US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1152

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001152 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KCOR, KIRF, KCRM, NI 
SUBJECT: POLICE KILL 6 TRADERS, ATTEMPTED COVER-UP 
SPARKS RIOTING IN ABUJA SATELLITE TOWN 
 
REF:  04 ABUJA 1786 
 
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Summary 
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1.  The killing of six Igbo youths by police in an 
Abuja satellite town sparked anger among local 
residents, but the attempt by police to cover up the 
crime attracted nationwide attention.  In the early 
morning hours of June 7, police shot and killed six 
auto parts traders, then attempted to dispose of the 
bodies surreptitiously.  Enraged at this discovery, 
village residents burned the police station and several 
police vehicles.  As is the custom in Nigeria, police 
claimed afterwards that the six were "armed robbery 
suspects," but neighbors insisted the youths were 
merely coming home from a nightclub.  After the Acting 
Inspector General of Police organized a police 
investigative panel, attracting intense public 
scrutiny, the federal government intervened to appoint 
its own judicial panel.  The investigation has been 
marred by the suspicious death of the likely shooter. 
 
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Six Youths Killed by Police 
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2.  In the early morning hours of June 7 in the Apo 
mechanics' village, a satellite town on the outskirts 
of Abuja that is mainly populated by Igbo auto parts 
traders, police at a checkpoint stopped a car with six 
occupants and demanded money.  When the driver refused 
to pay, an argument ensued, and one policeman shot and 
killed two male passengers.  The four remaining 
occupants of the vehicle were arrested and taken to the 
police station in Apo, then moved to Garki police 
station inside Abuja, where they were later killed, 
allegedly to eliminate witnesses to the first two 
killings.  According to the brother of one of the 
victims, his brother was surreptitiously speaking on a 
cell phone with him from the police station, when loud 
noises erupted and the phone line was cut. 
 
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Attempted Cover-Up Causes Rioting 
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3.  After the killings, police sought the help of local 
Hausa laborers to help them dig a mass grave to bury 
the six bodies.  (Note:  Hausas are generally Muslims 
and Igbos Christians, but both ethnicities are well- 
known as traders in Nigeria.  End Note.)  However, Apo 
residents found and unearthed the bodies, then marched 
with the corpses to the police station.  Police fled 
the resulting riot, in which the police station and 
several police cars were burned, and detainees at the 
station freed.  There were reports that several 
policeman were also killed by the mob. 
 
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Intense Public Scrutiny 
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4.  After the riot, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 
Police Commissioner, Emmanuel Adebayo, said the six 
were "suspected armed robbers who engaged the police in 
a gun battle."  According to Adebayo, police had 
received a distress call from residents of Garki that 
their houses were attacked by an armed robbery gang. 
He further claimed that during pursuit of the armed 
robbers, the police engaged them in a gun battle and 
killed them.  Adebayo also explained, "The corpses were 
deposited at the Garki General Hospital mortuary, but 
when no claimants came, health workers buried the 
corpses and were later attacked."  (Note:  Police 
generally claim that individuals killed by police were 
"armed robbers."  While armed robbery is indeed a 
problem in Nigeria, it is clear that not all victims of 
police shootings were armed robbers.  End Note.) 
 
5.  About 50 Apo residents were arrested after the riot 
and released several days later without charges, as is 
common practice following public unrest.  There are 
unconfirmed reports that police still have several 
residents in detention. 
 
6.  Acting Inspector-General of Police Sunday Ehindero 
organized a six-man panel of inquiry headed by the 
Deputy Inspector-General to probe the incident.  The 
investigation was marred by the suspicious death in 
custody of the likely police triggerman.  Several 
witness provided graphic testimony of police misconduct 
in the case, including a photographer's description of 
how police placed guns near the corpses and asked him 
to take photos, to "prove" the deceased were armed 
robbers. 
 
7.  After two weeks of investigation, the federal 
government abruptly waded into the case, appointing an 
"unbiased" judicial panel to investigate the incident. 
Although the police inquiry has ended, public interest 
in the case remains high, and Apo residents continue to 
demand justice. 
 
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Comment 
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8.  Although extrajudicial killings by police are not 
uncommon in Nigeria, the attempted cover-up sparked 
public fury, as in the November 2004 killings and 
attempted burial by police in Kaduna (reftel).  With 
the public deeply distrustful of its own security 
forces and widely frustrated at the poor economic 
condition and lack of political power, the frustration 
can quickly come to a boil over perceived injustice and 
abuse. 
 
CAMPBELL