11 Soldiers Dead, 16 AGIP Workers Held as "POWs" (This Day)
The Federal Government yesterday ordered the deployment of more troops to Ogboinbiri community in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa State. This followed the humiliating defeat suffered in the hands of militants by men of the Nigerian Army at the Ogboinbiri flow station belonging to Italian oil company, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on Sunday.
In Rivers, the Deputy Governor of the State, Engineer Tele Ikuru, lamented yesterday that over 80 percent of businesses in Port Harcourt had closeddown over the attacks by youths on their staff.
The decision to deploy the troops follows the take-over of the flow station by the militants who reportedly killed over 11 soldiers in the battle for the control of the facility which produces over 40,000 barrels of oil per day. There was no official confirmation of the casualty figures.
THISDAY checks revealed that the eight gun boats loaded with over 200 soldiers left Warri and Yenagoa for Ogboinbiri yesterday in the bid to recover the facility and retrieve the bodies of soldiers reportedly killed and those held as Prisoners of War (PoW) by the militants who are still occupying the flow station.
Meanwhile, NAOC has raised alarm that 16 of its workers working aboard the flow station have been held as “prisoners of war” by the militants. Agip said there were 51 soldiers and 24 local workers aboard the facility when it was over run by militants on Sunday.
The men who are indigenes of the area may have been caught in the crossfire between the soldiers and the militants.
At press time, it could not be ascertained if any of the workers was killed or wounded during the eight-hour battle that dislodged the soldiers from the facility.
The 16 were left by NAOC to take care of the flow station following the evacuation of the facility company soon after nine militants were killed by soldiers last week Tuesday.
Even as more troops have been deployed to the spot, the owners of the facility are said to have pleaded with the government to engage the boys in dialogue instead resorting to a military option.
The pleading of the company, a source said, was predicated on the premise that other facilities owned by the company may be attacked by the boys.
Men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) had, Tuesday last week, killed nine militants at the Ogboinbiri flow station. Angered at the action, the militants reportedly wrote a letter promising to engage the JTF in a battle. In the reprisal mission which took place on Sunday, the militants had successfully dislodged the soldiers from the facility.
In Rivers, the Deputy Governor has called for intervention of local communities to put hostage-taking in check. According to him, the situation has accentuated the unemployment problem of the state as well as slowed down the economic growth of the state.
Ikuru stated this while playing host to the Eminent Peoples Forum in Port Harcourt where he insisted that hostage taking and other allied criminal activities were exerting a negative pressure on the intention of the state to grow a robust economy.
“Rivers State has become a carcass of itself; go to Trans-Amadi and you will see that about 80 percent of companies have closed down, not because of their inability to manage their business properly but because of the demonic activities of our youths working in concert with those from outside,” Ikuru said.
The Deputy Governor told the group that some of the contracts that were awarded by the State were yet to commence because of the fear for the safety of the expatriates engaged to execute the contracts.
He particularly regretted the inability of the contractors handling the Trans Kalabari highway, drainage projects, rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt International Airport and water reticulation projects in the state who had to pull out of site owing to threat of kidnap of their workers.
To him, the problem has become so hydra headed that it required a multi-dimensional approach which he assured that on the part of government, they were putting together a team to work out modalities of reintegrating the restive you-ths into normal society.
He said the closest example of avoidable problem hostage taking was taking manifested in the stoppage of production by Indorama which had employed many Niger Delta youths before they were forced to close down because of incessant kidnap of their staff.
Earlier in his speech, Chairman of the Forum, Chief Philitus Warmate expressed the readiness of his group to address the issue and commended the federal government for the release of Mujahid Dokubo Asari which he said would help to stem restiveness.
Chevron Forced to Cut Production (Media Reports)
The invasion of western Niger Delta Abiteye flow station has forced Chevron Nigeria Limited to again cut 42,000 barrels per day of crude oil production yesterday.
The joint venture company, Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC)/Chevron Joint Venture confirmed the attack, saying at least 20 gun men invaded the station on Sunday.
"The situation is presently under control, as the company will continue to closely monitor the area and ensure tighter security," the company's Spokes-man, Michael Barrett said.
In another development, gunmen attacked a flow station operated by Eni, mother company of Agip, holding workers and some military men hostage.
Last month, the company lost 42,000 barrels per day (bpd), as villagers carrying sticks and machetes staged a protest against the company's oil production facility, forcing it to halt its output.
The attack on its Abiteye flow station, which feeds the 160,000 bpd Escravos export terminal, was said to be as a result of delay in compensation for an oil spill in the area.
However, an eyewitness who confirmed the incident said there was a community protest, with people carrying sticks and machetes, but the place was full of government security forces drafted in over the weekend.
