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img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/nigeria-police-100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International exposed the shocking level of unlawful police killings in Nigeria in a new report released on Wednesday.br /
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ldquo;The Nigerian police are responsible for hundreds of unlawful killings every year,rdquo; said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s Africa Programme.br /
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ldquo;Police donrsquo;t only kill people by shooting them; they also torture them to death, often while they are in detention.rdquo;br /
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ldquo;The majority of the cases go un-investigated and the police officers responsible go unpunished. The families of the victims usually get no justice or redress. Most never even find out what happened to their loved ones.rdquo;br /
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Police frequently claim that the victims of shootings were lsquo;armed robbersrsquo; killed in lsquo;shoot-outsrsquo; with the police or while trying to escape custody. These claims are often highly implausible.br /
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Fifteen-year-old Emmanuel Egbo was killed by a police officer in Enugu in September 2008. According to witnesses, he was playing with other children in front of his unclersquo;s house when three police officers came up to them. One officer pulled out a gun and shot the boy, claiming he was an armed robber. He was unarmed. br /
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In August 2009, his family discovered his body had disappeared from the mortuary. As of November 2009, the body is still missing.br /
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Amnesty International said that some police officers see the killings of lsquo;armed robbersrsquo; in detention as acceptable practice. nbsp;br /
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In June 2009, the organization visited the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) detention centre in Abuja, which is located in a disused abattoir outside the city. br /
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Suspects are held in a vast warehouse previously used for slaughtering cattle. Chains are still hanging from the ceiling. When Amnesty International delegates visited the building, about 15 people were held in cells. Amnesty International delegates counted at least 30 empty bullet cases scattered on the ground.br /
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Unofficially, a policeman told Amnesty International that many ldquo;armed robbersrdquo; are taken there and shot. br /
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Amnesty International said that one of the main problems is lsquo;Nigeria Police Force Order 237rsquo; under which police officers are allowed to shoot suspects and detainees who attempt to escape or avoid arrest ndash; whether or not they pose a threat to life. br /
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ldquo;Force Order 237 is so impermissibly broad. It simply gives police officers permission to shoot people. It is against international standards, and is being abused by police officers to commit, justify and cover up illegal killings,rdquo; said Erwin van der Borght.br /
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ldquo;The government must repeal Force Order 237 and publicly announce that the use of lethal force is only allowed when strictly unavoidable to protect life. This simple step could make a big difference to the number of unlawful police killings we are seeing in Nigeria.rdquo;br /
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Enforced disappearances in Nigeria are rife. Typically, in the first days or weeks following arrest, families are allowed to visit their relatives in detention. Later on, police tell them their loved ones have been ldquo;transferred to Abujardquo;. Other times, they simply deny any knowledge of their whereabouts.br /
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The Nigerian government says that they do not condone extrajudicial killings. But they are not doing enough to stop them and bring the police perpetrators to justice. Even on the rare occasions when police officers implicated in an unlawful killing are prosecuted, they are often released on bail or escape custody. Some are simply transferred to other states. br /
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ldquo;Ending unlawful killings and enforced disappearances by the police will require serious legal reform and commitment and support from the Nigerian police force,rdquo; said Erwin van der Borght. ldquo;The Nigerian Police Force must introduce a new code of conduct throughout its chain of command ndash; from the very top to the bottom. If not, the cycle of violence will simply continue.rdquo;

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/nigeria-eviction-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Scores of Nigerians lost their homes on Friday morning when Rivers State authorities began bulldozing buildings in Port Harcourt, Amnesty International has learned.br /
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A crew of three diggers, accompanied by 30 armed policemen, closed the Njemanze Road at both ends and began demolishing homes to make way for a commercial development. A large proportion of the street had been flattened by Friday evening.br /
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quot;Many of the tenants have nowhere else to go and most are unable to afford the large deposit necessary to rent a new home,quot; said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Africa director.br /
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quot;The Governor of Rivers State must immediately halt the forced evictions and demolition, respect the rights of the residents to adequate and reasonable notice of any eviction and ensure that all those affected receive adequate alternative housing to ensure that no one is rendered homeless.quot;br /
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Many residents had already left the street to seek refuge with family or in churches, but around 100 people with no alternative housing remained in the buildings prior to the demolition. br /
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A woman who had been living on Njemanze road with her three children told Amnesty International on Wednesday: quot;We have not been paid and they asked us to quit. We erected the building ourselves. We are sleeping in the room [with no roof or windows]. We have nowhere to go.quot;br /
