Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Stop the Deportation of Akubuo!!!

Stop the Deportation of Akubuo!!

Akubuo is in deportation prison !!!
Monday 20th November police have entered the office of IMRV at 11.45am
searching for Akubuo. They came right after Akubuo entering the office and
arrested him. from coming into deportation prison on he started a hunger
srike !

This is not the first time that Akubuo has faced the vengeance of the German
authorities. In Autumn 1998, in the immediate aftermath of the five-week
protest demonstration through 44 German cities of the \\'Caravan for the
Rights of the Refugees and Migrants\\', Akubuo, who took part throughout this
protest, was whisked into deportation prison with obscene haste. The
deportation was prevented at the very last minute by energetic protests,
which included an international fax campaign driven by publicity in the
Internet, demonstrations and the intervention of Nigerian human rights
activists. This was possible because Akubuo had won the respect of many
people because of his strong political commitment to fight for the rights of
refugees and migrants in Germany and for justice and democracy in Nigeria. A
matter of hours before Akubuo was to be put on the deportation plane the
responsible Administrative Court in Schwerin decided to suspend his
deportation and conceded that the deportation of the political activist
could endanger his life.
In fact, in 1998, in response to an emergency appeal from Akubuo\\'s lawyer,
the Court in Schwerin had
Reply to the administrative court of Schwerin concerning Fehler! Textmarke
nicht definiert. from deportation for Akubuo
suspended the deportation until the case could be heard at the
Administrative court. This hearing at the Administrative Court has yet not
taken place. But, suddenly and without warning the suspension of the
deportation has been cancelled, before the Administrative Court has had an
open hearing! Incredibly what the Court has done is to decide, behind closed
doors, to contradict the decision it made in 1998, to enable Akubuo to be
deported by the foreigners police, before an open hearing at the
Administrative Court could take place!
It is no secret that the Foreigners Police in Parchim has a deep seated
hatred for Akubuo because of his aggressive campaign to expose the inhuman
conditions and the racist abuse that refugees have to suffer in this camp
and in the region. And, soon after the successful campaign of exposure of
the conditions in the refugee camp that Akubuo initiated, which even the
populist Bild Zeitung (certainly not known to be a friend of foreigners)
reported positively, the reply to the various appeals he had made on behalf
of the refugees – the notice of deportation - was sent to him! It is in this
context that the lifting of the suspension of deportation by the court must
be looked at. Alternatively we would have to believe that after nearly two
years a judge in the Administrative court in Schwerin decided on his own
initiative that Nigeria has suddenly become safe for Akubuo! In fact, it is
quite clear that specially during this period, the situation in Nigeria is
getting more and more dangerous for opponents of the regime. So in order to
justify lifting the suspension order for Akubuo the Court in Schwerin has
gone to the extent of trying to justify the repressive measures taken by
Obasanjo.
The disgusting attempt to avoid an open hearing in the Administrative Court
where Akubuo’s case is to be heard must be stopped! The truth must come out!
If they are successful in deporting Akubuo it is not only a massive blow to
the \\'Caravan for the Rights of the Refugees and Migrants\\', it is also an
attack on all those who oppose racism in Germany. We ask all those with an
interest in justice to join this emergency campaign. More information in
different languages will be available in the Internet. We ask you to send
faxes to the Administrative Court in Schwerin, and also the Minister of the
Interior in Mecklenburg Vorpommen. Please do not forget to send a copy of
the fax to the IMRV. Get organisations and individuals who you know to do
the same. Urgent and wide support is necessary to stop the deportation of
Akubuo. Please take the time to write personally and carefully and avoid
using abstract slogans.
Who is Akubuo?
In October 1993 Akubuo Anusonwu Chukwudi fled to Germany from the military
dictatorship in Nigeria. In Nigeria he was a leader of the ‘Area Boys’, the
grassroots and streetwise movement based on young people living in and
around Lagos, which is known to be the base from which most political
opposition grew. In June 1993, in reaction to the nullifying of the results
of the democratic elections, and M.K.O. Abiola being denied the presidency,
Akubuo took a central in the demonstration organised by the ‘Area Boys’, in
which over 5000 people took part. The police and the army attacked the
demonstration, shooting dead 30 participants and seriously wounding several
hundred others. The police hunted down the organisers and carried out mass
arrests. Despite receiving bullet injuries on his arm and leg Akubuo managed
to escape. In the midst of intense search operations for the ‘ring-leaders’
of the Area Boys, Akubuo, with the help of a friend managed to flee Nigeria
and arrived in Germany to apply for political asylum here. The ‘Area Boys’
