Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Tuesday, 5 May 2009.

Nigeria

Question: My Lords, apart from the several hundred killed and the tens of thousands displaced by the events last November in northern Nigeria, the special rapporteur on religious freedom has reported that, over a period of years, tens of thousands of people have been killed in religious clashes. What have the Government done to get from the Nigerians word about the two commissions of inquiry that were commissioned on recent events by the federal and state Governments respectively? Have our Government taken up with the Nigerian Government implementation of recommendation 31 by the UPR working group on promoting a culture of religious tolerance and protecting the rights of religious minorities?

Answer: My Lords, as the noble Lord knows, Nigeria prides itself on being a multi-religious, multicultural society, and it is in a precarious situation. We have pressed on the President and Ministers—I have pressed them personally—that they must do a better job on this. We followed with great care the progress of the two commissions to which the noble Lord refers. However, we are not convinced that enough steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence. In that sense, I do not want to convey to the House that we have any confidence that there will not be repetitions of what has tragically happened.

Secondary information