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Houses along the Njemanze Road were made uninhabitable when doors, roofs and windows were removed by police last Friday. br /
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Tenants – including many women and children – were given just seven days’ notice to vacate their homes and businesses, while most were not offered compensation or alternative housing.br /
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On Wednesday, the Commissioner of Urban Development, Barrister Osima Ginah, went to Njemanze road accompanied by police officers and told people they had 24 hours to evacuate their homes. br /
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For some residents, this is the second time they have been forcibly evicted from their home. Njemanze waterfront community, home to thousands of people, was demolished on 28 August.br /
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Several of the displaced residents sought shelter in the neighbouring buildings along Njemanze Road – buildings that are now also being demolished. br /
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The waterfront is one of the most densely populated areas of Port Harcourt. The state governor has repeatedly stated that demolitions along the waterfront are ldquo;to sanitize and check criminal activitiesrdquo;. br /
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quot;Rivers State government is only permitted to carry out evictions as a last resort,quot; said Erwin van der Borght. quot;They are obliged, in every case, to explore all feasible alternatives to evictions and avoid or minimise the use of force.quot;

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/nigeria-eviction-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Hundreds of people have been forced from their homes to make way for a commercial development in Rivers State, Nigeria, Amnesty International has learned. br /
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Residents of Njemanze Road, Port Harcourt will lose their homes permanently if a planned demolition by local authorities goes ahead this week. br /
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The demolition was originally scheduled for Tuesday morning, prompting panicked residents to salvage what they could from their homes throughout the night. br /
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Many are seeking shelter in nearby churches or with relatives, while others have nowhere to go and are sleeping on the streets. br /
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The demolition did not go ahead on Tuesday and Amnesty International has called for plans to bulldoze the community to be halted.br /
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ldquo;Many of the tenants have nowhere else to go and most are unable to afford the large deposit necessary to rent a new home,rdquo; said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s Africa Programme.br /
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Houses along the Njemanze Road were made uninhabitable when doors, roofs and windows were removed by police on Friday. br /
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Tenants – including many women and children – were given just seven days’ notice to vacate their homes and businesses, while most were not offered compensation or br /
alternative housing. br /
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ldquo;Even our elderly fathers and children are on the street. We need help from the government,rdquo; one local resident told Amnesty International.br /
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For some residents, this is the second time they have been forcibly evicted from their home. Njemanze waterfront community, home to thousands of people, was demolished on 28 August.br /
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Several of the displaced residents sought shelter in the neighbouring buildings along Njemanze Road – buildings that are now also set to be demolished. br /
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The houses under threat stretch along approximately 2km of road. They will be demolished to give access to the site of the already demolished Njemanze waterfront community. br /
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The waterfront is one of the most densely populated areas of Port Harcourt. The state governor has repeatedly stated that demolitions along the waterfront are ldquo;to sanitize and check criminal activitiesrdquo;. br /
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ldquo;Rivers State government is only permitted to carry out evictions as a last resort,rdquo; said Erwin van der Borght. ldquo;They are obliged, in every case, to explore all feasible alternatives to evictions and avoid or minimise the use of force.rdquo;br /
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Amnesty International has said that the Rivers State government is not following its own Physical Planning and Development Law (2003). br /
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Under this law, they should have established an ldquo;Urban Renewal Boardrdquo;, which would have declared the waterfront communities an ldquo;improvement areardquo;, for which it would have prepared an improvement plan. br /
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This law also requires the government to provide alternative housing for all the occupants affected, which they have not done.br /
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ldquo;The Governor of Rivers State should call an immediate halt to the planned demolitions, respect the rights of the residents to adequate and reasonable notice of any eviction and ensure that all those affected receive adequate alternative housing and that no one is rendered homeless,rdquo; said Erwin van der Borght.br /

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/sudan-al-bashir-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International revealed on Thursday that Nigerian President Umaru Yarrsquo;Adua has issued an invitation to Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to visit Nigeria, even though President al Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. br /
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The invitation is for President Omar al Bashir to attend an African Union Peace and Security Council meeting in Abuja, scheduled to begin on Thursday, 29 October. br /