According to the company Spokesperson, Femi Odumabo, peace talks have already began and the company expects the crisis to be resolved as soon as possible, he said, adding that community leaders and elders have been very supportive of the company and are already intervening to see that the issue is brought under control.
Spills, which is a source of constant friction between oil companies and communities, is said to be caused by criminals who illegally tap oil from pipelines.
Militants Demand Money for Hostages But Would Take Recharge Cards
The armed gang that abducted three Indians and a Pole in Sapele, Delta State, last Friday has demanded for N170 million ransom for their release.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the kidnappers called the chief accountant of the rubber firm that engaged the services of the foreigners on the phone in the early hours of Monday and demanded for the huge sum.
A security source disclosed that it became obvious that the kidnappers did not belong to any of the groups that claimed to be fighting for the Niger Delta cause when they also requested for recharge cards from the accountant.
“One of the kidnappers called the chief accountant of the rubber firm with the mobile phone of one of their captives and demanded for N170 million.
“When the chief accountant said he could not release such amount without the approval of the management, they then requested that recharge cards be sent to them immediately”, the sources disclosed.
It was further learnt that the militants were so desperate that they were prepared to release the hostages last night provided they could make some money from their crime.
“In fact, they want some little money out of this particular case. It is like they don’t have money to continue with the business,” the source said.
Villagers Occupy Oil Production Facility (Reuters)
Hundreds of angry villagers chased workers away from an oil-transfer facility Monday in restive southern Nigeria and occupied the premises in hopes of forcing payment from the oil industry, officials said.
Elsewhere in the Niger Delta, gunmen were holding some two dozen Nigerian workers and security forces hostage at another flow station that had been overrun Sunday.
Authorities hadn't been able to access the interior of that facility and had no information on any casualties among the hostages, said Brig. Gen. Lawrence Ngubane, a military commander in the Niger Delta.
He said the invaders were threatening to blow up the station if security forces came near. Gunmen and troops battled in the area last week, leaving several gunmen dead.
ENI SpA, whose subsidiary Agip runs the facility, confirmed that the installation had been overrun but gave no information on whether oil had stopped running through it. Agip officials in Nigeria had no immediate comment.
In the protest occupation that flared Monday, rough estimates showed nearly 1,000 people at the flow station outside the main city of Warri, said Ngubane.
The villagers want money they say they're owed by U.S.-based Chevron Corp., which runs the facility, for restitution after an oil spill in their area, he said. Chevron officials weren't immediately available for comment.
Hundreds of flow stations dot the Niger Delta where Nigerian crude is pumped. The stations connect the tubes leading from wells into larger pipeline arteries that carry the crude oil to export terminals.
Protest occupations of oil facilities are common in the region, which remains deeply poor despite the vast natural bounty.
Nearly two years of spiraling violence in the oil-producing southern Niger Delta have cut Nigeria's crude output by about one quarter, sending oil prices higher in overseas markets.
New President Umaru Yar'Adua has said the crisis is one of the most-pressing matters he faces, and a top militant leader was released on bail last week, marking a breakthrough in the conflict pitting militants against security forces.
The militants are pressing for more government-controlled, oil-industry funds for their region, which remains desperately poor despite its vast natural bounty.
But their stepped-up attacks have helped degrade overall security conditions in the vast region of creeks and swamps, and criminal gangs who kidnap foreigners now operate with apparent impunity. Some 200 foreign workers in the region have been kidnapped since December 2005, including more than 100 this year alone.
In addition, tension over local grievances -- such as a community accusing an oil company of failing to make good on promises of financial help -- sometimes results in attacks or kidnappings.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and one of the top overseas suppliers to the United States.
In the capital Monday, labor unions called for a general nationwide strike to protest a government price hike on automobile fuel. The strike is to begin Wednesday, and the unions said it would continue until the increase is repealed.
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered the 15 percent fuel-price hike in the last days of his administration, which ended May 29 with President Umaru Yar'Adua's inauguration.
Nationwide Strike Averted? (This Day)
After a late-night meeting between the Federal Government and labour leaders and civil society groups, government has agreed to reduce by N5 the pump price of petrol from the present N75 per litre. It sold for N65 before the increase.
Government also offered to suspend the implementation of the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 per cent to 10 per cent. The prices of diesel and kerosene are also to sell at old prices.
As for the controversial sale of Kaduna and Port Harcourt Refineries, government has directed the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to go into further negotiations with labour on how to resolve the issue.
It was also learnt that government pledged that the 15 per cent salary increase demanded by labour would take effect from January 2007.
These were the highglights of the discussions between the federal government and labour leaders in Abuja yesterday, THISDAY learnt last night.
Although there was no official statement last night on the new dispensation, labour leaders said they would meet this morning to consider the latest offer by government and decide on the next line of action.
