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Banned vigilante leader charged with murder

    ABIDJAN

    A leader of a banned ethnic militia group appeared in a Lagos court on Friday on charges including murder, robbery and illegal possession of arms, the BBC reported.

    Ganiyu Adams, head of a hard-line faction of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), denied the 23 charges against him. The case has been adjourned until 14 September. Adams, who has a legal defence team of 15, was arrested on Wednesday after being on the run for 20 months. He resurfaced recently holding rallies in several southwestern towns in a show of defiance and impunity. Police declared him wanted in November 1999 following clashes, allegedly spearheaded by his group, between Yorubas and Hausas in Lagos resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.

    Human rights lawyer Gani Fawehinmi and the director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance, Beko Ransome-Kuti, had earlier called for a speedy trial, the newspaper ‘ThisDay’ reported. Meanwhile OPC supporters protesting Adams’ arrest burnt tyres in central Lagos on Friday, disrupting commercial activity for several hours. Police made no arrests.

    The OPC was formed by Frederick Fasehun in 1995 to defend the interest of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. In 1999, following the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba, a split emerged within the OPC with Fasehun heading a more moderate wing.

    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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