Militants freed from jail
2005-11-14 19:20
Lagos - A Nigerian court on Monday dropped murder charges that had been levelled at the leaders of a militant ethnic group and ordered that they be freed from jail.
Frederick Faseun and Gani Adams, rival faction leaders of the banned Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), have been detained since October 27 on suspicion of fomenting a deadly Lagos riot.
But Judge Sybil Nwanka of Lagos High Court said the prosecution had been unable to link the pair directly to the deaths during the unrest and had dropped all charges.
The decision followed a request for their release by defence counsel Gabriel Kolawole Ajayi.
"Based on the application by the learned SAN (senior advocate of Nigeria) and without opposition from the prosecution team, the accused are released unconditionally forthwith," she said.
OPC notorious for violence
She said the Lagos state's director of public prosecution had written to advise the court to release the suspects because they could not be linked directly to the mayhem.
Neither Faseun and Adams were in court on Monday, but their lawyer said the ruling would be communicated to the prison for their release.
A brand of brutal law enforcement
The OPC was set up by Faseun in 1994 to defend the interests of the 40-million-strong Yoruba ethnic group after Nigeria's then-dictator Ibrahim Babangida cancelled an election apparently won by a Yoruba politician. A year later a more militant faction led by Adams split from the group.
In the past, the OPC has been implicated in many acts of political and ethnic violence, and has become notorious for its own brand of brutal law enforcement in several Yoruba communities.
The enmity between the two factions spilled over into violence last month when OPC militants battled for control of lucrative Lagos bus routes, leaving between three and 12 people dead.