apart from being very active as themselves, has an organic relationship to
the most important political movements in Nigeria , many for example have
joined the ‘Oodua People’s Congress’ and constitute their grassroots power.
In Germany Akubuo continued his political activities in Germany with the
same determination. His political commitment in exile contributed to the
development of a strong international resistance against the Military Junta
in Nigeria. He is member of the United Democratic front of Nigeria (UDFN),
one of the most important opposition groups of Nigeria under the presidency
of the literature Nobel Prize winner professor Wole Soyinka.
But being an African political asylum seeker in Germany, Akubuo experienced
the racism of the German society and of the authorities. Akubuo’s
irrepressible spirit, and his continuous protests at all forms of injustice
landed him in Luebeck detention cell in July 1997. He became friends with
his cell neighbour, a young refugee Tijani from Niger. One day he heard
security guards entering the neighbouring cell and the sound of violence.
Tijani cried out in pain: ‘Akubuo...! I am dead!’. When Akubuo hammered
against his cell door, wanting to attract attention to help Tijani. A
security guard came to his door, and threatened to kill Akubuo if he did not
keep quiet. For the first time, Akubuo felt powerless and filled with fear
stopped protesting. He did not see Tijani again.
The hardships he faced as a refugee in Germany widened his horizon of the
struggle for justice. The Caravan demonstration in 1998 provided him (like
it did for many others) with a method to express himself. Many in the
Caravan became acquainted with his untiring commitment to the human rights
of the refugees in Germany. Very quickly Akubuo, now a member of the ‘Voice’
, became one of the most impressive and irreplaceable activists of the
Caravan.
After the Caravan in late 1998, Akubuo’s continuing resistance to the
maltreatment of refugees brought him prison again, this time in preparation
for deportation. Although the Caravan movement was able to defend Akubuo and
secure his release, the success was clouded by a human tragedy. Nigerian
friends in Germany, who knew that the deportation practically meant Akubuo’s
death sentence, had conveyed the news of his threatened deportation to
trusted friends of Akubuo in Lagos. The news reached Akubuo’s mother, on
hearing it collapsed and died.
The heartbreak and the terror that Akubuo had to suffer as a consequence of
his engagement in the Caravan did not break his spirit. He continued to
protest about the conditions in the refugee camps in Mercklenburg Vorpomen
starting with his own camp - with no roads, electricity not being regular,
no neighbours, nearest train station 30 km away, nearest bus stop over 3 km
away, nearest shop 10 km away etc. He protested against the ‘residenzphlict’
which restricts the travel of refugees outside the police area (landkries),
against the social exclusion and criminalisation of the refugees, against
the extreme poverty the coupon (gutshien) system and against the physical
abuse and the psychological torture that the refugees face day to day.
Germany\\'s greed for cheap oil pushes Nigeria towards civil war
- not democracy
The assertions and the comments that the Administrative Court makes in
cancelling the deportation stop for Akubuo, shows the interplay between the
Germany\\'s disintegrating asylum policy and its economic interests in the
country concerned - Nigeria. After making the ridiculous assertion that
\\'asylum seekers from Nigeria do not face political persecution anymore when
deported\\' the judge appears to contradicts him/herself stating that the
Oodua People\\'s Congress (OPC) indeed faces persecution by President
Obasanjo. The judge then goes on denouncing the OPC and justify Obasanjo\\'s
persecution of it!!
Some may think that the task of the judge is to determine whether the asylum
seeker has a \\'well founded fear of persecution\\' and not to pass judgement on
the political forces in the country concerned. But this would mean that the
judge would have to rise above the crude racist pressure in Germany which
gives rise to the deportation of over 50,000 people every year, and also to
rise above the crude economic interest that Germany has in Nigeria. But
instead, displaying the arrogance of the truly ignorant he asserts that
Akubuo will not face similar persecution to that of the OPC because the OPC
is an ethnic organisation and Akubuo is of a different ethnicity.
The OPC was founded and is led by Yoruba intellectuals after the
cancellation of the presidential elections in 1993 which was won by Chief
MKO Abiola. It has been at the forefront of the campaign for a Sovereign
National Conference and the fight for self-determination following over 3
decades of military rule. The OPC has the same spirit as the murdered
activist Ken Saro Wive\\'s fight for the rights of the Ogoni people against
the Oil multinational\\'s destruction. Self-determination has been an
important issue from the time of the military coup in 1966, when the Federal
Constitution and the regional autonomy was abrogated. It was well known that
the British were very much involved with the coup because military rule
enabled the British to extract oil most efficiently. The post independence
