DATE=4/20/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=NIGERIA / MOSOP (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261567
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=ABIDJAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A leading human-rights activist in Nigeria has
filed a counter-suit against the police for allegedly
detaining him illegally last week. Ledum Mittee of
the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, was
released on bail on Tuesday, after spending five-days
in jail in connection to a violent protest against the
Shell Oil Company. Correspondent John Pitman has more
from our West Africa bureau.
TEXT: Ledum Mittee says the police broke the law last
week when they detained him without charge beyond the
24-hour limit allowed by the constitution.
One of Mr. Mittee's lawyers tells V-O-A the lawsuit
will ask for five-million dollars in damages plus a
public apology from the police.
Speaking to V-O-A two-days after being released on
bail and being officially charged with arson,
conspiracy, and destroying property, Mr. Mittee said
he was not guilty, and would fight for his rights.
/// MITTEE ACT ///
I think the Nigerian law says I am entitled to
compensation, I am entitled to (a) public
apology by the police.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Mittee was detained on April 13th apparently in
connection with an outbreak of violence in his home
town, K'dere, two-days earlier.
On April 11th, a confrontation between ethnic-Ogoni
supporters and opponents of a new road project by the
Shell Oil Company left up to 10 people dead when
police intervened.
As the leader of the Movement for the Survival of the
Ogoni People, Mr. Mittee has been an outspoken critic
of Shell's operations in the section of southeastern
Nigeria that makes up Ogoniland.
But Mr. Mittee says he was not involved in the
violence on April 11th because he was in Nigeria's
capital that day, arguing an unrelated case before the
supreme court.
Medubari Deekor, one of Mr. Mittee's lawyers in Port
Harcourt, tells V-O-A the charges against his client
are - preposterous.
// OPT // And Mr. Deekor says the defense team is
optimistic about beating the charges against Mr.
Mittee when the court resumes its hearings on May
third.
The defense team, which is led by a prominent Lagos
lawyer, Femi Falana, says it will target
jurisdictional problems with the prosecution's case.
Mr. Mittee says his lawyers will argue that the case
should be thrown out because the magisterial court in
Port Harcourt is not eligible to hear arson cases. He
adds that Port Harcourt is also an inappropriate venue
for the trial, since the alleged crimes were not
committed there. // END OPT //
Still, Mr. Deekor says despite his optimism, this case
bears uncomfortable similarities to the case brought
against the Ogoni playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and 15
other activists - including Mr. Mittee - in 1995.
// OPT // Mr. Deekor says this case is, in his words,
- a replay - of that trial, with the notable exception
that a civilian court is hearing the case this time,
not a military tribunal.
/// DEEKOR ACT // OPT ACT ///
As far as the charges against him were concerned
they were similar because this is somebody who
was not there. He traveled two-days before that
date in K'dere, in Ogoni. And preposterously he
was charged with inciting people to do what they
did, which they did on the spur of the moment.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists were hanged
following their trial in 1995, sparking an
international campaign to isolate the military
government of the day, led by General Sani Abacha.
Ledum Mittee escaped the hangman in 1995. If
convicted of the arson charge now pending against him,
he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
// OPT // This case comes as Shell has tentatively
begun returning to the Ogoni area, which it abandoned
in 1993 under pressure from protests led by the
Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People.
Speaking to V-O-A, Mr. Mittee said he believes his
opposition to Shell's return was directly related to
his arrest. A coalition of Nigerian human-rights
groups have also recently accused Shell of sponsoring
violence in Ogoniland, a charge the company denies.
Lawyer Medubari Deekor says the company may also be
trying to buy its way back into the hearts and minds
of the Ogoni people, by offering to build new roads
and other lucrative projects.
/// DEEKOR ACT #3 ///
Well, I cannot name names, but there are so many
people, especially local chiefs and elected
representatives of the people. You know, it is
the method of Shell to deal with people who
appear easier, who appear to be soft. Instead
of dealing with MOSOP, they prefer dealing with
people who are soft.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
Shell was unavailable to comment for this story, but
Tuesday a spokesman told the Reuters news agency that
the company was interested in - reconciliation,
development and a speedy return to normalcy in
Ogoniland. (SIGNED)
NEB/JP/GE/ENE/RAE
20-Apr-2000 14:16 PM EDT (20-Apr-2000 1816 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
