'just move them' - Amnesty International

‘just movethem’FORCED EVICTIONS INPORT HARCOURT,NIGERIAhousing is ahuman right

amnesty international is a global movement of 2.8 million supporters, members andactivists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abusesof human rights.our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the universaldeclaration of human rights and other international human rights standards.We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest orreligion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations.amnesty international publicationsfirst published in 2010 byamnesty international publicationsinternational secretariatpeter Benenson house1 easton streetLondon Wc1X 0dWunited Kingdomwww.amnesty.org© amnesty international publications 2010index: afr 44/017/2010original language: englishprinted by amnesty international,international secretariat, united Kingdomall rights reserved. this publication is copyright, but maybe reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy,campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale.the copyright holders request that all such use be registeredwith them for impact assessment purposes. for copying inany other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications,or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission mustbe obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable.to request permission, or for any other inquiries, pleasecontact copyright@amnesty.orgCover photo: abonnema Wharf waterfront in port harcourt,rivers state, nigeria. the area has been named as the nextto be demolished as part of the city’s redevelopmentprogramme. thousands of residents are at risk of forcedeviction as a result.© amnesty international

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FORCED EVICTIONS IN PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIACONTENTS1/INTRODUCTION 12/BACkGROUND 3FoRced evIctIons In the wAteRFRonts 43/PORT HARCOURT’S ‘URBAN RENEwAl’ PROGRAMME 6A ‘mAsteR plAn’ FoR the cIty 7lAck oF AdequAte AlteRnAtIve housIng 9the sIlveRbIRd showtIme development 94/lACk OF PRIOR CONSUlTATION AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION 115/TENANTS’ RIGHTS IGNORED 13the stAte goveRnment’s ResponsIbIlIty As lAndloRd 136/IRREGUlARITIES IN THE ENUMERATION PROCESS 15excessIve use oF FoRce duRIng enumeRAtIon At bundu 16InteRnAtIonAl stAndARds on the use oF FoRce And FIReARms 187/PROVISION OF lEGAl REMEDIES 208/FORCED EVICTIONS IN NJEMANzE 21lAck oF AdequAte notIce 21enumeRAted, vAlued, demolIshed – but not pAId 24people leFt homeless And vulneRAble 249/NIGERIA’S INTERNATIONAl OBlIGATIONS 2710/CONClUSION 2811/RECOMMENDATIONS 30ENDNOTES 33Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

ii‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalNjemanze resident Love Basset Okpabio and her family. The home she livedin with her husband and five children was demolished on 28 August 2009.She received no eviction notice, no compensation and no alternativeaccommodation.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA11/INTRODUCTION“we suffered a lot… when thebulldozers came… [e]verythingwas lost… food utensils, television,fridge, a lot of things, my clothes, mychildren’s clothes… my children’sbooks, birth certificates. There wasnothing [we could do]… I slept thatnight at that compound oppositeNjemanze… I slept with my children,my husband; rain was falling.”love bassett okpadio, resident of njemanze informal waterfront settlementin port harcourt, Rivers state, nigeria. the home she lived in with herhusband and five children was demolished on 28 August 2009. she receivedno eviction notice prior to the eviction, no compensation and no alternativeaccommodation.On 28 August 2009, Njemanze informal settlement inPort Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, was demolished aspart of the state authorities’ urban renewal programmefor the city. It is estimated that between 13,800 and19,000 people 1 were forcibly evicted from their homes.These evictions were carried out without prior andgenuine consultation with residents and without theprovision of adequate notice, compensation oralternative accommodation and legal remedies.Thousands of people, including children, women andthe elderly were left homeless and vulnerable to otherhuman rights violations.Njemanze is one of more than 40 waterfrontsettlements 2 in Port Harcourt, which make up someof the city’s most densely populated areas. 3 If theauthorities continue with the planned demolitions ofall remaining waterfront settlements without firstimplementing adequate human rights safeguards,more than 200,000 people will be at risk of losing theirhomes and livelihoods.The Rivers State government claims the demolition ofthe waterfronts is necessary to implement the GreaterPort Harcourt Master Plan, the main strategydocument for the city’s redevelopment programme.But the plan has been developed without consultationwith the communities affected and it has not beenmade publicly available. The state governor has alsorepeatedly stated that “the demolition exercise [will]sanitize and check criminal activities” 4 in the city.In addition, the enumeration (the collection of detailedinformation about a community, including buildings andresidents) and valuation of Port Harcourt’s waterfrontproperties have been conducted with considerableirregularities. In one settlement, these preparatory stagesfor demolition have been accompanied by excessive useof force by Nigerian security forces. At least 12 peoplewere shot and seriously injured in Bundu waterfront on12 October 2009 when armed security forces openedfire on a crowd of people peacefully protesting againstthe proposed demolition of their homes. Eyewitnessestold Amnesty International they saw six dead bodiespiled in the back of a Hilux police pick-up truck. Onebody was traced to a morgue by a relative. The totalnumber of dead remains unknown. A year later, noinvestigation has been carried out. 5Nigeria is a party to the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) andother international and regional human rights treaties,which require it to realize the right to adequatehousing, and to prevent and refrain from carrying outforced evictions. Under international human rights lawand standards, the government must carry out genuineconsultation with communities to identify all feasiblealternatives to evictions and on resettlement options,provide adequate notice, adequate alternativeIndex: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

2‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty Internationalpeople further into poverty and into more insecure andovercrowded housing. It also contradicts the stategovernment’s own goals on poverty reduction as describedin the Rivers State Economic Empowerment DevelopmentStrategy (RIVSEEDS), which commits the authority tothe “gradual phasing out of waterfront settlementsthrough annual reconstruction and allocation.” 8This report documents the August 2009 forced evictionof Njemanze waterfront residents and examines failuresby the Rivers State government to provide safeguardsagainst forced evictions in its preparation for thedemolition of other settlements in the waterfront areas.Port Harcourt’s waterfront settlements are built on reclaimed land along thecity’s shoreline. Though some residents hold temporary occupancy licences,issued by the authorities, that permit them to build temporary structures,others have no documentation for their ownership and use of the land. Someresidents have lived in the waterfronts for more than 30 years.accommodation, compensation, and effectiveremedies. Under state law, the Rivers Stategovernment is required to set up bodies to oversee the“upgrading” process, carry out public consultationsand explore alternatives to demolitions. 6 National andstate laws also require governments to providealternative accommodation and/or compensation. 7The Rivers State government is failing to meet theseobligations to the Port Harcourt waterfront residents.The demolition of the waterfronts in Port Harcourt alsoruns contrary to Nigeria’s commitment to the UNMillennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically toreduce the number of people living in slums by 2020(Goal No. 7, Target 11). Demolition of the waterfronts,far from solving the problem of slums, will push Nigeriafurther away from achieving its MDG targets, by drivingThe report is based on interviews and research carriedout in December 2009 and April 2010 in PortHarcourt. Amnesty International delegates visited thewaterfront sites and met families whose homes hadalready been demolished and others whose homeswere at risk of demolition. They interviewed propertyowners, tenants and landlords, and residents who hadbeen subjected to excessive use of force in Bundu.They also met the governor of Rivers State, theCommissioner for Urban Planning and Development,and the Administrator of the Greater Port HarcourtDevelopment Authority. They spoke to lawyers, humanrights NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs),and tenant, house-owner and landlord associations.Amnesty International is calling on the Rivers Stateauthorities to cease all forced evictions immediatelyand to adopt a moratorium on all evictions from thewaterfronts in Port Harcourt. The moratorium mustremain effective until all necessary safeguards havebeen put in place to ensure that evictions are carried outin accordance with international human rights law andstandards, including the development of a resettlementplan to provide adequate alternative housing toresidents. The authorities should undertake a genuinepublic consultation on the Greater Port Harcourt MasterPlan and ensure that it complies with internationalstandards, in particular on the right to adequatehousing. They should also fully implement the RiversState 2003 Physical Planning and Development LawNo. 6, by establishing all required legal bodies tooversee planning and development in the state.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA32/BACkGROUNDPort Harcourt, capital of Rivers State, is located inNigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta. The waterfront settlementsare built on reclaimed land along the city’s shoreline.Accurate information on the number of people livingin the waterfronts is not available but it is estimated tobe between 200,000 and 500,000 people. 9 The vastmajority of residents are believed to be tenants.The failure by the Rivers State government to collectcomprehensive data about all residents including tenantsprompted the UN Human Settlements Programme(UN-HABITAT), in their 2009 report, to stress the“urgent need for a thorough enumeration” inunplanned settlements in Port Harcourt. 10Because the reclaimed land on which the settlementswere built is not officially designated as residential,the residents have frequently been issued TemporaryOccupancy Licences (TOLs). These licences permitthe holder to build temporary structures but exclude theuse of certain permanent building materials, such asconcrete. TOLs can be revoked with just seven daysnotice and without payment of compensation. Mostof the waterfront structures have been built withpermanent material not permitted under the termsof the TOL. However, as UN-HABITAT has pointed out,by regularly renewing residents’ TOLs, the stategovernment is “tacitly tolerating and recognizing thesesettlements.” 11 Other residents have no documentationfor their ownership and use of the land. Some havelived in the waterfronts for more than 30 years.UN-HABITAT and the Nigerian NGO the Social andEconomic Rights Action Center (SERAC) haveFoRced evIctIonsthe un committee on economic, social and culturalRights defines a forced eviction as “the permanent ortemporary removal against their will of individuals,families and/or communities from the homes and/or landwhich they occupy, without the provision of and accessto, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.” 18the committee has emphasized in its general commentno. 7 that evictions may be carried out only as a lastresort, once all other feasible alternatives to evictionhave been explored and all procedural protections arein place. these include “an opportunity for genuineconsultation with those affected; adequate andreasonable notice for affected persons prior to theeviction; information on the proposed evictions, and,where applicable, on the alternative purpose for whichthe land or housing is to be used, to be made availablein reasonable time to all those affected… governmentofficials or their representatives to be present duringan eviction; all persons carrying out the eviction to beproperly identified; evictions not to take place inparticularly bad weather or at night unless the affectedpersons consent otherwise; provision of legal remedies;and provision, where possible, of legal aid to persons whoare in need of it to seek redress from the courts.” 19Adequate alternative housing and compensation forall losses must be made available to those affected,regardless of whether they rent, own, occupy or lease theland or housing in question. evictions must not “renderindividuals homeless or vulnerable to the violation ofother human rights”. 20the prohibition on forced evictions does not, however,apply to evictions carried out in accordance with the lawand in conformity with the provisions of the Internationalcovenants on human Rights.the un commission on human Rights has also recognizedthat forced evictions constitute gross violations of arange of human rights, in particular the right to adequatehousing. 21Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

4‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIASatellite images show the removal of approximately 375 buildings inNjemanze waterfront, Njemanze Street and Abonnema Wharf Road between19 February 2008 (date of image above) and 11 February 2010 (date ofimage on p. 5). Analysis by the American Association for the Advancementof Science.suggested that, as the waterfront settlements are builton reclaimed land, some of the land is likely to fallunder the jurisdiction of the National Inland WaterwaysAuthority and not the state governor. The NationalInland Waterways Authority has the right to all landwithin the right of way of such waterways. If thewaterfronts fall under the jurisdiction of the NationalInland Waterways Authority, it would mean that thegovernor did not have the authority to order demolitionson this land.FORCED EVICTIONS IN THEwATERFRONTSOn taking office in October 2007, the governor of RiversState announced the plan to rebuild Port Harcourt. Healso announced the suspension of demolitions in thewaterfronts, a policy of the previous administration,stating: “We believe that the concerns of the residents ofthese waterfronts should be carefully considered beforea final decision is reached on this matter.” 12 However, inJuly 2008, the governor said during a radio broadcastthat all waterfronts would be demolished as part of aprogramme of “urban renewal”.In February 2009, demolitions of buildings and otherstructures took place along Abonnema Wharf road, 13including the local office of the National Union ofTenants Nigeria (NUTN). According to UN-HABITATapproximately 40 to 50 buildings and other structureswere destroyed.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA5The Secretary General of the NUTN told AmnestyInternational that, when their offices were demolishedin February 2009, “all the property belonging toNational Union of Tenants in its office including cash,documents and furniture and fittings were carried awayby the state government, which claimed that it hadacquired the building and everything in it.”On 6 November 2009, buildings along Njemanzestreet, adjacent to Njemanze waterfront, were alsodemolished; scores of people living there were forciblyevicted. Residents who had relocated there followingthe demolition of Njemanze waterfront were forciblyevicted a second time. All of the demolitions werecarried out without prior consultation with the residentsand without the provision of adequate notice,compensation or alternative accommodation.In 2009, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequatehousing sent three communications to the Nigeriangovernment, including two urgent appeals, expressingconcern over the situation in Port Harcourt andrequesting further information. No response wasreceived. 14On 21 August 2009, UN-HABITAT submitted to theRivers State government a report of their March 2009fact-finding mission to Port Harcourt, in which theyexpressed concern that the majority of residentsaffected by the demolitions had been forcibly evictedfrom their homes and properties. 15 It recommendedthat the Rivers State government declare an immediatemoratorium on demolitions and evictions in the cityuntil further safeguards could be fully implemented, 16concluding that: “the present policy is non-inclusiveand not pro-poor and not in compliance with theHabitat Agenda.” 17 The Rivers State governmentignored the report and the recommendation. Sevendays later Njemanze waterfront was demolished.Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

6‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA3/PORT HARCOURT’S‘URBAN RENEwAl’PROGRAMMEIn his July 2008 radio address, the governor of RiversState announced that all the waterfronts would bedemolished as part of a programme of “urban renewal”for Port Harcourt. This programme has been developedwithout any consultation with the affected communitiesand without their participation. Although mass evictionsare planned under the renewal programme, theauthorities have not developed any resettlement planto provide the hundreds of thousands of people whowill be evicted with alternative accommodation. Theyhave also only offered compensation to structureowners, completely ignoring tenants under the plans.Under Nigerian state and federal law, the eviction ofpeople from their homes is legal provided that certainprocedures are followed. According to Nigeria’s NationalLand Use Act 1978, which places all urban land underthe control and management of the state governor, whoin turn allocates land to individuals and organizations, itis lawful for the governor to revoke a right of occupancywhere it serves the greater public interest. The Actprovides for the payment of compensation and, in thecase of residential buildings, for the option of relocation. 22However, the Rivers State government claims to haveundertaken a buy-out scheme, purchasing all theproperties in the waterfront and paying owners areplacement value for them. Under this scheme,tenants have no entitlements and house owners whodo not want to sell their properties are given noalternative. The governor of Rivers State told AmnestyInternational that residents who refuse to have theirhouses valued will not be compensated for the loss oftheir property. However, their houses will still bedemolished with no offer of alternative accommodation.The Rivers State government has cited its 2003Physical Planning and Development Law No. 6 asproviding the legal basis for the demolition of thewaterfronts and the eviction of the residents. However,Law No. 6 stipulates that an “Urban Renewal Board”should be established to oversee all urban planningand development in the state. 23 This Board wouldbe empowered to declare an area, such as thewaterfronts, to be an “improvement area”. 24 Onceland has been designated as an “improvement area”,the authorities must consult affected residents, andprovide alternative housing. Law No. 6 also imposesrestrictions on demolitions. 25 No Urban Renewal Boardhas been established in Rivers State.Law No. 6 also establishes specific bodies to overseeall matters affecting physical planning anddevelopment in the state, including planning approvals,the serving of enforcement notices, and the demolition ofbuildings and revocation of rights of occupancy. Thesebodies include: the Rivers State Urban and RegionalPlanning Board; the Local Planning Authority; aDevelopment Control Department; the Urban andRegional Planning Fund; and the Urban and RegionalPlanning Tribunal (which is empowered to investigateand adjudicate on the same matters). None of thesebodies have been set up.In failing to put in place the necessary legal bodies tooversee the demolition and redevelopment of the area, theRivers State government has contravened state law.The Rivers State government has also failed to exploreall possible alternatives to demolition provided forunder Law No. 6. Article 59 states that structureslacking the required development permits may also bealtered or varied, but the government has not exploredthese options as alternatives to evictions. 26Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA7© PrivateA ‘MASTER PlAN’ FOR THE CITyIn 2007, Arcus GIBB, a construction, engineeringand consultancy firm based in South Africa, wascontracted to develop a “master plan” for PortHarcourt, updating an earlier plan formulated in 1975but never implemented. 27 The plan, launched in April2009, is intended to guide the development of the cityfor the next 50 years. It encompasses the entire cityand some surrounding areas and the “developmentof the waterfront promenade” is a central feature. 28The Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights has stressed the importance of genuineconsultation with, and participation by, affectedcommunities in the design of housing strategies andprogrammes, to ensure that they are relevantand effective and that human rights are respected. 29The Nigerian government is also obliged to respect theBulldozers demolish Njemanze waterfront, 28 August 2009. Residents didnot have time to pack their things. Many lost everything.rights to information and to participation in publicaffairs, as protected by Articles 19 (2) and 25 (a) ofthe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), ratified by Nigeria on 29 July 1993. 30No public consultations were carried out before orduring the development of the Port Harcourt masterplan. A Nigerian developer told Amnesty International:“the Greater Port Harcourt Master Plan is a standardtown planning manual. Although it runs to fourvolumes, there are few specifics. No in-depth socioeconomicstudy was done. Ideally it should have takena couple of years. There should have been a householdsurvey, a social survey.”Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

8‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalMany of Port Harcourt’s waterfront residents also run businesses within thesettlements. Nigeria’s informal economy is estimated to account for 60 percent of employment.Amnesty International and other NGOs in Nigeriarequested copies of the plan from the Greater PortHarcourt City Development Authority but the plan wasnot available. The only publicly available document is amap, the Greater Port Harcourt City Spatial DevelopmentMap, with zoned areas of residential and non-residentialuse. These residential areas are indicated as low,medium or high density. The areas on the map wherethere are currently waterfront settlements are designatedas “built-up areas,” rather than residential ones.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA9lACk OF ADEqUATE AlTERNATIVEHOUSING“[Residents] are not entitled toanything because the land is not theirown, it is government land, and theywere not allocated land to build otherthan a few of them for temporary stay.” 31Rivers state commissioner for urban developmentThe UN Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights has clarified that adequate alternative housingand compensation for all losses must be madeavailable to those affected by evictions.The Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority,which is responsible for implementing Port Harcourt’smaster plan, 32 states in its plan showreel that thedevelopment of the waterfronts will “go hand in handwith the implementation of a strategic relocation planto ensure that the people currently living in unsafe andflood-prone areas [are] resettled in newly servicedareas.” 33 However, no details of the relocation planare available and the Rivers State government hasconfirmed that they have no plans to relocate waterfrontresidents following their eviction. 34 The governor toldAmnesty International: “We need to just move themand they will have to find their own accommodation.” 35The Authority suggested that residents would be able tomove to new buildings in another part of the city, but thatpeople will be expected to take up these opportunitiesthrough their own means. No additional financialassistance will be available. The state government claimsthat “residents of the waterfronts [will be able] to… buyresidential units for between 2 and 5 million naira”(US$13,000-32,000). 36 However, according to a localdeveloper citing the example of Rainbow Town, where upto 10,000 people were displaced to make way for luxuryflats, “the cheapest flat is expected to be approximately 40million naira, an amount equivalent to US$264,000”. Thisfigure is well beyond the reach of the waterfront residents.THE SIlVERBIRD SHOwTIMEDEVElOPMENTPort Harcourt’s redevelopment is to be funded partlyby the Rivers State government and also by publicprivate partnership initiatives. 37 The settlements ofNjemanze waterfront, Njemanze street and AbonnemaWharf road, which have already been demolished, andAbonnema Wharf waterfront which is targeted fordemolition next, are all within a 2km radius of one suchproject, “Silverbird Showtime”. According to UN-HABITAT, the demolitions at Njemanze waterfront andadjacent areas, and the planned demolition ofAbonnema Wharf waterfront are “motivated by theSilverbird Showtime project.” 38 UN-HABITAT estimatedthat the demolitions of Abonnema Wharf and Njemanzewaterfronts alone would affect 45,000 people.The Silverbird Showtime development consists of aneight-screen cinema, opened in April 2009, and otherplanned commercial projects including a theme park,a conference centre, a shopping mall and a hotel.In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) betweenthe Rivers State government and SilverbirdCommunications Ltd, which owns the development,the government agrees to ensure “peaceful evacuationand relocation of present occupants”. It also statesthat the Rivers State government will ensure neatsurroundings within a 2km radius of the site. TheRivers State government provides 20 per cent ofthe investment for the enterprise, and receives 20 percent of the profits in return. It is expected to leasethe land to Silverbird for 99 years. 39According to a Nigerian developer, similar arrangementswill govern the redevelopment of the other waterfronts:“The government provides land and the privatedeveloper provides money. The government’s partof the deal is to ensure the land is unoccupied andunencumbered. Once the government has done that,[the project] gets developed and [the government andthe company] share the profits. Silverbird is the model.Ordinarily, public private partnership isn’t a problem,it happens all over the world, but the duty of care ismissing here.”Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

10‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© PrivateWaterfront residents and their allies march on 5 October 2009 (WorldHabitat Day) in protest at the demolition of Njemanze and the proposeddemolition of all other waterfronts in Port Harcourt.Another MoU was signed on 8 September 2008between Silverbird Showtime Ltd and the Rivers Stategovernment (partners) and representatives ofAbonnema Wharf Community. It makes no referenceto “evacuation and relocation” or “neat surroundings”.The signatories from the community say that there wasno mention of demolitions at the time the MoUwas agreed.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA114/lACk OF PRIORCONSUlTATION ANDACCESS TOINFORMATION“The people are not saying thedemolition is bad. They are saying [it]is a developmental process. you mustcome down to the people, liaise with thepeople properly, then, most importantly,you have to relocate the peoplesomewhere... you don’t just come anddemolish the place and throw thepeople away. where will they go to?”Fubara tokuibiye samuel, community organizer in port harcourtThe UN Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights has stated that “States shall ensure prior tocarrying out any evictions, particularly those involvinglarge groups, that all feasible alternatives are exploredin genuine consultation with the affected persons” 40The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines onDevelopment-based Evictions and Displacement 41(Basic Principles), as developed by the UN SpecialRapporteur on adequate housing, reflect existingstandards and jurisprudence on the issue of forcedeviction. They include detailed guidance on the stepsthat should be taken prior to, during and followingevictions in order to ensure compliance with relevantprinciples of international human rights law. TheBasic Principles provide that “States should explorefully all possible alternatives to evictions. Allpotentially affected groups and persons, includingwomen, indigenous peoples and persons withdisabilities, as well as others working on behalf of theaffected, have the right to relevant information, fullconsultation and participation throughout the entireprocess, and to propose alternatives that authoritiesshould duly consider”. 42The authorities have failed to comply with theserequirements. Residents of the Port Harcourtwaterfront settlements have not been given adequateinformation about the proposed demolitions there orthe intended use of the land. According to residentsinterviewed by Amnesty International, the Rivers Stategovernment has only engaged with house ownerswho are willing to sell their properties and has notundertaken consultations with other potentially affectedmembers of the communities.In an attempt to make the governor engage with theirconcerns, waterfront residents have petitioned the stateand federal governments and staged numerous protests.On 9 July 2009, the governor met waterfrontcommunity leaders at Government House in PortHarcourt. However, instead of establishing a genuineconsultation process, the governor, who has repeatedlystated that “there is no going back on the demolitions”, 43threatened to use the combined forces of the police,navy, air force and army to demolish the waterfronts:“[Mobile police] men will be there with their guns;policemen will be there with their guns; army will bringtheir own; air force bring their own; navy will bring theirown for me to go and take back my land.” 44Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

12‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalRooftops of Elechi Beach waterfront, situated next to Njemanze.Enumeration has taken place, but house owners have not been told howmuch they will receive for their properties.When a woman attending the meeting told thegovernor that the women of the waterfronts would notagree to sell their land, the governor replied: “WhenI am coming [to demolish] even you, you will run…inside Government House, [there are] army trucks,that one that can shoot you. It is here… I will showyou one. But I won’t use it, because you are my ownpeople. I am begging for you not to confrontgovernment… This one [Njemanze] they are finished[paying], I will go and pay and start demolishing sothat you will know I am serious... Give me seven days.I will start demolishing the ones I have paid for, sothat you will know I am serious. And once I finish thatone, nothing will stop me from [continuing todemolish outwards].” 45On 14 and 15 July 2009, hundreds of residentsfrom the waterfronts marched through Port Harcourtto protest against the demolition and to seek anaudience with the governor. Several people werearrested on their way to Government House. LoveBasset Okpabio was one of the tenants that triedto meet with the governor: “We march to theGovernment House [but] a lot of us were held back.Police catch us… we have to bail ourselves out of[jail]... They catch both men and women. My cousinwas among them. [He stayed] four days [in detention]and [paid] bail [of] 5,000 naira (approximatelyUS$30)... [At the demonstration] they say we areillegal people, that they have paid the landlord.” On6 October 2009, protestors prevented an attemptedenumeration at Bundu waterfront.The lack of consultation and information about thewaterfront demolitions has fuelled rumour andspeculation among residents and heightened tensionin the area. SERAC warned in their September 2009briefing that the way the Rivers State governmentundertook the demolition of Njemanze waterfront, andthe planned demolition of the other waterfronts “hassucceeded in pitching landlords against tenants, tribesagainst tribes... If not properly handled, the waterfrontdemolitions could spiral in the wrong direction, deepenmistrust amongst communities, and fuel another cycleof violence in the Niger Delta region... demolition of thewaterfronts [is] widely perceived to be motivated bypolitical and ethnic considerations...” 46Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA135/TENANTS’ RIGHTSIGNOREDto eat. How will they relocate? There are some people[whose livelihood depends on] the waterside [fishing,etc.]. What would they do? Since I don’t have money, Iwould stay here [too]… Even for me it is going to be avery big problem. What of those that have no education?”THE STATE GOVERNMENT’SRESPONSIBIlITy AS lANDlORDCommunication between the state authorities andwaterfront residents has been almost exclusively withhouse owners. Tenants have been entirely excluded.Most landlords have not passed on any informationto their tenants. According to the Rivers StateCommissioner for Urban Development, this is becausethere are very few tenants in the waterfronts. Otheragencies and organizations have stated, however, thatthe majority of residents in the waterfronts are believedto be tenants. Max Lock Consultancy, in their 2009study, estimated a ratio of five tenants to one landlord. 47As a result of the lack of compensation, alternativeaccommodation and assistance with relocation,waterfront tenants who have been forcibly evicted fromtheir homes struggle to find places to stay. To securerental accommodation in other parts of the city,prospective tenants are often required to pay a depositof one or even two years’ rent in advance. Manytenants are too poor to go anywhere else.Tenants whose homes are marked for demolition andwho are consequently at risk of eviction are living inconsiderable insecurity and uncertainty. Charity Robertshas lived in Bishop Johnson waterfront since 1989. Sheand her four children aged between 8 and 23 share tworooms between them. Charity teaches in a primary schoolnearby. She says that if Bishop Johnson waterfront isdemolished she will have nowhere to go. Concernedabout the future, she says: “I’ve thought of going. Cash isthe problem… Right now, people don’t even have enoughThe state government’s buy-out scheme to purchase allwaterfront properties from the owners prior to demolitionmakes it the legal owner of those properties and, bydefault, the landlord to any tenants still living there.According to the National Union of Tenants Nigeria,this new relationship between the government and thetenants imposes upon the government a legal duty toserve on any tenant a written notice to quit and a courtorder for possession before they can be evicted. 48In July 2009 the Commissioner for Urban Developmentannounced that the “government would not beresponsible to any tenant whose rent has not expiredbefore the demolition starts” and directed landlords tostop collecting rent from tenants. 49 However, this doesnot negate the landlord’s legal obligations to the tenant.The Rivers State Rent Control and Recovery ofPossession of Premises Edict No. 3 1984, Section 38,states that “[N]o person shall demolish, remove theroof of, alter or modify a building to which this edictapplies with a view to ejecting a tenant without theapproval of [a] tribunal.” Any person who does so“shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable onsummary conviction to a fine of two hundred nairaor imprisonment for three months or both.” 50Most landlords in Njemanze who sold their property tothe state government vacated before the demolitionsbegan. The demolition notices, although addressedto landlords, were in effect served on tenants. UN-HABITAT noted in its 2009 report that “it appeared thatthe [Rivers State government] served DemolitionNotices on the tenants of its own buildings and evictedthem without any court order, thus violating statutoryrental legislation.” 51Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

14‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalMembers of the Abonnema Wharf Community House Owners Association.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA156/IRREGUlARITIES INTHE ENUMERATIONPROCESS© Amnesty International“we have given notices forenumeration but we have not decidedwhen we are going in for demolition.”commissioner for urban developmentEnumeration involves the collection of detailedinformation about a community, including abouttenants, landlords, women, children and men, youngand old. It is a mapping exercise to assess whichservices might be needed in a community, such ashealth clinics and schools. In the context of plannedevictions, it is necessary in order to know how manypeople may have to leave their homes and may alsoinclude an inventory of possessions and goods thatmay be damaged. This process has not beenundertaken in Rivers State.Valuation is a separate process to enumeration and isused to determine the value of properties prior to a saleor other acquisition processes. Enumeration can be auseful tool for authorities prior to any redevelopmentprocess to identify the people who will be affected andlikely impact. It does not need to result in evictions.However, the way in which the Rivers State governmentis conducting enumerations fails to identify all affectedpeople. Tenants are excluded from the process. It hasBlessing Briggs, a 54-year-old widow and landlady of aproperty at Abonnema Wharf waterfront, who received nonotification of the enumeration that took place in her area.also used the process largely for valuation of propertiesto determine compensation for structure owners ratherthan assess impacts of evictions on all affectedresidents.In the case of the waterfronts, the NGO StakeholderDemocracy Network told Amnesty International:“Enumeration has been undertaken primarily todetermine issues around compensation in relationto the proposed demolition, in many instancesenumeration was carried out at the same time asvaluation. And it has been carried out by the samegovernment agencies that are doing the demolitions.It is understood by all stakeholders to be related tothe demolition [process].”Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

16‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalPastor Harrison Dicason Wokoma, a resident of Abonnema Wharf waterfront,and president of Abonnema Wharf House Owners Association.On 10 February 2009, the Rivers State authoritiesbegan the enumeration of houses at Abonnema Wharfwaterfront. Local landlady Blessing Briggs, a 54-yearoldwidow, did not know the valuers were coming: “Iheard from people… [that the waterfronts would bedemolished]. They say [the governor] want to paymoney and make [us] pack… I receive no notice [ofthe enumeration exercise], no pre-information; [theenumerators] just come.”Enumeration and valuation of the waterfront propertieshave often been carried out by private companies.Throughout, the process has been characterized by alack of transparency.House owners in Abonnema Wharf and Elechi Beachwaterfronts told Amnesty International that when theyagreed to the enumeration and valuation of theirproperties, they were required to sign over Power ofAttorney to the valuers, who deducted 10 per centof the total compensation awarded as professionalfees. This fee was non-negotiable and was not fullyexplained to the house owners beforehand. Propertyowners were not told what final valuation had beenplaced on their properties.Pastor Harrison Dicason Wokoma, a resident ofAbonnema Wharf waterfront, which is earmarked fordemolition, and president of Abonnema Wharf HouseOwners Association, told Amnesty International: “Ihave a property in Abonnema Wharf community…I was not served notice… [There was] no letter.[The Association] had a series of meetings. We arenot in favour [of the demolition unless] due processis taken... [Then the] government sent people,enumerators and valuers to put numbers and markbuildings. I was in the house when they came. Theyonly said ‘whose house is this?’... Later we… had ourown valuers... But [there is] no renegotiation, nocomparison to know which work is acceptable. I don’tknow how much government wanted to pay.”AkpoBari Celestine, a project officer at Social Action,an NGO based in Port Harcourt, told AmnestyInternational: “Any enumeration carried out withoutcommunity co-operation and participation is anexercise that was not planned for the good of thepeople… the enumeration ended up as a select act tocount houses of those who support government andleaving out those who said no to such activity.”ExCESSIVE USE OF FORCE DURINGENUMERATION AT BUNDUOn 12 October 2009, government authoritiesaccompanied by armed police and members of the JointTask Force (JTF) – which comprises members of the army,navy, air force and police – went to Bundu waterfrontcommunity to conduct an enumeration and assess thevalue of structures earmarked for demolition there.Bundu is one of the largest waterfronts in Port Harcourtand home to more than 20,000 people. 52 AnAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA17enumeration had also been attempted on 6 October2009 but residents gathered at the entrance of thecommunity and the enumerators and security forcesdid not enter.© Amnesty InternationalResidents learnt of the second planned enumerationthe day before and on 12 October a crowd gatheredat the entrance to the community, next to the city’sprison, to protest against the enumeration and theproposed demolitions. Those present at the protestdescribed it as peaceful, with many women andchildren singing and chanting songs. At around8.30am, two Mobile Police armoured personnel carriersapproached the entrance of the community and parkednext to the prison. At 9am a convoy of approximately10 police and army vehicles approached the prisonjunction. 53 A small armoured vehicle leading the conveydrove into the crowd and security forces opened fire.Amnesty International interviewed 12 people who wereshot and seriously injured by security forces duringthe incident. 54 In addition, eyewitnesses told AmnestyInternational they saw six dead bodies piled in the backof a Hilux police pick-up truck. One body was traced tothe morgue by a relative. Another man who was arrestedthat morning has not been seen by his family since.Augustine Onwe (pictured centre) was shot twice during the protests atBundu Waterfront while on his way to work. He hid in a nearby house untilthe soldiers pursuing him went away. He was later treated for his wounds atTeme Clinic.Tamuno Tonye Ama, a 34-year-old man who took partin the protest, said: “Without any warning, the soldiersstarted shooting. They first fired shots in the air andthey drove their vehicles to the end of the road.Members of the community who were leading theprotest told people not to run because, at the time,they believed that the government would not shoot tokill... The soldiers started shooting again but this time,they fired shots into the crowd. I was shot on my leftthigh and the bullet is still lodged in my flesh... Wetried to run away but there was nowhere to go. Soldierskept firing and… charged towards the crowd andpeople were now running all over the place.”As people ran away, members of the security forcesfollowed them into the waterfront, shooting as theywent. According to eyewitnesses, security forcescontinued right through the waterfront up to the water’sedge. Amnesty International saw bullet holes inbuildings and structures along the route that thesecurity forces used. Seventeen-year-old Belinda JoyWilliams was shot in the leg while she was in herhouse. The bullet broke her thigh bone and she hadto wear a leg brace for several months.It was reported that, after the shooting, members ofthe security forces accompanied enumerators into thewaterfront to continue with their work.Despite clear evidence that the security forces openedfire, shot and injured several people during the Bunduenumeration, the governor of Rivers State told AmnestyInternational: “There was no firing, no shooting and noone was killed or injured on the day. In fact, nothingIndex: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

18‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty Internationaland as I lock the door, they just smash the door open.The small one begins to vomit. Two [soldiers] came inand begin beating me. They are with guns… My sonsays ‘leave my mum alone, don’t beat her.’ One of thearmy men beat [my] son to keep quiet. He’s 12 yearsold. They beat him a lot on his head and body with handand boots… One of them carried [away] the television...They confiscated [my husband’s] documents, stole ourmoney. As to this day, that fear is still inside me.”Amnesty International viewed damage to doors and locksthat residents and business owners said was caused bysecurity forces forcibly entering their properties.INTERNATIONAl STANDARDS ON THEUSE OF FORCE AND FIREARMSSeventeen-year-old Belinda Joy Williams was shot in the leg while in herhouse, some 100m away from where soldiers and police officers opened fireon residents protesting about an enumeration at Bundu Waterfront, 12October 2009. The bullet broke her thigh bone and she had to wear a legbrace for several months.happened at all.” 55 In a somewhat contradictorystatement that appeared to be a justification for the useof force and firearms, the Commissioner for UrbanDevelopment claimed that the government authoritieshad been attacked. 56 However, no other witnessesreported seeing anyone other than security officerscarrying or firing weapons. No soldiers or police officerswere injured.Several women at the Bundu waterfront protest werebeaten by members of the security forces. PatienceOsirn had been taking part in the protest. On hearing theshooting, she ran back to her house where her threechildren were: “I tell them lie flat and stay like that ‘tillafter the sound stops. [The army men] they follow meWhen police or other security forces carry out evictionsthey must uphold international human rights law andstandards, including the UN Code of Conduct for LawEnforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles onthe Use of Force and Firearms by Law EnforcementOfficials. The excessive use of force by Nigeria’ssecurity forces in Bundu waterfront communityon 12 October 2009, including the use of firearms onprotesters, is contrary to Nigeria’s international humanrights obligations and national laws.Principle 9 of the UN Basic Principles on the Use ofForce and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials makeclear that firearms can only be used in very limitedcircumstances, for example when there exists a graveor imminent threat of death or serious injury and whenstrictly unavoidable in order to protect life.” 57 PrincipleNo. 3 also restricts the use of “less than lethalweapons”: “The use of ‘less than lethal’ weapons,such as tear gas or pepper spray, should be carefullycontrolled to minimize the risk of endangeringuninvolved persons.”Principle No. 12 of the UN Basic Principles on the Useof Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officialsclarifies that security forces must not use force toAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA19© Amnesty Internationaldisperse lawful and peaceful assemblies. PrincipleNo. 14 states that, in the case of violent assemblies,security forces must only use firearms when lessdangerous means are not practicable and only to theminimum extent necessary. 58During preparations for evictions in Bundu waterfront, Nigerian securityforces used excessive force against residents, who were intimidated, beatenand shot at. One resident, Patience Osirn, ran back to her house where herthree children were when she heard the shooting but security forces followedher there.Whenever the use of force and firearms is unavoidable,law enforcement officials must “exercise restraint insuch use and act in proportion to the seriousnessof the offence and the legitimate objective to beachieved.” 59 By misusing lethal force or using excessiveforce in a manner that violates the principles ofnecessity and proportionality, the police and othersecurity forces can violate the prohibition against“arbitrary deprivation” of life. 60Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

20‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty International7/PROVISION OFlEGAl REMEDIESNjemanze waterfront residents’ personal belongings are piled at the side ofthe road near the site of the demolition. People had nowhere to go and notime to pack.In addition to the right to life, the actions of the securityforces also violate other rights, such as the right ofpeaceful assembly. The right of peaceful assembly isprotected by Article 21 of the ICCPR, ratified by Nigeriaon 29 July 1993; 61 and by Article 11 of the AfricanCharter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ratified byNigeria on 22 June 1983. 62The Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights has stressed that “legal remedies or proceduresshould be provided to those who are affected byeviction orders” 63 and where necessary and possible,legal aid should be provided to people who are in needof it to seek redress from the courts. 64Many waterfront residents in Port Harcourt are alreadyliving in poverty. Those evicted are unlikely to be ableto afford lawyers’ or court fees, and the governmentfundedLegal Aid Council is unable to provideassistance for everyone who needs it, with insufficientlawyers to cover the whole country.When demolition notices were served, no informationabout procedures for challenging the demolition wasprovided.Further barriers to legal remedies arise from the nonjusticiablestatus of social and economic rights inNigeria. Chapter 2 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution,Section 16 (2) (d) directs the state to ensure thatsuitable, adequate shelter is provided for all citizens. 65However, as with other provisions on social andeconomic rights, this falls within the Constitution’s“directive principles”. As such, it is not justiciable andtherefore remains unenforceable in Nigeria’s courts.Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution protects“fundamental rights”, which are justiciable andtherefore enforceable in Nigerian courts. With theAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

22‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty Internationalalso inadequate as the time period was too short.Although many of the tenants in Njemanze waterfrontwere aware of the governor’s announcement regardingdemolitions, most did not know specific details, orsimply did not believe the bulldozers would come. Atthe time of enumeration and valuation, buildings weremarked with large crosses and numbered, but exactdates were not given until seven days before thedemolition took place. Confidence Log, a formerresident of Njemanze, told Amnesty International:“I came [home] and there was a cross on the wall. Ihear something on the radio that they will [demolishthe buildings], they didn’t give a specific date.”When the demolition crews arrived on 28 August 2009,most residents did not have enough time to pack theirbelongings and were forced to run from their houseswith what they could carry.Nene Briggs and her children. Thirteen-year-old Queen Briggs (bottom right)was at home eating breakfast with her mother and sisters when she heardpeople shouting “bulldozer, bulldozer”. Queen was running out of her housewhen she fell over and broke her leg. She was taken to a local trauma clinic,where she was operated on. She has been wearing a leg brace ever since.waterfronts without applying for any type of certificationor licence have no formal ownership documents.The UN Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights has stated that adequate and reasonable noticemust be provided to all affected people prior to thescheduled date of eviction. 70 The Basic Principlesprovide that “Due eviction notice should allow andenable those subject to eviction to take an inventoryin order to assess the values of their properties,investments and other material goods that may bedamaged. Those subject to eviction should also begiven the opportunity to assess and document nonmonetarylosses to be compensated.” 71 All affectedpeople must be served notice, irrespective of theirtenure status. The authorities failed to give notice to allaffected parties and the notice that was provided wasThirteen-year-old Queen Briggs was at home eatingbreakfast with her mother and sisters when she heardpeople shouting “bulldozer, bulldozer”. Queen and herfamily did not know that they were coming that day:“Mummy now went outside to look. When she wentdown to the waterside she saw bulldozers. People wereshouting ‘you people should pack, you people shouldpack’ so we start packing. I took our bag [out of thehouse]. I did two trips. My mum said I should not come[into the house] again. As I went down a third time I felldown on the step. My leg opened. I could see bone.”Queen Briggs was taken to a local trauma clinic, whereshe was operated on. She has been wearing a legbrace ever since.Those who were not at home when the demolitionsbegan were unable to save anything. Many who hadrushed back when they heard about the demolitionreported being prevented from nearing their houseby security forces and non-uniformed men whoaccompanied the demolition crews.Representatives of SERAC, who witnessed thedemolition, reported that swamp buggies (demolitionvehicles) were accompanied by approximately 30members of the Nigerian security forces, includingAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA23© Amnesty Internationalpolice, mobile police, soldiers and non-uniformed men:“At about 10am the security operatives went in [to] thecommunities and began to chase residents out fromtheir homes. [They] were seen flogging and beatingresidents with whips.” 72Structures along Njemanze street, marked for demolition with a red cross.They were demolished in November 2009.Residents stated that the non-uniformed men, whowere not believed to be security force officers, lootedIndex: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA25© Amnesty InternationalA woman sleeps on a bench in a church near Njemanze waterfront, whichserves as a shelter for displaced residents. A year after being forcibly evictedfrom their homes, many of the settlement’s most vulnerable residents stillhad nowhere to live.Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

26‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalFormer Njemanze resident and landlord, Nene Briggs, sits on a pile of rubblein Njemanze street. She was one of several house owners who did notreceive compensation when their property was demolished. Nene and herfour children now share a single room with one mattress in AbonnemaWharf.pay, they are flogged and made to move on. Chidisurvives by doing odd jobs for people. He said hesometimes resorts to petty theft to get money for food.The Human Rights Social Development andEnvironmental Foundation, a Nigerian NGO workingwith street children in the city, told AmnestyInternational that at least 10 boys between the ages of11 and 18, who used to live in Njemanze waterfront,now sleep rough under the flyover.Other residents evicted from Njemanze waterfront arestaying with friends and family around Port Harcourt.Many are in neighbouring waterfronts also marked fordemolition. Some have returned to their families invillages outside the city.In addition to losing their homes, many people losttheir businesses and crucial sources of income as aresult of the demolitions. Nigeria’s informal economy isestimated to employ 60 per cent of the total workforce.Women feel the impact of loss of livelihood becausetheir businesses and trading are often localized withinNjemanze.Justina Jack, a seamstress, lived in two rented roomsin Njemanze with her four children, aged between 2and 12 years old. Justina was attending her father’sfuneral in a neighbouring community when aneighbour telephoned to inform her that demolitionshad begun. She rushed home but was too late.Her house and all her property, including her sewingmachines, had been destroyed. Justina now has noway to earn a living and cannot afford to pay for herthree eldest children to go to school. She andher husband have separated. Justina told AmnestyInternational: “I heard that they are planning todemolish the place but I didn’t know the definite date.My landlord [gave] me nothing. I didn’t even find him.Till today I don’t know where he is.”Blessing Batubo lived with her seven children andher husband in a three-bedroom rented house inNjemanze for 12 years. She was at the market whenthe demolition started. When she returned home, shefound her children standing outside the house.She was unable to save anything. Blessing used to sellsoft drinks and beer in Njemanze, but her fridges andstock were destroyed in the demolition. The family isnow living at the church. Blessing does not knowwhere her husband is; he left shortly after thedemolition. Her husband’s brothers and sisters havebeen helping her care for the children.Amnesty International spoke to many members offamilies that had been split up as a result of theevictions. Often, the wives and children are “sent backto the village” because their fathers and husbands canno longer take care of them. Some men described howtheir family had been “cut in two”.Former resident Love Basset Okpabio, who lived inNjemanze waterfront with her husband and fiveAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA27children before her home was demolished on 28August 2009, took two months to find alternativeaccommodation. She now shares one room with herhusband and her two sons. She sent her threedaughters aged 5, 8 and 12 to live with theirgrandmother in a neighbouring state. She has nomoney to visit her daughters or to pay for them tocontinue with school.9/NIGERIA’SINTERNATIONAlOBlIGATIONSKoomene Goknows, aged 32, another formerNjemanze resident, told Amnesty International: “Mywife is at home with our first [child] in the village. Onechild is with their uncle. They spread our family; thedemolition make us separated, it made us to see [eachother] once in a week, twice in a month.”Nigeria is obliged under a range of international treatiesto respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequatehousing. These include Article 11 (1) of the ICESCR,ratified by Nigeria on 29 July 1993; Articles 4 and 27(3) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratifiedby Nigeria 19 April 1991; the International Conventionon the Elimination of All Forms of RacialDiscrimination, ratified by Nigeria on 6 October 1967;Articles 18 and 20 of the African Charter on the Rightsand Welfare of the Child, ratified by Nigeria on 23 July2001; Article 14 (2) (h) of the Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Discrimination againstWomen, ratified by Nigeria on 13 June 1985; andArticle 16 of the Protocol to the African Charter onHuman and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women inAfrica, ratified by Nigeria on 1 December 2004.The UN Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights has emphasized that “the right to housingshould not be interpreted in a narrow or restrictivesense which equates it with, for example, the shelterprovided by merely having a roof over one’s head, orwhich views shelter exclusively as a commodity. Ratherit should be seen as the right to live somewhere insecurity, peace and dignity.” 75The Committee has identified seven elements todetermine the adequacy of housing: 1) legal security ofIndex: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

28‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIAtenure; 2) availability of services, materials, facilitiesand infrastructure; 3) location; 4) habitability; 5)affordability; 6) accessibility; and 7) culturaladequacy. 76 It has also stated that “Notwithstanding thetype of tenure, all persons should possess a degree ofsecurity of tenure which guarantees legal protectionagainst forced eviction, harassment and other threats.States parties should consequently take immediatemeasures aimed at conferring legal security of tenureupon those persons and households currently lackingsuch protection, in genuine consultation with affectedpersons and groups.” 77 Nigeria is under an obligation torefrain from and prevent forced evictions and toguarantee a minimum degree of security of tenure toall people.Forced evictions constitute gross violations of a rangeof human rights, in particular the right to adequatehousing. 78 Under Article 17 of the ICCPR, forcedevictions also violate the right to the protection of thelaw against arbitrary or unlawful interference with aperson’s privacy, family or home. 79 As the AfricanCommission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has alsoaffirmed in the case of SERAC and the Centre forEconomic and Social Rights, forced evictionscontravene the African Charter on Human andPeople’s Rights to which Nigeria is a party, inparticular, Articles 14 and 16 on the right to propertyand the right to health, and Article 18 (1) on the state’sduty to protect the family.In addition to the ICCPR and the African Charter,Nigeria has ratified several international and regionalhuman rights instruments that contain human rightsstandards relevant to policing, including theConvention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol,and the International Convention for the Protection ofAll Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The UNand other intergovernmental organizations have alsodeveloped comprehensive standards, including on theuse of force and firearms.10/CONClUSIONThe Rivers State government has consistently violatedits international human rights obligations by carryingout forced evictions in Port Harcourt’s waterfrontsettlements. It has announced demolition of all thewaterfront areas without putting in place legalprotections and other safeguards against forcedeviction, as required under international human rightslaw and standards. It has failed to develop anyresettlement plan to provide alternative housing to thehundreds of thousands of people who will be forced toleave their homes if the waterfronts are demolished.Tenants have been completely ignored in the processand the plans for urban renewal of the waterfronts havebeen developed without any consultation with thecommunities who are most affected by them.The authorities’ plans place hundreds of thousandsof people at risk of being forcibly evicted from theirhomes and left vulnerable to other human rightsviolations.The Rivers State government must immediately ceaseall forced evictions and adopt a moratorium on allevictions and demolitions in the waterfront areas untiladequate safeguards are put in place to ensure thatthey comply with international human rights standards.They must also ensure protection from excessive use offorce by security forces.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA29© PrivateNjemanze waterfront in Port Harcourt was demolished on 28 August 2009.Bulldozers were accompanied by approximately 30 members of the Nigeriansecurity forces, including police, mobile police and soldiers.Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

30‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA11/RECOMMENDATIONSto the RIveRs stAte goveRnmentn Immediately cease all forced evictions;n Adopt a moratorium on all evictions anddemolitions in the waterfront areas, until adequatesafeguards are put in place to ensure that all evictionscomply with international human rights standards;n Legislate and enforce a clear prohibition onforced evictions. Develop and adopt guidelines forevictions, which should be based on the UN BasicPrinciples and Guidelines on Development-BasedEvictions and Displacement, and must comply withinternational human rights law and standards;n Ensure that all victims of forced evictions haveaccess to effective remedies and the right toreparations, which includes restitution,compensation, rehabilitation, compensation,satisfaction and a guarantee of non-repetition;n Provide adequate alternative housing to all thosewho were forcibly evicted from Njemanze waterfrontand surrounding areas and compensation for any lossof property and possessions that were damaged inthe process;n Fully compensate all residents who ownedproperty in Njemanze waterfront, Njemanze streetor Abonnema Wharf road, whose houses weredemolished but who did not receive any payment orcompensation;n Fully implement the Rivers State 2003 PhysicalPlanning and Development Law No. 6, including byestablishing the Urban Renewal Board; the RiversState Urban and Regional Planning Board; the LocalPlanning Authority; a Development ControlDepartment; the Urban and Regional Planning Fund;and the Urban and Regional Planning Tribunal. Fullyexplore the possibility of declaring the waterfronts animprovement area;n Ensure the effective dissemination of all relevantinformation about proposed public privatepartnerships before they are finalized, and allowadequate time for community input;n Fully implement the recommendations containedin the 2009 UN-HABITAT report.to the gReAteR poRt hARcouRt cItydevelopment AuthoRItyn Publish the Greater Port Harcourt Master Plan infull and make copies publicly available;n Subject the Greater Port Harcourt Master Plan toa comprehensive public review to ensure it complieswith international human rights law and standards.Hold a genuine public consultation on the GreaterPort Harcourt Master Plan, allowing for input fromaffected people;n Ensure genuine consultation with all potentiallyaffected people when considering plans for the urbanrenewal, redevelopment, upgrading or demolition ofthe waterfronts. Ensure that evictions are only carriedout as a last resort, after all feasible alternatives havebeen explored. Procedural protections required underinternational human rights law should be in place,in particular the requirements on consultation,adequate notice and adequate alternative housing;n Ensure that any alternative housing provided topeople meets adequate housing requirements,especially in terms of location, affordability,habitability and availability of public services suchAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA31as health and education, which remain majorobstacles to relocation in new urban cities. Ensurefamilies are relocated together.to the FedeRAl goveRnmentn Publicly condemn all forced evictions;n Set up an independent commission of inquiry toinvestigate the use of force and firearms by thepolice and the Joint Task Force (JTF) at Bunduwaterfront on 12 October 2009, including aninvestigation into all resultant deaths or injuries:n The findings of the commission of inquirymust be made public;n those suspected of excessive use of forceshould be prosecuted in fair trials, in accordancewith international standards and without recourseto the death penalty;n Make public the interim report of the PresidentialTechnical Committee on Land Reform;n Sign and ratify the Optional Protocol of the ICESCR;n Ratify the Protocol on the statute of the AfricanCourt of Justice and Human Rights, and make adeclaration that would allow direct access to thecourt by individuals and NGOs.to the nAtIonAl Assemblyn Publicly condemn all forced evictions;n Legislate a clear prohibition on forced evictions;n Urge the Federal Government to set up anindependent commission of inquiry to investigateexcessive use of force by the police and JTF atBundu waterfront on 12 October 2009.to nIgeRIA polIce FoRce And the JtFn Co-operate fully with the investigation into theexcessive use of force by JTF and policeduring theattempted enumeration at Bundu waterfront on 12October 2009;n Suspend those suspected of being responsible forthe use of excessive force, including those withcommand responsibility, pending prosecution inaccordance with international fairtrials standards andwithout recourse to the death penalty;n Review the role of police and JTF in assistingdemolitions, evictions, enumerations andvaluationsand ensure personnel are not deployed to assist theadministrative authorities in carrying out illegalevictions;n Ensure that adequate systems and mechanismsare put in place alongside training and regulations onthe use of force and firearms to make sure thatpolice officers apply the relevant UN standards intheir daily work. This includes ensuring that policeofficers have access to a differentiated range ofpolice equipment, including adequate self-protectiveequipment; and that they have adequate training onthe use of a range of equipment for the differentiateduse of force, and other tactical methods, includingopen hand techniques (using no equipment), to applythe UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force andFirearms by Law Enforcement Officials.n Amend the Nigerian Constitution to ensure thatthe rights contained in Chapter 2 are enforceable inNigeria’s courts, including Article 2 (d) which directsthe state to ensure that suitable, adequate shelter isprovided for all citizens;Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

32‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA© Amnesty InternationalThe rubble left after the demolition of homes, shops and other buildings inNjemanze waterfront, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in August 2009. It is estimatedthat between 13,800 and 19,000 people were forcibly evicted from theirhomes there.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA33ENDNOTES1 UN-HABITAT estimates that there are 276 structures inNjemanze waterfront, with 10 rooms per structure andfive-six occupants per room, making a total population of13,800. (UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in PortHarcourt, Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port HarcourtCity, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March, P 26). MaxLock Consultancy, who conducted a study of the waterfrontsin 2009, estimate that in high-density waterfront areas, suchas Njemanze, there are 3,445 people per hectare, andNjemanze, at 5.57 hectares, had a population of 19,200people; (Port Harcourt Waterfront Urban RegenerationScoping Study, December 2009, Max Lock ConsultancyNigeria Ltd, pp. 24-26).2 The Rivers State government, UN-HABITAT and NGOestimates range between 41 and 51 waterfront settlements.3 UN-HABITAT estimates a minimum waterfront populationof 200,000. Max Lock estimates 481,900. NGO and CBOestimates are much higher. Accurate information is notavailable.4 Rivers State government press release, 14 July 2009.5 For further information, see Amnesty International reportNigeria: Port Harcourt demolitions: Excessive use of forceagainst demonstrations (Index: AFR44/022/2010)6 Rivers State Physical Planning and Development Law No.6 of 2003, section 85.7 National Land Use Act 1978, Sections 29 and 33, RiversState Physical Planning and Development law No. 6 of2003, section 90.8 Rivers State Economic Empowerment and DevelopmentStrategy (RIVSEEDS) Chapter 11, p. 85,http://web.ng.undp.org/documents/SEEDS/River_state.pdf9 UN-HABITAT estimates 200,000 people; Max Lock estimates481,900; NGOs and CBOs from the area estimate muchhigher. Accurate information is not available because data onthe population of the waterfronts has not been collected.10 UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt,Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City,Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March. p. 26.11 UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt,Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City,Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March, p. 2512 Speech by the governor of Rivers State, 27 October2007.13 Demolitions along Abonnema Wharf road were alsocarried out between June and September 2008. Accordingto UN-HABITAT, these were mainly of commercial buildings.(Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt, Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City, Federal Republic ofNigeria, 12-16 March).14 A/HRC/13/20/Add.1 www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/docs/A-HRC-13-20-Add1_EFS.pdf15 UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt,Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City,Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March, p. 73.16 UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt,Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City,Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March; p. 79.17 UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt,Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City,Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March 2009, p. 73,p. 79 and p. x, para. 9.2.18 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment No. 7, The Right to Adequate Housing,para. 3.19 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment No. 7, The Right to Adequate Housing,para. 15.20 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment No. 7, The Right to Adequate Housing,para. 16.21 UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1993/77,para. 1.22 On 2 April 2009, former President Yar’Adua establisheda Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform. TheCommittee submitted an interim report to the President in2009. However, the report has not been made public.The Chairman of the Committee, Professor Akin L.Mabogunje, has stated elsewhere that “the power ofGovernors and the Local Governments to revoke any right ofoccupancy over land for overriding public interest has beenIndex: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

34‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIAused arbitrarily in the past and helps to underscore thefragility of the rights conferred by the Certificate.”(Mabogunje, A.L. Land reform in Nigeria: Progress, problemsand prospects, 2010, p. 8, viii).23 Rivers State Physical Planning and Development Law, No.6 of 2003, Part 1, section 1: “There is hereby established aBoard to be known as the Rivers State Urban and RegionalPlanning Board (hereinafter referred to as “the Board”).Section 84. (1)The Board hereby delegates the power toimplement all urban renewal policies and programmes to theurban Renewal Board as specified in the Rivers State UrbanRenewal Board Law made pursuant to this law.”24 Rivers State Physical Planning and Development law No.6 of 2003:“85 (1) A development plan to which Section 11 (c) ofthis Law applies may designate and the Urban RenewalBoard may, after the plan has been approved by orderpublished in the State Gazette, declare any part of thearea for which such plan has been made to be anImprovement Area for the Purpose of rehabilitating,renovating and upgrading the physical environment,social facilities and infrastructure of the area.(2) The rehabilitation, renovation and upgrading maybe brought about through the combined efforts of theresidents of the area concerned, the Urban RenewalBoard and other body in complementary effort to therehabilitation, renovation or upgrading of the area.(3) The Urban Renewal Board, shall before declaringany part of an area to be an Improvement Area, satisfyitself that the purpose set out in sub section (2) of thissection is likely to be achieved.”25 Rivers State Physical Planning and Development law No.6 of 2003, Section 90: “Where the Urban Renewal Boardproposes to make an order for the demolition of a buildingor part thereof used for human habitation it shall provide thepersons likely to be displaced from their homes by the orderalternative accommodation and or site and or financialassistance by way of a grant or loan…”26 Article 59 of the Rivers State Planning and DevelopmentLaw permits the Control Department to serve anenforcement notice of demolition on the developer or ownerof any structure on any land whenever development beginswithout obtaining a development permit. However, thenotice may also direct the developer or owner to alter, varyor remove the structure.27 The 1975 Master Plan is not publicly available.28 Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority MasterPlan Showreel, www.gphcity.com/index.php29 UN Committee on ESCR, General Comment No. 4.30 ICCPR:Article 25: Every citizen shall have the right and theopportunity, without any of the distinctions mentionedin article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (a) Totake part in the conduct of public affairs, directly orthrough freely chosen representatives;Article 19 (2): Everyone shall have the right to freedomof expression; this right shall include freedom to seek,receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds,regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print,in the form of art, or through any other media of hischoice.31 Amnesty International interview, April 2010.32 Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authoritywebsite: www.gphcity.com/about/aboutGPHDA.php33 Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority MasterPlan Showreel, www.gphcity.com/index.php34 Amnesty International meeting with the Commissioner ofUrban Development, April 2010; and with the governorof Rivers State in December 2009.35 Amnesty International interview with the Rivers Stategovernor, December 2009.36 Rivers State government press release, 27 July 2009.37 Greater Port Harcourt Information Brochure, p. 7,produced by the Greater Port Harcourt City DevelopmentAuthority.38 UN-HABITAT refer to planned demolitions; at the time ofwriting their report Njemanze waterfront had not beendemolished. (UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions inPort Harcourt, Report of Fact-Finding Mission to PortHarcourt City, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March2009. p. 33).39 The MoU was shown to UN-HABITAT and reported in thelocal press. However, the document was never madepublicly available.40 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment No. 7, The Right to Adequate Housing,para. 13.41 Basic Principles And Guidelines On Development-BasedEvictions And Displacement, Annex 1 of the reportA/HRC/4/18 of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housingas a component of the right to an adequate standard ofliving, were considered by the Human Rights Council in2007, available at www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/docs/guidelines_en.pdfAmnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA3542 Para. 38. A/HRC/4/18: “In the event that agreement cannotbe reached on a proposed alternative among concernedparties, an independent body having constitutionalauthority, such as a court of law, tribunal or ombudspersonshould mediate, arbitrate or adjudicate as appropriate.”43 Rivers State government press release, 9 July, 2009:“No Going Back on Waterfront Demolition...RSG. The RiversState Government says there is no going back on itsdecision to demolish waterfronts in the state capital as partof its on-going efforts to beautify the city of Port Harcourt.”44 Governor of Rivers State, at a meeting with communityleaders in Government House, Port Harcourt, 9 July 2009.The meeting was filmed. The incident was also widelyreported in the local press.45 ibid46 See SERAC report This is Port Harcourt, Garden City ofRubble, 2009.47 Max Lock Consultancy Nigeria Ltd: Port HarcourtWaterfront Urban Regeneration Scoping Study 2009, p. 24.48 National Union of Tenants of Nigeria, ComprehensiveReport to the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions onNjemanze Waterfront Demolition, 7 October 2009.49 Rivers State government press release, 29 July 2009,Abonnema Wharf Landlords Back Demolition of WaterFronts.50 Rivers State Rent Control and Recovery of Possession ofPremises Edict No. 3 1984, Section 38(1) “Subject to the provisions of this edict or any otherlaw in force, no person shall demolish, remove the roofof, alter or modify a building to which this edict applieswith a view to ejecting a tenant without the approval ofthe tribunal.(2) (i) Any person who in respect of anyaccommodation to which this edict applies:(a) attempts to eject or forcibly ejects a tenant;(b) harasses or molests a tenant by action or words,with a view to ejecting such tenant; or(ii) Any person who in respect of any accommodation towhich this edict applies;(a) harasses or molests a landlord in respect of anyaccommodation let by him by action or words; or(b) does any act or thing whatsoever calculated tostultify the provisions of this Edict; or(c) fails to comply with the requirements of any ordermade by a tribunal;Shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable onsummary conviction to a fine of two hundred nairaor imprisonment for three months or both.”(This edict was amended and gazetted in 1989 withoutalteration to the above provisions.)51 UN-HABITAT, Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt,Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City,Federal Republic of Nigeria, 12-16 March, p. 55.52 The Dilemma of Urban Sprawl in Port HarcourtMetropolis, Aprioku, 2005, (unpublished). This is aconservative estimate, the Max Lock scoping studyestimates 98,300 people live in Bundu waterfront.53 Witness statements range from 10 to 30 vehicles.54 Amnesty International delegates also saw their injuries,viewed their medical reports and X-rays and local medicalpersonnel confirmed that they treated people for gunshotwounds that day.55 Amnesty International interview with Rivers Stategovernor, December 2009.56 Amnesty International interview with Rivers StateCommissioner for Urban Development, April 2010.57 Principle 9 states: “Law enforcement officials shall notuse firearms against persons except in self-defence ordefence of others against the imminent threat of death orserious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularlyserious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest aperson presenting such a danger and resisting theirauthority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only whenless extreme means are insufficient to achieve theseobjectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearmsmay only be made when strictly unavoidable in order toprotect life.”58 Principle 12 of the UN Basic Principles on the Use ofForce and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officialsstates: “As everyone is allowed to participate in lawful andpeaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principlesembodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsand the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,Governments and law enforcement agencies and officialsshall recognize that force and firearms may be used only inaccordance with principles 13 and 14.”Principle 13 of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Forceand Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials states: “In thedispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent,law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or,where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to theminimum extent necessary.”Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

36‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIAPrinciple 14 of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Forceand Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials states: “In thedispersal of violent assemblies, law enforcement officialsmay use firearms only when less dangerous means are notpracticable and only to the minimum extent necessary. Lawenforcement officials shall not use firearms in such cases,except under the conditions stipulated in principle 9.”59 Principle 5 of the UN Basic Principles on the Use ofForce and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials states:“Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms isunavoidable, law enforcement officials shall:(a) Exercise restraint in such use and act in proportionto the seriousness of the offence and the legitimateobjective to be achieved;(b) Minimize damage and injury, and respect andpreserve human life;(c) Ensure that assistance and medical aid arerendered to any injured or affected persons at theearliest possible moment;(d) Ensure that relatives or close friends of the injuredor affected person are notified at the earliest possiblemoment.Principle 6 states: “Where injury or death is caused bythe use of force and firearms by law enforcementofficials, they shall report the incident promptly to theirsuperiors, in accordance with principle 22.”Principle 7 states: “Governments shall ensure thatarbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by lawenforcement officials is punished as a criminal offenceunder their law.”Principle 8 states: “Exceptional circumstances such asinternal political instability or any other publicemergency may not be invoked to justify any departurefrom these basic principles.”60 The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(1999) recognizes the right to life (Section 33). TheICCPR, which Nigeria ratified in October 1993, providesthat “every human being has the inherent right to life. Thisright shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarilydeprived of his life” (Article 6.1). Furthermore, as providedby Article 4 of the ICCPR, states cannot derogate fromtheir obligations under this provision, even “in time ofpublic emergency which threatens the life of the nation”.Every person whose rights or freedoms are violated, hasthe right to a remedy (Article 2.3 a). The African Charteron Human and Peoples’ Rights, ratified in June 1983, alsoincludes the right to life (Article 4). In addition, the Charterprohibits torture and other ill-treatment (Article 5) andprovides the right to liberty and security of person (Article6) as does the ICCPR.61 ICCPR, Article 21: “The right of peaceful assembly shall berecognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise ofthis right other than those imposed in conformity with the lawand which are necessary in a democratic society in theinterests of national security or public safety, public order(ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or theprotection of the rights and freedoms of others.”62 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article11: “Every individual shall have the right to assemble freelywith others. The exercise of this right shall be subject only tonecessary restrictions provided for by law in particular thoseenacted in the interest of national security, the safety,health, ethics and rights and freedoms of others.”63 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment 7, para. 13.64 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment 7, para. 15.65 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999,Chapter 2 (16) (2): “The State shall direct its policy towardsensuring (d) that suitable and adequate shelter, suitableand adequate food, reasonable national minimum livingwage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sickbenefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for allcitizens.”66 Pastor Ubing Usoro & 3 Others V. Governor of RiversState & 6 Others (PHC/1144/2009), was filed on 25 June2009; and Mr Jim Tom George V. Governor of Rivers State& 6 Others (PHC/2286/2009), was filed on 25 November2009, both by SERAC.67 On 2 June 2010, the Federal High Court held that theydid not have jurisdiction to determine the case. Thecommunity leaders filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal,Port Harcourt. It is yet to be heard.68 Issued by the Urban Reorientation and EnforcementDepartment of the Ministry of Urban Development andaddressed to the developer, they state: “we observed thatyou have contravened the provision of the Rivers StatePhysical Planning and Development Laws and Regulations.According to Rivers State Physical Planning andDevelopment Law 2003, the notice should specify theprovision of the Law that has been breached. Nor did thenotice state the reasons for the demolition, also arequirement of the 2003 Law.69 Most of the waterfront structures have been built withpermanent material not permitted by the terms of the TOL.Amnesty International October 2010 Index: AFR 44/017/2010

‘JUST MOVE THEM’FoRced evIctIons InpoRt hARcouRt, nIgeRIA37However, as UN-HABITAT pointed out in their report, byregularly renewing the TOLs, the state government is “tacitlytolerating and recognizing these settlements.” UN-HABITAT,Evictions and Demolitions in Port Harcourt, Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Port Harcourt City, Federal Republic ofNigeria, 12-16 March, p. 25.70 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment No. 7, The Right to Adequate Housing,para. 15.71 Basic Principle 42, UN Basic Principles and Guidelineson Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, 2007.72 SERAC, 2009, This is Port Harcourt, the Garden City ofRubbles, p. 7.73 SERAC, 2009, ‘This is Port Harcourt, the Garden City ofRubbles, p. 3.74 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,General Comment No. 7, The Right to Adequate Housing,para. 16.75 General Comment No. 4, para. 7.76 General Comment No. 4, para. 8.77 General Comment No. 4, para. 8 (a).78 UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1993/77,para. 1.79 See Concluding Observations on Kenya, Report of theHuman Rights Committee, UN Doc.Index: AFR 44/017/2010 Amnesty International October 2010

WHETHER IN A HIGH-PROFILE CONFLICTOR A FORGOTTEN CORNER OF THE GLOBE,amnestY internationaL CAMPAIGNSFOR jUSTICE, FREEDOM AND DIGNITYFOR ALL AND SEEKS TO GALVANIZEPUBLIC SUPPORT TO BUILD A BETTERWORLDWhat can You do?Activists around the world have shown that it is possible to resistthe dangerous forces that are undermining human rights. Be partof this movement. Combat those who peddle fear and hate. Join Amnesty International and become part of a worldwidemovement campaigning for an end to human rights violations.Help us make a difference. Make a donation to support Amnesty International’s work.together we can make our voices heard.I am interested in receiving further information on becoming a member of AmnestyInternationalnameaddresscountryemailI wish to make a donation to Amnesty International (donations will be taken in UK£, US$ or €)i Wantto heLpamountplease debit my Visa Mastercardnumberexpiry datesignaturePlease return this form to the Amnesty International office in your country.For Amnesty International offices worldwide: www.amnesty.org/en/worldwide-sitesIf there is not an Amnesty International office in your country, please return this form to:amnesty international, International Secretariat, Peter Benenson House,1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdomwww.amnesty.org

‘just move them’forced evictions in port harcourt, nigeriain port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria, thousands of people have been forciblyevicted from their homes in the city’s waterfronts and adjoining districts asstate authorities push through large-scale redevelopment plans.thousands of people, including children, women and the elderly, were madehomeless and vulnerable to other human rights violations following thedemolition of njemanze street and abonnema Wharf road settlements in 2009.if the authorities continue with planned demolitions of all remaining informalsettlements in the waterfront areas, it is estimated that over 200,000 peoplewill be at risk of forced eviction.this short report documents the failures by the government of rivers state toput in place legal protections and other safeguards against forced eviction forall affected communities, such as adequate prior consultation and notice onevictions, adequate alternative accommodation and compensation, andeffective remedies. the report also highlights the excessive use of forceemployed by nigerian security forces in the run-up to and during the evictionsat Bundu waterfront.amnesty international is calling on the rivers state authorities to immediatelycease all forced evictions and to adopt a moratorium on all evictions from thewaterfront areas in port harcourt. the moratorium must remain in place untilall necessary safeguards are put in place to ensure that evictions are carriedout in accordance with international and regional human rights standards.www.amnesty.orgIndex: AFR 44/017/2010October 2010housing is ahuman right