About 90 suspected OPC members charged, news reports say

About 90 people suspected of being members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a militant pressure group, were charged at Lagos Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday over the killing of a senior police officer, news organisations reported on Wednesday. The suspects were charged with conspiracy, murder, throwing acid and stealing firearms, ‘The Vanguard’ newspaper reported. The Chief Magistrate refused to grant them bail and ordered that they be remanded in prison custody pending the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). A further hearing has been set for 28 February 2000, the daily said. The police officer was reportedly kidnapped on 9 January and killed by a group of suspected OPC members who invaded a police station in Bariga, a suburb of Lagos. Two other policemen on whom the attackers poured acid are also thought to have died, ‘The Vanguard’ said. Meanwhile, the Nigerian parliament on Tuesday gave President Olusegun Obasanjo 30 days to take “decisive action” against OPC members over alleged murder, arson and acid attacks, AFP reported state television as saying. The legislators also called for the resignation of senior police officials for their failure to tackle the OPC. At a meeting on Tuesday in Kaduna, a town in the north of the country, prominent northern elders led by former President Shehu Shagari denounced the activities of the OPC, ‘The Guardian’ reported. The elders resolved to harmonise the north’s interests under one umbrella and said they would soon present the region’s position on national issues to the federal government. The meeting also endorsed the creation of the Arewa People’s Congress (APC), a northern “social cultural group” whose activities, the elders said, would not be subversive.