Pro-Government Militias
Anambra State Vigilante Service (AVS) aka Scorpion Squad (Nigeria)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 469 |
| Country: | Nigeria |
| Date formed: | Aug. 20, 2009 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | day |
| Details of Formation: | Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Uzor Amakulor, inaugurated the AVS at the command headquarters, Amawbia, after Anambra state governor charged chiefs with re-organizing vigilante groups. |
| Date dissolved: | Jan. 15, 2010 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | year |
| Details of Termination: | Ahead of elections the police said that it has banned all vigilante groups in Anambra State. |
| Termination Type(s): | government defects |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | Anambra State Vigilante Group / Onitsha Vigilante Group / Bakassi Boys |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | noinf |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | 588 |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | no information | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution); sub-national government |
| If link to party, name of party: | |
| Training and Equipment: | no information |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | no information |
| Primary Membership: | no information |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi among other towns |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | criminals |
| Purpose(s): | anti crime |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Anambra State Vigilante Service is supervised by the Police High Command in Anambra, which also banned the group on 15 January, 2010, before elections. Other states in Nigeria may possess similar vigilante groups, but evidence on whether those groups are armed is missing: Delta State Vigilante Groups, Kaduna State Vigilante Group, Kano State Vigilante Group, Osun State Vigilante Group and Yobe State Vigilante Group (see evidences). See also similar federal state-sponsored State Vigilante Groups in the databank. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: |
Organisation
| Organisation: |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.