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Amnesty International learned about the still-secret invitation from several reliable sources. br /
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Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected to present a report on the situation in Darfur at the meeting. br /
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President Umaru Yarrsquo;Adua has apparently given assurances that President Omar al Bashir will not be arrested if he comes to Nigeria. br /
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ldquo;He is an international fugitive from justice, charged with responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes against Africans. It would be shameful of Nigeria to offer him safe haven,rdquo; said Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s Africa Legal Adviser. br /
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ldquo;The Nigerian government has an unconditional legal obligation to arrest President Omar al Bashir and hand him over to the ICC should he enter Nigerian territory. Any failure to do this is a failure to fulfil obligations under international law and may amount to obstruction of justice.rdquo; br /
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An arrest warrant for President Omar al Bashir was issued by the ICC on 4 March 2009. br /
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ldquo;The Nigerian government must act for the sake of thousands of victims of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur,rdquo; said Kolawole Olaniyan. br /
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Nigeria is a party to the treaty establishing the ICC and is obliged without exception to cooperate with the ICC and arrest and surrender anyone named in an arrest warrant to the ICC. If it fails to do so, the ICC can refer this clear violation of Nigeriarsquo;s obligations to the Security Council under Article 87 (7) of that treaty. br /
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President Omar al Bashir was invited by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to this weekrsquo;s African Union summit on refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons in Kampala. Following protests by NGOs, including Amnesty International, President Omar al Bashir did not attend the meeting. br /
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img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/nigeria-eviction-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International has condemned the excessive use of force by some of the members of the Nigerian security forces after three people were shot dead during a protest against demolition of homes in Rivers State on Monday.br /
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Troops from the government’s Joint Task Force (JTF) and police used firearms to disperse a crowd demonstrating against a planned demolition in the Bundu waterfront community, Port Harcourt, leaving 11 seriously injured.br /
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quot;The intentional use of lethal force is only permitted where strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,quot; said Amnesty International’s Africa director, Erwin Van der Borght .br /
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quot;The government must promptly investigate any deaths or injuries resulting from the use of firearms by police and JTF. Those suspected of excessive use of force should be prosecuted in fair trials, in accordance with international standards without recourse to the death penalty.quot;br /
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Violence flared after government authorities, accompanied by around 40 heavily armed soldiers and police officers, arrived in Bundu to assess buildings earmarked for demolition. br /
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Locals, including women and children, confronted the soldiers and police. They demonstrated against the intended demolitions and blocked their entry into the community. br /
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According to eyewitness accounts, two armoured vehicles drove into the crowd and soldiers and police officers then began firing. br /
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Although most fired into the air, several security officers are reported to have fired directly into the surrounding crowd. Stray bullets are reported to have hit houses, shops and cars. br /
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One eyewitness told Amnesty International that his sister was shot in the leg by a bullet fired into her house. br /
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Some of the people who were shot reportedly fled into the water and escaped into the mangroves. br /
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Eleven people were treated in hospital for gunshot wounds. Amnesty International also received reports that soldiers beat several people.br /
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Twenty-three men were arrested and subsequently charged with conspiracy, breaching the peace of the community and destruction of public property. They were then taken to Port Harcourt prison.br /
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According to Rivers State authorities, the security forces were fired on when they entered the community by people who ldquo;benefitted from the reign of lawlessness in Bundu waterfrontrdquo;, forcing them to use their firearms in self-defence. br /
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Members of the community and local NGOs deny this. No soldiers or police officers were injured. br /
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Amnesty International has called on the federal and state governments to ensure that security forces only use force in a manner that complies with international human rights law and standards. br /
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It was the second time in a week that the authorities had attempted to enter the community to assess buildings in Bundu, which is one of the largest waterfront communities in Port Harcourt. br /
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The state government is in the process of demolishing the houses in several waterfront communities and has been paying compensation to owners of property. br /
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Those who do not own their house or shop, or who are unable to prove it, do not receive any compensation or alternative housing.br /

