Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Nigerian Bar Association and Nigerian NGOs have called on Nigeria to abstain during the vote on a second resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty which will be introduced at the United Nations General Assembly 63rd Plenary Session, in the week starting 15 December.

The Nigerian government should protect Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria's leading anti-corruption campaigner and former chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who in recent weeks has been subject to an escalating campaign of harassment, threats, and an apparent attempt on his life.

The Nigerian government should investigate and prosecute those responsible for killing up to 400 people during several recent days of violence in the city of Jos.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this past weekend in his new role as the UN Secretary-General's special envoy. The DRC has been a quagmire for envoys. Mr Obasanjo and his team must be wondering how on earth to achieve or measure success. We at Human Rights Watch hope that Mr. Obasanjo will achieve more than his predecessors, so we would like to offer some suggestions.

Human Rights Watch writes to urge President Köhler to use his forthcoming visit to Nigeria to raise specific human rights concerns with President Umaru Yar'Adua and his administration. Serious problems include rampant government corruption and mismanagement that undermine the realization of the right to basic healthcare and education; political and intercommunal violence fomented by government officials and politicians; and widespread use of extrajudicial executions, torture, and extortion by state security forces.

When Gordon Brown met Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua in London this week, improving the security of energy supplies from the Niger Delta was high on the agenda. Unless there is a determined effort to address the root problem of political and financial corruption, the violence in the Niger Delta will continue to have a disastrous impact on energy security – and on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

The Nigerian government’s failure to hold accountable politicians and gang leaders responsible for a deadly wave of post-election violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta threatens to bring further bloodshed.