Nigeria rights group says four academics arrested .
LAGOS 1996-08-28
A Nigerian human rights group said on Wednesday that four members of a recently banned university union had been arrested .
" The Constitutional Rights Project ( CRP ) believes that William Istafanus , Elisha Shamay , O.K. Likkason and Jerome Egurugbe were arrested because of their role in the ongoing ASUU ( Academic Staff Union of Universities ) strike , " the group said in a statement .
The CRP said the four were arrested on Monday night at the northeastern Tafawa Balewa University .
The main academic union , ASUU , along with two smaller university unions , was banned by Nigeria 's military government last week , because of a four-month strike by teachers for better working conditions .
Nigeria is under fire from many Western countries for human rights abuses and lack of democracy .
Dozens of people opposed to the government are in detention .
Commonwealth foreign ministers are to meet in London on Wednesday to discuss what action to take , after a visit to Nigeria was called off when the government imposed strict rules on whom the mission would be allowed to see .
Nigeria was suspended from the club of Britain and its former colonies in November after the hanging of nine minority rights activists for murder in spite of international pleas for clemency .