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Short film about forced eviction in the Ngofaka-polo Waterfront community Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Njemanze and Abonnema Wharf are within the project site of a commercial entertainment project called quot;Silverbird Showtimequot;. UN-HABITAT estimates that quot;the Silverbird Showtime projectquot; alone will lead to land clearance affecting between 100,000 and 150,000 people.br /
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emThis video was produced as part of an initiative by Amnesty International in the Netherlands to work with local African film production companies to document the realities of forced evictions for people living on the continent.nbsp; /embr /
/p

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/nigeria-eviction-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Governments in Africa must end the practice of forced evictions that leave hundreds of thousands homeless every year, Amnesty International said on World Habitat Day, 5 October.br /
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In most cases evictions are conducted without any due process, consultation, adequate notice or compensation. Officials carrying out the evictions often use excessive force against residents.br /
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quot;It is completely unacceptable that governments across Africa continue to act in violation of regional and international law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoplesrsquo; Rights,quot; said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s Africa Programme Director.br /
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quot;Governments have a responsibility to ensure that no further forced evictions take place in Africa and that victims of forced evictions receive adequate alternative housing and access to effective remedies.quot; br /
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Amnesty International has documented cases of forced evictions in Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The effect of forced evictions can be catastrophic, particularly for people who are already living in poverty.br /
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quot;Forced evictions result not only in people losing their homes and personal possessions, but after forced evictions people may no longer be able to access clean water, food, sanitation, work, health and education,quot; said Erwin van der Borght.br /
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As recently as July and August 2009, mass forced evictions were carried out in Angola, Chad, Kenya and Nigeria. br /
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In Angola, between 20 and 26 July, around 3,000 families were forcibly evicted from their homes in the adjoining neighbourhoods of Iraque and Bagdad in Angolarsquo;s capital Luanda. The familiesrsquo; homes were demolished, their possessions destroyed, and they were left without shelter. br /
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In Chad, since February 2008, tens of thousands of people have been made homeless after being forcibly evicted from their homes in Nrsquo;Djamena, Chadrsquo;s capital. Houses and other structures have been demolished in several neighbourhoods. Homes were still being demolished in late July 2009, and more people are at risk of being forcibly evicted.br /
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In Kenya, in July 2009, approximately 3,000 people were forcibly evicted from their homes in Githogoro village, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The evictions were carried out without adequate notice or any consultation with those affected. Many were left without shelter, some being forced to live in the rubble of their former homes, and without access to clean water, sanitation or health care.br /
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In Nigeria, in August 2009, the government of Rivers state began forcibly evicting thousands of people to make way for a cinema complex: thousands more remain at risk of forced eviction and destitution. Many of those facing forced eviction claim the state government’s consultation on the planned evictions was not adequate. The people who live there have received no adequate alternative housing.br /
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People from all over the African continent are planning protests on World Habitat Day to condemn the mass forced evictions being carried out by governments. br /
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Survivors of mass forced evictions, residents of informal settlements and Amnesty International supporters in Burkina Faso, Cote drsquo;Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe will speak out with one voice against forcible evictions in Africa on 5 October 2009. br /
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Amnesty International members in Austria, Canada, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US will engage in simultaneous campaigning activities in solidarity with their call. br /
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quot;The mobilisation of people from all over Africa in defiance of the hugely destructive practice of mass forced evictions carried out by governments continent wide is a wake up call to African leaders,quot; said Erwin van der Borght. br /
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quot;People will not stand by as their homes are illegally destroyed by their government.quot;br /
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As part of its Demand Dignity campaign Amnesty International calls on governments in Africa to adopt guidelines for evictions, based on the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, and which comply with international human rights law.br /
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strongLet Africa’s leaders know what you think/strongbr /
SMS your own personal message to +447786 200 220 [local operator charges apply] saying why forced evictions in Africa need to be brought to an immediate end. Your message will be passed on to governments all over the continent and will be displayed on a href=http://www.demanddignity.orgwww.demanddignity.org/a.br /
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strongSign a petition/strongbr /
Download the petitions below targeting the authorities in Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. They are designed to be printed on large banners that people can write on. You may want to use the text of the petitions to design your own petitions or postcard actions.br /