16/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - In a resolution adopted during its emergency debates, the EP said it was waiting for the conclusion of the work of a committee of enquiry instructed by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to shed light on the causes of the "permanent ethnic and religious conflicts" in the country, and took note of the vote in Nigeria's Lower House aimed at conducting an enquiry into "the blind massacre" of over 200 civilians by Nigerian troops, between the 22nd and 24th of October of this year in the Province of Benue. The Nigerian army is "badly placed to re-establish civil order", says Parliament, calling on the EU to provide technical assistance to help manage the conflict between communities, in the respect of the rule of law. The EP condemns religious intolerance and implementation, "in a fundamentalist sense, of Charia law" in certain provinces of Nigeria, and urges the EU to improve the dialogue with the country (signatory of the Cotonou Agreement) so as to "bolster the ongoing democracy consolidation process".