A senior official of the NLC told THISDAY last night that Labour was not satisfied that fuel price was not reverted to the original price. “We are not happy with that aspect,” he said, arguing that the unions were hoping to capitalise on the “legitimacy crisis” of the Yar’Adua government to get a better bargain as the government could not afford a major crisis at this stage of its life.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigerian (IPMAN), however, called off its five-day old strike, which had virtually paralysed economic activities.
Negotiations between government and labour had earlier broken down following which the two major labour unions in the country - Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) - yesterday called on Nigerians to embark on an indefinite strike beginning from tomorrow.
But the FG in a response to labour four-point demand issued by Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, Spokesman to President Umaru Yar’Adua, said: “Having taken note of the decision by the NLC, TUC and JAF to declare an indefinite general strike as from Wednesday, June 20, 2007 if their four point-demand is not met, Government held talks this evening with their representatives and presented a formal response to the demands.
“The meeting ended with the unions promising to study the response and make a fresh position known by tomorrow when it is hoped that the threat of a nationwide strike will be lifted in the interest of all Nigerians.
“Government wishes to assure all Nigerians that it is well aware of the hardships being currently experienced by ordinary people in the country and is fully committed to doing everything possible to improve their living conditions.
“This resolve was underscored by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in his inaugural address on May 29 this year when he said: ‘Let us join together to ease the pains of today while working for the gains of tomorrow.’”
In its demand, the organized labour had asked government to revert the pump price of petrol from N75 per litre to N65, VAT from 10 per cent to its original 5 per cent, implement the 15 per cent increase in salary and review the sale of Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries.
On its part, the government had asked for more time to consider the demands.
The pump price of petrol and VAT rate were increased by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the eve of his handing over to the new President Yar’Adua.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja early yesterday at the end of a joint National Executive Council meeting of NLC, TUC and Civil Society groups, the NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, had said the coalition would with effect from Wednesday June 20, 2007 embark on an indefinite general strike and mass protests throughout the country to draw positive attention of government to their demands.
But shortly after the press conference, the State Security Service (SSS) invited TUC President, Comrade Peter Esele, for a chat.
THISDAY findings revealed that it was just a routine chat and an “indirect call for dialogue” to continue with the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the impasse.
It was gathered that government had started making frantic moves to stave off the strike.
Presidency sources said government had directed its negotiating team to engage the labour and its allies even before the rescheduled meeting date of Thursday.
Omar said Labour's latest action was precipitated by the untold hardship and suffering Nigerians had been subjected to in recent times following price increases in petrol and VAT and government's apparent reluctance in listening to the cries of the people.
He said the suffering of Nigerians had been compounded by the imposition of additional burden of price increases of petrol and kerosene, a 100% increase in VAT and the suspension of the 15 per cent salary increase in the country meant to cushion the effects of biting hunger and deepening mass poverty.
"Nigerians can no longer continue to suffer in the midst o plenty. They no longer want to live under sub-human conditions. So with effect from Wednesday 20th June 2007, an indefinite general strike and mass protests by Nigerians will commence," he had said.
He said Labour had tried all in its power to let the government see reason and ally with the Nigerian people rather than imprison itself in the anti-people and pro-poverty policies and programmes.
The NLC President however regretted that government was rather desperately trying to claim “paternity” of the immediate past President Obasanjo regime's punishing policies.
According to him, as part of the implementation of the industrial action, all offices, ports, banks, petrol stations and business premises were to be shut down, while all schools, airports, official and semi official business premises were to be closed down. Vehicles, particularly commercial ones, were to off the roads.
He said the strike would be peaceful but that any bank, fuel station, factory or office that defied the strike directive would be “responsible” for its action.
Omar said contrary to speculations, the strike and protests would not be called off until government addressed positively the unions’ four-point demand.
At the press conference which had Esele and NUPENG President Mr. Peter Akpatason, in attendance, the coalition advised parents and guardians not to send their children to school as teachers had given a firm commitment that they would not teach.
"School children should therefore not be allowed to roam streets that may be unsafe," they warned.
Justifying their declaration of strike, the labour unions said efforts to get the Federal Government to reason with them did not yield any fruit, adding that instead the authorities stuck to its gun.
"We wrote a four-page letter to President Yar'Adua on June 1st articulating the feeling and interests of the populace and asking for succour.
"Also in the last two weeks, we have held formal meetings with government teams led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Unfortunately, these meetings have not been fruitful," Omar said.
The communiqué jointly signed by Omar, Esele and Chairman Joint Action Forum, Dr. Dipo Fashina, accused the management of NNPC of fueling the crisis through the provocative statement it issued on the petrol price hike.
According to the coalition, "NNPC arrogantly went on air to say that fuel prices would rise to N230 per litre and that even if Nigerians went on strike and mass protests for ten years nothing would change.
