Nigeria Security Update #1 270507

UK foreign office amends travel advice

We strongly recommend all Brits read the following and cross check with their employers, insurance companies etc on safety, security, liability and coverage.

The Foreign Office today revised its travel advice for Nigeria. We are now advising against all travel to the Niger Delta due to the high risk of kidnapping, armed robbery and other armed attacks in the area.

The relevant summary points now read:

* We advise against all travel to the Niger Delta (Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States, including Port Harcourt). This is because of the very high risk of kidnapping, armed robbery and other armed attacks in these areas. In fourteen separate incidents since January 2006, 30 British nationals and over 180 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta area and one Briton has been killed. See the Terrorism/Security section of this travel advice for more details.

* If you decide to travel to, or remain in, the Niger Delta you do so at your own risk. The level of consular assistance we can provide is limited. If your presence is essential, it would be reckless to travel to, or remain in, the Niger Delta unless you have taken appropriate professional security advice and have acted upon it. If travelling by road you should use fully protected transport.

* We advise against all but essential travel to Akwa Ibom State because of the high risk of kidnapping, armed robbery and other armed attacks in these areas. You should maintain a high level of vigilance at all times, observe the strictest security measures and not travel unnecessarily.

* There is also a risk of kidnapping in other States in south-east Nigeria. On 17 March 2007, two Chinese nationals were taken hostage at Nnewi, Anambra State. See the Terrorism/Security section of this travel advice for more details.

* Localised outbreaks of civil unrest can occur at short notice. Details and advice are circulated via the British High Commission's Community Liaison Officers' network.

Shagari: Niger militants Nigeria's biggest problem

Former civilian president of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, has described militancy in the Niger Delta as the biggest problem facing the country. He advised the in coming administration of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to employ dialogue in resolving the crisis in the area.

Shagari who spoke as chairman at the special valedictory celebration in honour of Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State to mark the end of his administration said the dialogue he meant was one that would involve exchange of ideas among opposing sides on a neutral ground and level platform.
Such discussion, he said, was capable of finding acceptable solutions to intractable problems leaving each side satisfied.
He counseled those in the riverine areas who see their terrain as disadvantaged and deserving the sympathy
of all in the hinterland to also appreciate the problems of other people.

Shagari said what was needed was a deep appreciation of each other’s problems and putting heads together to tackle them collectively instead of trading blames.

“Perhaps I can be excused to dare suggest that the biggest problem Nigeria faces today, in my humble opinion, is the problem with the militants in the Niger Delta Area. This problem in my own estimation can be resolved amicably through what the President-elect, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua calls dialogue. We need to devise the idea behind dialogue to mean a conference to be held in a neutral ground where the opposing sides can exchange views and ideas on the same level peacefully with a view to finding solutions acceptable to each side.

“This is not a new thing and it will not harm anyone, rather it will benefit all concerned. It is my ardent prayer that both the militants and the new administrations at the state and federal levels should carefully consider this proposal without prejudice," he said.

On the expected sympathy of other parts of the federation to the region, he said, “Some of them do blame the difficult terrain in which it pleased God to place them and their homes and they deserve sympathy and support by their brothers and sisters in the hinter land. They should always bear in mind that it could be the other way round. All we need to do as Nigerians is to try and understand each other’s problems and join hands to tackle them sensibly together as a team."

Speaking at the occasion, Odili said it was an opportunity for him to thank all the forces that had been behind his success as a governor, insisting that he had left an indelible mark in the annals of the state.

He said he had made investments for the state in excess of N45 billion while he was leaving behind N5 billion in “spendable funds” for his successor. He further put the state investment in the Independent Power Project at over N80 billion, adding that selling half of their investment in that sector would fetch above their initial capital in the venture.

He said built roads in all the Local Government areas of the state and opened up new areas, enabling some hitherto inaccessible areas to be open to land transportation.

Odili said he inherited an empty treasury in 1999 while there were backlogs of unpaid allowances and salaries in the ministries which he has now cleared.

“The challenges of governance in 1999 are very different from what Omehia will face after swearing in. In 1999, we met an empty treasury with outstanding allowances and salaries spanning many years. I confronted non existent utility and infrastructure as well as bad security situations which have been addressed now”, he said.

The state judicial officers and legislators took time to eulogise Odili and his contributions to the development of the state in the past eight years.

The governor had in company with the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Justice Idris Kutigi, former Head of State Abdusalami Abubakar, two former CJNs, Muhammadu Lawal Uwais and Saliu Modibo Alfa Belgore, commissioned the N3.4 billion state High Court complex which Odili described as the outcome of a synergy between the executive and the Judiciary.