government of Nigeria (in 1960) had negotiated regional autonomy which was
seen as crucial to ensure justice, democracy and stability in the
multi-ethnic nation. But it was clear to the oil multinationals that
autonomous peoples power was an obstacle to its profits. This is why in
Nigeria, the fight for self determination is seen as the key to oppose the
centralised system which was imposed by military dictators and oil
multi-nationals. So, it is easy to understand why the ideals and the goals
of the OPC are so popular with the masses. While it is a pre-dominantly
Yoruba group, many people from other ethnic groups across the country
readily identifies with it and share their ideals. In fact the OPC has
inspired the formation of similar organisations fighting for self
determination throughout the southern part of the country. For the judge to
classify the OPC as an ethnic group that can only be joined by Yorubas only
goes to show typical European arrogance in wanting to reduce the progressive
struggles of Africans to ethnicity or tribalism.
As it is a fact that an important part of the power base of the OPC are the
Area Boys, the recognition by the court of the persecution of the OPC by the
present regime is a direct acknowledgement of the danger that awaits a
personality like Akubuo on return to Nigeria. When the President in his
infamous broadcast to the nation and international press ordered the arrests
or ‘shoot at sight’ of anybody who identify himself as member of the OPC or
even sympathisers, it brought to the fore what was being previously done but
always denied by the government.
Who are the terrorists?
The judge continues the offensive against the OPC, asserting that \\'some of
their members went underground and used partly terroristic means\\' and that
\\'it is politically necessary that Obasanjo tries to protect the civilian
population from such attacks\\'. Was it \\'politically necessary\\' in the summer
of 1999, for the Obasanjo government to send in a battalion of soldiers to
rape women, wipe out a whole of Odi town which resulted in the deaths of
over two thousand people and terrorising the others to flee, in the Niger
Delta?. Was it \\'politically necessary\\' that Obasanjo\\'s order in September
1999, to \\'shoot at sight\\' members of the OPC resulted in hundreds of not
only peaceful OPC activists but ordinary citizens being killed? The truth is
that the OPC has an impressive record of non-violent political action, and
that the continued terror >from the military on its membership and support
base has forced parts of it to attempt to organise some sort of physical
defence before they are completely exterminated.
What seems to be \\'politically necessary\\' is for the judge to find an escape,
so that if Akubuo is arrested or killed after he is deported the judge has
already prepared himself the basis to argue that it was not his fault, and
not Obasanjo\\'s fault and in fact it was probably Akubuo\\'s own fault!
The reality is that Akubuo is facing deportation because he is exposing the
daily racism and the systematic human rights violation that refugees face in
Germany. The German government sees in Obasanjo someone who it can do
business with. The struggle\\'s of the OPC and other democratic and
progressive forces fighting for the rights of the people is seen by Germany
as being against its economic interests in Nigeria. It is the greed for a
source of cheap oil, greed for investment and export opportunities that
determine how the German government looks at Obasanjo and those opposing his
regime. The judge in the Administrative Court is using these extremely
biased positions about Nigeria derived from German Foreign policy to pave
the way for the deportation of Akubuo and at the same time try to escape the
responsibility for a grave miscarriage of justice. The consequence of this
can be that an political opponent of the German government being tortured
and even killed in Nigeria all with the backing of the German legal system.
This must not be allowed to happen!
More information in different languages will be available in the Internet.
(www.humanrights.de) We ask you to send faxes to the Administrative Court in
Schwerin, and also the Minister of the Interior in Mecklenburg Vorpommen.
Please do not forget to send a copy of the fax to the IMRV. Get
organisations and individuals who you know to do the same. Urgent and wide
support is necessary to stop the deportation of Akubuo. Please take the time
to write personally and carefully and avoid using abstract slogans.
Verwaltungsgericht Schwerin
Wismarsche Straße 323
19055 Schwerin
Fax: +49-385-5404114
Innenminister des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Dr. Gottfried Timm
Arsenal am Pfaffenteich
Karl Marx – Str. 1
19055 Schwerin
Fax: +49-385-588-2974
+-49-385-588-2972
Ministerpräsident des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Dr. Harald Ringstorff
Staatsanzlei
19048 Schwerin
Fax +49-385-565144

Contact:
Karawanegruppe Rostock
Postfach 108170
18012 Rostock

The Voice Africa Forum
Schillergäßchen 5
07745 Jena
Tel: 03641-665214
Fax:03641-423795
and
Die Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und Migrantinnen Bremer
Koordinierungsbüro: Internationaler Menschenrechtsverein Bremen e.V
Wachmannstr. 81 28209 Bremen Tel.: (0421) 5577093 Fax: (0421) 5577094

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