Nigeria

Ten-Year Summary

The Federal Republic of Nigeria acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 27 September 2001, and the treaty entered into force on 1 March 2002. Nigeria has stated since 2004 that it is in the process of enacting national legislation to implement the treaty. Nigeria stated in 2001 that it no longer possessed antipersonnel mines, but in 2004 declared that it had a stockpile of 3,364 mines, and indicated that it would retain the entire stock for research and training purposes. However, Nigeria reported that it destroyed all of these mines in 2005. Yet, in its Article 7 report submitted in 2009, Nigeria again listed 3,364 mines as retained for training and stated that it had destroyed 9,786 stockpiled mines in 2005.

It is not known to what extent Nigeria is contaminated with landmines, although contamination from explosive remnants of war (ERW) has been reported across nine states. In May 2009, Nigeria reported a possible mine threat left over from the Biafra conflict in the 1960s to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings. Its Article 5 deadline for clearance of antipersonnel mines in mined areas is 1 March 2012.

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Nigeria is not known. Landmine Monitor identified at least two casualties from 1999 to 2008, but these figures do not represent the real scope of the problem, as the number of casualties from the Biafran conflict has never been established. In 2009, the government announced the beginning of data collection on survivors. There is no risk education program in Nigeria. Services for persons with disabilities are limited and there is no legislation prohibiting discrimination.

Mine Ban Policy

Nigeria acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 27 September 2001, and the treaty entered into force on 1 March 2002. Nigeria has voted in favor of every UN General Assembly resolution calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty since 1996.

Nigeria has stated since 2004 that it is in the process of enacting national legislation to implement the treaty. Its latest Article 7 report stated, “Domestication of MBT is in progress.” It further stated that an inter-ministerial committee had been formed to prepare a draft bill and that once drafted, the bill would be presented to the National Assembly for consideration.^[1] In a July 2007 letter to the ICBL, Nigeria indicated that the draft legislation would criminalize any activity prohibited under the convention and “as far as the application of Article 9 of the treaty is concerned, Nigeria’s efforts have reached an advanced stage.”^[2] Nigeria previously reported that as of December 2005, the implementation bill was undergoing its first reading in the National Assembly.^[3]

Nigeria submitted an Article 7 report in 2009, which covered an unspecified period from 2006 to 2009. Nigeria submitted three previous Article 7 reports.^[4]

Nigeria attended the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2008, but did not make any statements. At the meeting, it was named co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies. It attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2009, where it made a statement outlining how it planned to investigate recent reports that there may be mined areas in Nigeria.^[5] In the past, Nigeria has reported that there are no mined areas under its jurisdiction or control.

With respect to matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3 of the treaty, Nigeria has indicated that its draft implementation legislation “prohibits transfer of anti-personnel mines through any part of the Nigerian territory.”^[6] Nigeria stated in 2005, after reporting that it had destroyed all mines it had previously retained under Article 3, “If you are really convinced about a mine free world, what would you need mines to train for?”^[7] Nigeria has not made known its views on issues related to joint military operations with states not party and antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices.

In March 2009, the IANSA Women Network (Nigeria) organized a roundtable discussion to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty’s entry into force and to review Nigeria’s progress towards full implementation of the treaty. The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Nigerian Police, and the Ministry of Environment, as well as by foreign diplomats, the ICRC, NGOs, and the media. A main focus of the meeting was on how Nigeria had not yet adopted national implementation measures.^[8]

Nigeria has signed but not ratified the Convention on Conventional Weapons. It signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 12 June 2009, but had not ratified as of 1 July 2009.^[9]

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and use

Nigeria is not known to have ever produced or exported antipersonnel mines. In the past, Nigeria has stated that it has not acquired or used antipersonnel mines since the 1967–1970 Biafra Civil War. Nigeria has denied allegations that its Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) troops used mines in the 1990s in Liberia and Sierra Leone.^[10]

In February 2001, the Chief of Operations of the Nigerian army reported to Landmine Monitor that Nigeria had destroyed its antipersonnel mines remaining after the war, and had retained none for training or development purposes.^[11] In May 2002, however, Nigeria presented photographs to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction showing that antipersonnel mines were among munitions involved in a January 2002 fire and explosion at the Ammunition Transit Depot in Ikeja Cantoment, Lagos.^[12]

In its initial Article 7 report in 2004, Nigeria declared a stockpile of 3,364 so-called ‘Dimbat’ mines and reported that it would retain the entire stockpile for research and training.^[13] Following the Mine Ban Treaty’s First Review Conference in 2004, Nigeria reversed this position and issued a presidential directive to destroy the mines. In April 2005, Nigeria reported that all of its retained mines had been destroyed.^[14] Nigeria stated, “With the completion of these destruction exercises, we are able to report that there are no more anti-personnel mines on Nigeria soil.”^[15] However, in its 2009 Article 7 report, Nigeria again listed 3,364 “British made AP mines” as retained for training.^[16] Moreover, it reported that it had destroyed 9,786 stockpiled “British made AP landmines” in 2005 under the supervision of the then President.^[17]

Scope of the Problem

Contamination

Nigeria is contaminated with explosive remnants of war (ERW), primarily as a legacy of the Biafra conflict that ended in 1970.^[18] Contamination was reported across nine states: Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo; as of end-June 2009, according to the Minister of Defence, a total of at least 649 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) had been identified.^[19] The extent of any landmine problem is not yet known, although media reports in 2009 suggested that landmines formed part of the residual threat.^[20] Nigeria’s Article 7 report submitted in 2009 stated that there were suspected mined areas in the “war-affected areas in the Eastern part of Nigeria” that might be contaminated with “Biafran ‘locally fabricated’ explosive device (OBGUNIGWE), which was used as AP Landmine.”^[21]

