Rights group slams Nigeria over killings

The Bakassi Boys act as judge and jury

By Dan Isaacs BBC correspondent in Lagos

The Nigerian Government is under pressure to disband state sponsored vigilantes operating in Eastern Nigeria.

The US-based human rights group, Human Rights Watch, says that the vigilantes, known as the Bakassi Boys, have carried out scores of extra-judicial killings as well as hundreds of cases of torture and arbitrary detention.

It is a common perception amongst ordinary Nigerians that the national police force, underpaid and under resourced, has failed to tackle soaring levels of violent crime.

The vigilantes claim to be backed by magic charms

The local response in some urban areas has been the introduction of vigilante forces, such as the Bakassi Boys, who are now officially supported and financed by state government.

Their methods in dealing with criminals are unquestionably violent, but their success in reducing the levels of armed crime has been welcomed by many local communities.

However, in its report, Human Rights Watch says that the techniques used by these vigilante groups and, specifically, the Bakassi Boys, are totally unacceptable.

The report also says that those apprehended as criminals are given no access to the justice system and that summary executions are carried out as a matter of course.

Armed militias

The author of the report, Carina Tertsakian, says that the Bakassi Boys have effectively taken over the functions of law enforcement in these states and yet they are completely unaccountable.

The findings of this report will not shock Nigerians. Across the county, such vigilantes operate at the local level, meting out summary justice on those criminals they catch.

Onitsha market in Anambra state is under the 'protection' of the Bakassi Boys

The vigilantes know, as does the general public, that handing criminals over to the police is not likely to lead to prosecution.

However, the report says that the use of armed militias in the run-up to democratic elections is of even greater concern.

Human Rights Watch says they are being used to intimidate perceived political opponents of those in positions of power.

If this were to become widespread, as Human Rights Watch suggest it could, it is likely to profoundly affect the country's stability in the election period.