"We have refused to be provoked because we discern that the management of NNPC plans to derail the democratic process in the country," the group said.
Asari Wants Petroleum Minister to be from Delta (Business Day)
Speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt on his arrival from Abuja at the weekend Asari reiterated his call for a sovereign national conference where the basis of the country’s nationhood would be discoursed by all the ethnic nationalities that make up the country.
Asari who was granted bail last week by an Abuja High Court says he is not aware of any conditions surrounding his release.
An Abuja High Court last week granted Asari bail on health grounds with several conditions attached but the NDPVF leader said he was unaware of such conditions.
He arrived the Port Harcourt air force base around 11am Saturday aboard a chattered plane of the Associated Airlines and went straight to the home of a prominent politician in Rivers state.
Asari had earlier after he was granted bail by the court condemned the act of hostage taking and kidnap of expatriates workers in the Niger Delta describing it as evil.
Large crowd of people turned out to catch a glimpse of Asari causing a traffic hold up at the Air force base axis of the Ph-Aba expressway.
However many of the admirers were disappointed as Asari could not wait to address them but was taken straight to the home of a prominent politician in Rivers state.
But in an apparent show of appreciation to the federal government for the release of Asari the militants also yesterday announced an end to all hostage taking and kidnapping of expatriates.
Ten Idians staff of Indorama-new owners of the Eleme Petrochemical Company Limited including their Managing Director who were abducted about two weeks ago were released to the Rivers state governor Celestine Omehia, Saturday afternoon.
Ateke Tom, leader of the Niger Delta Vigilnte afaction of the militant groups in a statement issued at the weekend offered to collaborate with efforts at ending kidnap of expatriates in the Niger Delta.
Crime Breaks Out Again in Lagos Markets (Daily Trust)For the sixth time in three months confusion enveloped some popular markets and motor parks in Lagos last Wednesday following the resurgence of fight between gangs of area boys.
Our reporters who witnessed the clashes at the ever busy Oshodi market noted some supporters of one M.C. Musiliu, believed to be a notorious Oshodi gang leader, stormed the market, brandishing cutlasses, knives and other dangerous weapons in a bid to take control from another group.
"There was pandemonium as traders and commuters ran helter-skelter for dear lives. In the process, goods especially, perishable items worth thousands of naira were destroyed", says Muftau Adegoke, a resident who witnessed the clash.
Another eyewitness who identified himself as Sumaila Ade told Oodua Trust that the fighting was between NURTW members seeking to upstage one another in the motor parks.
He disclosed that the confusion was caused by supporters of the factional chairman of NURTW in the state, Mr. Saka Saula who attempted to take over a motor park belonging to the opposing faction in the area.
"They came with cutlasses, guns, knives and bottles and started attacking people. So people were running helter-skelter to escape being killed," Sumaila narrated.
Investigations also revealed that the fighting which had spread to Onipanu, Yaba and Ojota in the last two months was however contained by anti-riot policemen from the state police command.
The cops who stormed Oshodi and other battle grounds in personnel armour carrier dispersed the combatants and took control of the affected areas. Before then, the hoodlums had unleashed terror on innocent traders and destroyed shops.
The anti-riot policemen restored normalcy to the area as at the time of filing this report and confirmed that some miscreants were arrested in connection with the clashes.
Fighting broke out in the area three weeks ago when opponents of M.C. Musiliu attempted to dislodge him from the park. Traders lost goods worth thousands of naira as their shops were set ablaze by the rampaging area boys. Vehicles were also set ablaze during the gang war.
Following the constant gang wars in Idumota and other parts of Lagos Island, residents, now live in fear, investigations has revealed. Worse still, residents of the areas where the gang wars have become a regular feature now make sure they are in their respective homes as early as 8pm while drinking joints close as early as 7.30pm, Oodua Trust learnt.
Also, car owners have been moving their vehicles out of Lagos due to the fear of vandalisation, while those whose vehicles were damaged have vowed not to venture near Lagos Island again.
The first son of the late Ayinde Bakare, Shina Ayinde Bakare, who recently fell victim to the rampaging social miscreants, had his car, a Datsun saloon car, badly damaged.
Ayinde Bakare said: "The daily clash among the area boys is very disturbing and if something drastic is not done, they may start entering our houses to kill us. Each time they clash, people and cars are always their target."
Another victim, whose Mercedes Benz Jeep was destroyed during one of the clashes, vowed never to buy another one until the situation improves.
"Imagine, they perpetrate all these atrocities without being checked by the policemen. The situation is so bad. The first time my car was damaged. I lost my mobile phone during another attack," he lamented.
On Monday, Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola set up a twelve-man committee headed by former Inspector-General of Police, Musiliu Smith to fashion out ways of reducing crime in the state.
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