
 
 
D (D). 
 
 
Anambra: Court proceedings begin on Igwe killings 
 
 
1. (U) Almost exactly one year after the prominent husband 
and wife team of lawyers, Barnabas Chidi and Amaka Blessing 
Igwe, was hacked to death in the streets of Onitsha, a bail 
hearing was held in the Onitsha High Court for one of the 
prime suspects in the case.  In an unusual move to get action 
on the case, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) successfully 
petitioned the Anambra State Attorney General and Justice 
Commissioner to allow the NBA to prosecute the case.  Prince 
Ken Emeakayi, former Commissioner of Works in the 
administration of defeated Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju, is 
the prime suspect in the case and has been detained, along 
with other suspects, for several weeks.  While waiting for 
action in the case, the press and other observers have 
suggested a connection between the Igwe murder and the murder 
of former Attorney General and Minister for Justice Bola Ige. 
 There has also been speculation that the murders were 
politically motivated since the prime suspects in both cases 
are government officials.  The judge assigned the case, 
Justice Peter Umeadi, will rule on the application for bail 
this week. 
 
 
2. (C) Comment.  This past weekend, another husband and wife 
lawyer team was shot and killed in front of their young 
children in Kaduna.  NBA President Wole Olanipekin blamed the 
federal government for the rising number of "mighty men 
including governors and ministers" who have been brutally 
attacked or killed in recent months.  Lawyers in Lagos have 
told journalists that their profession is being 
"systematically targeted" by other members of the Nigerian 
government structure who "feel threatened by the (lawyers') 
presence and work."  Nelson Otaji, a prominent Lagos lawyer, 
said " It is now very dangerous to be a lawyer in this 
country....When some people lose a case in court, they go 
after the opposing counsel."  It is certain that Nigerians 
have little trust in the efficacy or integrity of their 
judicial system.  It is difficult to tell, however, whether 
the recent violence and threats of violence against lawyers 
and judges is in any way politically motivated or is merely 
an expression of the frustration that some litigants feel 
with the system of justice in Nigeria.  End comment. 
 
 
Anambra:  Deputy Governor is impeached 
 
 
3. (U) Despite an Abuja High Court restraining order 
enjoining it from proceeding with the impeachment of Deputy 
Governor Okey Udeh, the Anambra State House of Assembly has 
impeached Udeh and removed him from office.  The Assembly 
acted on the report of an Impeachment Panel it had set up to 
investigate allegations of misconduct leveled against Udeh. 
Udeh was accused of being part of the July 10 plot to 
forcibly remove Governor Chris Ngige from office and then 
wrongfully proclaiming himself Governor.  Udeh had been 
successful in securing the court injunction stopping the 
Impeachment Panel from functioning.  Unfortunately for him, 
the Panel ignored the court, found Udeh guilty on all charges 
and handed him over to the Assembly for impeachment anyway. 
 
 
4. (C) Comment. Despite this good news for Ngige -- getting 
the Deputy Governor out of the way helps support Ngige's 
claim to be the legitimate principal officer of the State 
--it is still too early to predict how the legal web that has 
been spun around the Ngige affair will be untangled, 
especially with the new snarls created by the Assembly's 
action.  The Abuja High Court that issued the restraining 
order is scheduled to take up the matter again in the next 
week to consider the constitutionality of the "letter of 
resignation" Ngige is supposed to have signed under pressure 
from his political "godfather", Chris Uba.  Observers inside 
and outside the judicial system expect the High Court to deal 
sternly with the Anambra House of Assembly that flaunted its 
order.  End comment. 
 
 
Rivers: Another pipeline explosion in Ogoniland 
 
 
5. (U) The residents of Tia, a small farming and fishing 
community, were devastated recently when an oil pipeline 
jointly owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation 
(NNPC) and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, 
Ltd. (Shell)  exploded burning acres of fertile land and 
polluting nearby creeks.  The resulting spill of crude oil 
has displaced over 100 Tia families.  Farmers in the area 
lost crops and near-term use of arable land; fishermen lost 
catches; and residents lost access to potable water because 
ground water in the area is now polluted with crude oil. 
 
 
6. (C) Ledum Mitee, President of the Movement for the 
Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), told Pol/Econ Officer 
that neighboring communities mobilized to help and were able 
to relocate some families.  He complained that, based on 
previous incidents like this, the people of Tia could expect 
little in compensation from either the GON or Shell. 
According to Mitee, the GON relies on the Land Use Act of 
1978 that gives the government all rights of title to the 
hereditary Ogoni lands.  Thus, in the event of oil or gas 
damage to the land, the only compensation to which farmers 
are entitled is an amount equal to the value of lost crops -- 
historically a very small amount that does not fully 
compensate the farmer.  Mitee said that while no one was 
injured in this latest incident, the financial and 
environmental losses are still being evaluated. 
 
 
7. (C) Comment: Although Shell no longer drills in the area, 
it continues to transport crude oil through Ogoniland.  Its 
decades old pipeline system is prone to leaks.  Mitee has 
denied reports that the Ogoni prevented Shell workers from 
repairing the leak until Shell is willing to discuss 
compensation for the residents of Tia.  Although the recently 
ended strike by Shell workers has further delayed repairs of 
the pipeline, this is but another incident to add to the long 
list of grievances about environmental damage, lack of 
disaster preparedness, minimal compensation for losses, etc. 
that the Ogonis have against Shell and the GON. 
HINSON-JONES