Nigerian students still in prison 18/6/99 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ............................................................... source - socappeal@easynet.co.uk Nigerian students still in prison - June 18th, 1999 Dear all, Over a month has gone by now since a group of Nigerian students was arrested in Ilorin, Nigeria, during a student protest against the increase in University fees. (See previous statements: http://www.marxist.com/appeals.html). The students were badly beaten by the police. They are being kept in terrible conditions. They depend on outside help for food and water. In Nigerian prisons you have to fend for yourself, the authorities do not provide food. The students have been arrested and held on fabricated charges for the sole purpose of intimidating them. The charges are criminal conspiracy, trespass, incitement, disturbance, mischief and resisting arrest! The ridiculous thing about this whole affair is that the charges the students are facing only carry a one week prison sentence or even a fine. The latest report we have is that the judge granted a form of bail last week but he attached ridiculous conditions: that each guarantor must be a man and he must have landed property in Ilorin town. This is tantamount to not granting bail at all. How can poor Nigerian students find a guarantor who is also a land owner? This is just a (not so) clever trick on the part of the judge. It shows that the authorities are determined to continue with this brutal victimisation of students who dared challenge them in their attacks on the right to education in Nigeria. The latest we have (16th June) is that the students are still being held in prison. Therefore we must keep up the campaign of protest. And we need to raise money to cover the cost of getting help to the students while they are prison and to pay for the legal costs they are incurring. We now have the full list of names of the arrested students: Bashiru Idris, Akeem Kareem, Ogunjinmi Niyi, Adeleye Fatai, Adesoji Faleye, Akindele Femi, Ogundepo Gbenga, Egbeleke Aderopo, Tosin Akinrogunde, Sola Adeyelu, Isiaka Adegbile Letters of protest demanding that charges be dropped and the students released, should be sent to: (in Britain) Nigerian High Commission, Nigeria House 9 Northumberland Avenue London WC2N 5BX Fax: 0171-839-8746 You can also phone the High Commission on 0171-839 1244 Letters bringing the case to the attention of the Labour government should be addressed to: Right Honourable Robin Cook MP, Foreign Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH Donations should be made by cheque payable to the Nigerian Legal Defence Fund9 and sent to PO Box 6977, London N1 3JN, Great Britain. Payments can also be made into our special account with the Girobank (The Post Office) in Britain. The account name is: Nigerian Legal Defence Fund. The account number is: 38 332 3282. Letters and Telegrams should also be sent to: The Chief Magistrate Mallam B. Garba, Ministry of Justice, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. This is VERY IMPORTANT because there is actually no guarantee that the Embassy will pass on the protest letters. The judge himself must be made aware of the fact that there is a solidarity campaign taking place. NOTE: Please send a copy of any letters of protest you do manage to get sent to our campaign address: Nigeria@socappeal.easynet.co.uk WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN CANADA For your information we are sending you details of what has been possible to achieve in Canada. Student activists have taken up the campaign and have managed to get the backing of the Canadian Labour Congress Paul Puritt of the CLC is paying a visit to Nigeria and he intends to take the CLC's concerns around this issue, up with the Nigerian Labour Congress and report back any changes in the situation. The Nigerian Labour Congress also sent the CLC a letter confirming the detention of the students. "The Nigeria Labour Congress is in support of the students campaign against commercialisation of Education in Nigeria, and broadly support the call for their unconditional release from detention. The Kwara State council of the Nigeria Labour Congress has made contact with the detained students, as they are being detained in Ilorin. We will therefore support any solidarity action of the Canadian Labour Congress to draw attention to the plight of the Nigerian students." --------- The CLC also sent the President of Nigeria the following letter. Other letters of this kind would be very useful. June 17, 1999 The Presidency Aso Rock Abuja, Nigeria Dear President Obasanjo, The Canadian Labour Congress which represents 2.3 million organized Canadian workers is shocked to hear of the arrest and continued detention of students in Illorin, the