Nigeria Content Online

Amnesty
International has called for the retrial of the seven Nigerians who
were convicted by a court in Equatorial Guinea for their alleged
involvement in an attempted coup in that country.

A court in the
capital city of Malabo, on April 5, sentenced the Nigerians, consisting
of six men and one woman, to 12 years imprisonment each, on charges of
attempting to assassinate Teodoro Nguema Mbasogo during an alleged
attack on the presidential palace last year.

“The Equatorial
Guinean authorities must take action to make sure these men receive a
fair trial,” said Tawanda Hondora, deputy Africa director of the human
rights’ organization. “They were denied access to proper legal
representation, and their complaints that they had been tortured in
custody have not been investigated. Neither has the death in custody of
one other Nigerian woman.”

Fishermen or coup plotters?

The accused
reportedly pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, and claimed to be
fishermen and traders who found themselves lost at sea and had drifted
into Equatorial Guinea waters where they were arrested by the navy.
Amnesty reports that a Nigerian woman also detained at sea has since
died in custody.

According to media
reports, gunmen in speedboats launched the attack on the presidential
palace in Malabo in the early hours of February 17, 2009. The
Equatorial Guinea government moved swiftly to blame the Movement for
the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, a militant group in southern
Nigeria for the attack.

The agency also
demanded that the Equatorial Guinea authorities release two members of
the country’s opposition party, the People’s Union, who have been kept
in prison six weeks after they were reportedly acquitted of all charges
levelled against them.

“Later on the day
of the attack, the Equatorial Guinean navy arrested the Nigerian men
and women in a boat in Equatorial Guinea territorial waters,” stated
Katy Pownall, Amnesty’s acting African press officer. “No weapons were
found in the boat.” Following their arrest, the Nigerians and the two
UP members were held incommunicado and without charge until mid-October
2009 in Black Beach prison in Malabo. All were reportedly tortured to
extract ‘confessions’ from them.”

The seven
Nigerians: Marck Etim Marck, Eyoh Okon Ikara, Eyon Kun Jhon, Effiong
Matew, Okokon Iyanam (aka Mintay), Isangadighi, and Ekaette Eyo Okon, a
woman, were tried between March 17 and 22, 2010, by a court of appeal
in Malabo, the Tribunal de Apelación de Malabo.

Denial of fair trail

“They were not
allowed access to a lawyer until a few days before the trial started
and were thus denied the right to present an effective defence,” stated
Amnesty International. “No weapon or other evidence was presented in
court to sustain the charges against the Nigerian nationals.
Nevertheless, the court dismissed their claims that they were fishermen
and traders and convicted them on the basis of weather reports for 16
and 17 February, 2009. According to the reports, the weather was good
and therefore, visibility was good so they could not have been lost in
fog and strayed into Equatorial Guinean waters.”

During their trial,
the defendants and their lawyers reportedly complained of torture,
including the death in custody of a Nigerian woman, but were stopped by
the president of the court who allegedly dismissed the claims as
irrelevant to the proceedings.

“The authorities must grant the Nigerian detainees access to
lawyers, consular personnel and any medical treatment they may
require,” said Mr Hondora.