Casualties

There were no reports of new mine/ERW casualties in Nigeria in 2008 or in 2009, as of May 2009.^[22] In 2004, Nigeria reported that “we have not had mine-related incidents for a very long time.”^[23] However, in January 2009, the Ministry of Defence reported that “cases of explosions of unexploded mines have continued to be a threat to our people’s lives [sic] causing loss of lives and property.”^[24]

The only two mine incidents ever identified in Nigeria occurred in 2002 and were reported by the media. In January 2002, after an explosion occurred at the Lagos Ammunition Transit Depot, a young man was reportedly injured after stepping on a landmine at the scene.^[25] In its 2005 and 2004 Article 7 reports, however, Nigeria stated that “no casualty was reported.”^[26] In December 2002, a person of unknown gender and age was injured by an ERW.^[27]

In September 1997, 11 Nigerian soldiers from the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) were killed in a mine explosion in Sierra Leone.^[28] It is not known if any Nigerian soldiers involved in peacekeeping operations since have been killed or injured by landmines.^[29]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Nigeria is unknown. The Biafran conflict claimed a number of landmine victims, although their number has never been established.^[30] In 2009, the government announced plans to count mine survivors in 10 states: Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, and River.^[31] In January 2009, an interministerial Committee was set up to deal with mine issues; one of its tasks was collecting mine survivor data.^[32] In April 2009, the chair of the committee reported that a team had been sent to the Ebonyi state, in southeastern Nigeria, to count mine survivors.^[33] Nigeria did not report on progress made in collecting casualty data at the Standing Committee meetings in May 2009.^[34] In its Article 7 report submitted in 2009, Nigeria stated that 147 survivors had been identified in a resettlement center in Anambra state and additional 41 outside of this the resettlement center.^[35]

Program Management and Coordination

There is not yet a formal mine action program in Nigeria, although there are plans to establish one. In April 2009, the chair of the Committee on Landmine Clearance and Unexploded Ordnance from the Ministry of Defence visited Ebonyi state in accordance with President Yar’Adua’s approval for the clearance of landmines and UXO arising from the Biafra conflict.^[36]

It is unknown which governmental body has the final responsibility for mine/ERW survivors. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is in charge of disability issues.^[37] The interministerial Committee on Landmine Clearance and Unexploded Ordnance reported that, upon identification of mine victims in Nigeria, a request for assistance will be submitted to the UN.^[38]

Demining and Battle Area Clearance

As of May 2009, a demining program was not yet underway. In May 2009, at the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Nigeria declared that it was discussing with the Mine Ban Treaty’s Implementation Support Unit the possibility of technical assistance in demining. An initial assessment mission was said to be planned for July 2009.^[39]

Progress since becoming a State Party

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Nigeria is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2012. Nigeria has reported to States Parties on the possibility of mine contamination through the Standing Committees and in August 2009 submitted an Article 7 report in which it declared suspected mined areas. Should mine contamination be confirmed, Nigeria declared its commitment to addressing it as quickly as possible.^[40]

Risk Education

From 1999 to 2009, there was no formal risk education program in Nigeria. The government declared in earlier Article 7 reports that Form I was not applicable to Nigeria.^[41] However, in its latest Article 7 report, Nigeria reported that, from 2006 to 2009, basic awareness messages were disseminated through posters, media, and sign posts; churches and mosques also provided some basic awareness.^[42]

In May 2009, at the Standing Committee meetings, Nigeria stated that if the technical assessment planned was to confirm the presence of mined areas, Nigeria “will do what is required to ensure the effective exclusion of civilians until all AP mines contained therein have been destroyed.”^[43]

Victim Assistance

The number of survivors is unknown, but at least 188.^[44] The number of persons with disabilities in Nigeria is also unknown, although the World Health Organization has estimated that some 19 million people are disabled (20% of the population).^[45]

Nigeria is classified among the 25 poorest countries in the world,^[46] and its health system is said to be in poor condition.^[47] Services for persons with disabilities are limited; medical care and rehabilitation are inadequate.^[48] Prosthetics remain unaffordable for the majority of the disabled population.^[49] There are government-run vocational training centers in Abuja and Lagos for poor persons with disabilities.^[50] There are several international and national NGOs working within the disability sector including Leonard Cheshire Disability, the Leprosy Mission, and Christianblinden Mission.^[51]

Support for Mine Action

Landmine Monitor is not aware of any comprehensive long-term cost estimates for fulfilling Nigeria’s mine action needs, including risk education and victim assistance. No international mine action funding was reported for Nigeria in 2008, nor was any reported in 2007. Nigeria did not report national funding in 2008, but its 2009 Ministry of Defence budget includes an item for “Enumeration of Landmines Victims and Removal of Anti-Personnel Mines,” with appropriations in 2009 amounting to N100 million (US$680,000).^[52] In its 2009 Article 7 report Nigeria reported contracting a consultant to carry out “pre-enumeration of landmine victims and removal of mines and explosive remnants of war”, starting in January 2009, but did not specify the contract amount or the consulting party involved.^[53] There is not enough data on landmine contamination or casualty statistics to assess the adequacy of national funding in meeting Nigeria’s mine action needs.