Kwara State capital. Student protests against increases in school fees in universities and other higher learning institutions are a perfectly legitimate form of democratic expression. Given the high hopes that accompanied your recent inauguration as civilian state president, we are surprised to see this reversion to the old, cruel tactics of previous Nigerian regimes. We urge you to immediately investigate this matter and ensure that these students are unconditionally released. Yours sincerely, Robert White President ---------- We are also attaching a list of some of the Nigerian embassies around the world to which protest letters can be addressed: AUSTRALIA Nigerian High Commission 27 State Circle , Box 241, Civic Square ACT 2208, Canberra Telegraph: NIGERIA CANBERRA AUSTRIA Embassy of Nigeria Rennweg 25, A-1030 P.O. Box 262, 1031 Vienna Telex: 047-11583 BELGIUM Embassy of Nigeria Avenue de Tervuren 3B, 1040 Brussels Tel: 735.40.71, 735.40.72 Telegraph: NIGERIAN BRUSSELS CANADA Nigerian High Commission Place de Ville, Tower A Suite 2000 320 Queen Street Ottawa, Ontario Tel: 236 0521, 0522, 0523 Telegraph: NIGERIAN OTTAWA DENMARK (This Embassy also serves the following countries Sweden, Finland & Norway) Embassy of Nigeria Box 628, 11427 Stockholm, Sweden Tel: 08/246390 (6 lines) Telegraph: NIGERIAN STOCKHOLM FRANCE Embassy of Nigeria 173 Avenue Victor Hugo, Paris 16E Tel: 704-68-65, 704-68-66, 704-68-68 Tel: EMBNIGERIA PARIS GERMANY Embassy of Nigeria 53 Boom-Bad Godesberg, Goldbergwang 13, Bonn Tel: 322071, 322075 Telegraph: NIGERIAN BONN ITALY Embassy of Nigeria Via Orazio 14 00193, Rome Tel: 380341-44 Telex: 610666 PAKISTAN Embassy of Nigeria Box 22465, 22466 Telegraph: NIGERIAN ISLAMABAD PORTUGAL Embassy of Nigeria Avenue Frei Miguel Contreiras 54A 10, Lisbon RUSSIA Embassy of Nigeria UL. Kachalovia 13, Moscow Tel: 290-37 85 Telegraph: NIGERIAN MOSCOW SPAIN Embassy of Nigeria Terra de Madrid Pits, 16 Apto 1 Plaza de Ispana 18, Madrid Telegraph: NIGERIAN MADRID UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Embassy of Nigeria 1333 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20003 Or Consulate-General of Nigeria 575 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10022 Telegraph: NIGERCON NEW YORK Or Consulate-General Of Nigeria 828 Second Ave, New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-808-0301 -------- MODEL PROTEST LETTER We are sending you a model letter to facilitate you. Obviously it would be advisable to change it adding your own points. But we are providing the basic information you require. The Presidency Aso Rock Abuja, Nigeria or High Commissioner etc., Dear Sirs, I/we am/are shocked to hear of the arrest and continued detention of students in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. The students were arrested on 10th and 11th May in Ilorin during a student protest against the increase in University fees. The arrested students are: Bashiru Idris, Akeem Kareem, Ogunjinmi Niyi, Adeleye Fatai, Adesoji Faleye, Akindele Femi, Ogundepo Gbenga, Egbeleke Aderopo, Tosin Akinrogunde, Sola Adeyelu, Isiaka Adegbile. The students have been arrested and held on fabricated charges for the sole purpose of intimidating them. The charges are criminal conspiracy, trespass, incitement, disturbance, mischief and resisting arrest! The ridiculous thing about this whole affair is that the charges the students are facing only carry a one week prison sentence or even a fine. The Chief Magistrate in Ilorin, Mallam B. Garba, initially refused bail. Now he has granted a form of bail but has attached ridiculous conditions: that each guarantor must be a man and he must have landed property in Ilorin town. This is tantamount to not granting bail at all. How can poor Nigerian students find a guarantor who is also a land owner? It shows that the authorities are determined to continue with this brutal victimisation of students who dared challenge them in their attacks on the right to education in Nigeria. Student protests against increases in school fees in universities and other higher learning institutions are a perfectly legitimate form of democratic expression. The recent inauguration of a civilian state president had raised hopes that the old, cruel tactics of the previous Nigerian (military) regimes would no longer return. Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case. We urge you to immediately investigate this matter and ensure that these students are unconditionally released. Yours Sincerely, Nigerian Legal Defence Campaign Campaign for a Workers and Youth Alternative (Nigeria) CAMPAIGN FOR THE RELEASE OF INCARCERATED STUDENTS (CARIS - Nigeria) Nigeria@socappeal.easynet.co.uk PO Box 6977, London N1 3JN, Great Britain. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytaf-06.23.99-11:57:55-3893