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Rights group files 8,000 cases with human rights panel

    ABIDJAN

    A minority rights group has filed 8,000 cases of human rights abuses with a government body established to review violations by past military administrations, news reports said.

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP)presented the documents to the Oputa Panel on human rights violations.

    However, Acting MOSOP President Ledum Mitee said the petitions had been rejected on technical grounds, `The Guardian' newspaper reported on Monday. MOSOP said it could not afford the one million naira (US $9,600) required to produce 10 copies of each of the cases filed.

    AFP quoted Mitee as saying the cases were "a challenge" to the panel and Nigeria's justice system. MOSOP said it wanted the panel to recognise the degree to which the regime of the late General Sani Abacha instituted a reign of terror in the country.

    MOSOP has been fighting for the rights of the Ogoni people in southeast Nigeria. In late 1995, nine of its members, including its leader Ken Saro-wiwa, were executed after being sentenced to death by a military tribunal.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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