Amnesty International called on the governor of Anambra...

Amnesty International called on the governor of Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria, to end human rights abuses committed by its "crime busting" unit, the so-called Bakassi Boys.
The appeal followed a recent visit to the state of an Amnesty International delegation. Delegates were inside the compound of the Government House, en route to an appointment with the chairman of the Anambra State Vigilante Service (the Bakassi Boys) when the delegates witnessed an attempted summary execution of a 50 year old man.
"AVS members were pouring petrol over the man's body with the clear intention of setting him on fire," Amnesty reported. "When they realized that there were strangers watching the scene, they bundled their victim into a van, loaded the vehicle with machetes and guns, and drove away."
The incident occurred just 100 metres from the State governor's office. "This episode is illustrative of the exceptionally serious abuses, committed by the Anambra State Vigilante Service," Amnesty reported.
It said there had been reports of over 1,000 summary executions committed by the Anambra vigilante in the past two years, and "several dozen" people had been reported tortured or disappeared.
"Similar violations are carried out by armed groups - many of them having formal or informal links with state government authorities - throughout Nigeria," Amnesty added.