Nigeria: Whether non-Yoruba can become members of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC); whether non-Yoruba are accused of or suspected by the police of being members of the OPC

The Nigeria researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW) and author of its February 2003 report "The O'odua People's Congress: Fighting Violence with Violence," provided the following information, in correspondence with the Research Directorate, regarding non-Yoruba membership in the Oodua People's Congress (OPC):

I never heard of any non-Yoruba joining the OPC, and I can't imagine many non-Yoruba would be interested in doing so, as the organisation is clearly defined by its ethnicity. However, it is not impossible. The OPC's constitution (section 5 on membership) states first of all that membership of the OPC is open to all Yoruba, but also to "other tribes who have by incidence of marriage associated with Yoruba people and who have manifested a clear identification with the Yoruba people and its struggle"; also "honorary membership of the OPC may be conferred on any person who may have made contributions to the progress of the Yoruba people. It may also be conferred on men and women who have demonstrated unwavering commitment to the OPC and its policies" (14 Apr. 2003)

the HRW researcher said that she had learned of a "few cases of non-Yoruba people who were (wrongly) accused by the police of being OPC members" (HRW 14 Apr. 2003). The section on "Arrests, Detention and Torture" in the HRW report on the OPC states that "[s]ome of those arrested by the police were not even OPC members" (HRW Feb. 2003, 41). According to HRW, the National Human Rights Commission detailed "several cases," in a letter to the Lagos police, of individuals who were "arbitrarily arrested and wrongly accused of being OPC members" in the aftermath of "violent" clashes at Ketu/Mile 12 in November 1999 (ibid.). The report also states that there were cases in which the police arrested the relatives of OPC members when they could not find the member (ibid.). In addition, "[r]eal or suspected OPC members who were arrested systematically faced torture at the hands of the police. While police torture is a widespread and entrenched problem in Nigeria, the torture directed at OPC members was often particularly brutal" (ibid.).

Additional information on whether non-Yoruba can become members of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC) and whether non-Yoruba are accused of or suspected by the police of being members of the OPC could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

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.

References

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 14 April 2003. Correspondence with Nigeria researcher.

_____. February 2003. Vol. 15, No. 4 (A). "The O'odua People's Congress: Fighting Violence With Violence." [Accessed 17 Apr. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential

African Research Bulletin

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

Africa Online

AllAfrica.com

BBC Africa

Biafra Nation

Daily Champion

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

New Nigerian

Newswatch Nigeria

Nigeria Daily

World News.com

World News Connection (WNC)

World Press Review

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