10 Nigerians still missing in Gambia, says Amnesty International
From Senator Iroegbu in Abuja, 11.12.2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Amnesty International has revealed a gruesome murder of 10 Nigerians and unlawful detention of several others in the Gambia.





This was contained in a detailed report titled ‘Gambia: Fear Rules’, which was launched yesterday in Abuja.

The report said that more than 50 foreigners, including 44 Ghanaians and about 10 Nigerians were intercepted by the Gambian security forces in the waters off Gambia on 23rd July, 2005 while on their way to Europe.

The men, according to the report, were brutally murdered afterwards on the pretence that they were coup plotters allegedly planning to overthrow the government of President Yahya Jammeh.

The government alleged that they were suspected of being on their way to Gambia to overthrow the government during Gambia’s Independence Day celebrations.

According to a Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) report, the men were taken to Naval Headquarters in Banjul, divided into groups of eight and taken to a site in the farms of Siffoe in Gambia’s Western Division.

“When they were at the fields, members of security forces reportedly killed the detainees using machetes, axes, knives and other sharp objects. The bodies were then indiscriminately dumped at various locations, among them the village of Brufu, near Siffore”, the report stated.

Unfortunately, efforts to initiate an investigation have been slow and mired in problems. Ms Nana Oye Lithur of CHRI said that while efforts to bring the Ghanaian government to respond yielded little result that of Nigerian government was a total silence.

“I am surprised by the attitude and total silence of the Nigerian government. We sent letter to the former President Obasanjo’s government on two occasions but there was no acknowledgement. Initially, Ghanaian government did not want to respond but eventually opened up after we made so much noise about it.

They said that they sent investigators but have to stop when there was no cooperation from the Gambian government.

"It is amazing that 44 Ghanaians and other Africans were killed and nothing was done. Even the way they were killed was horrible. How can you hack young men down with cutlasses and bury them in a shallow grave,” he said.

As we speak now, we don’t know what has happened to these people. Right now about 8-9 bodies have been found but yet to be returned”, Lithur said.


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