Nigeria Security Update #1 060707

Militant Kidnappers Use Dynamite in Attack

Two New Zealand oil men kidnapped in Nigeria faced gun-toting men who placed dynamite on the drilling rig. MEND has taken credit for these kidnappings.
The kidnappers eluded security provided by the Kiwis' American employer.

Lone Star Drilling, contracted to oil giant Shell, told the partner of one of the New Zealanders that at least one person was injured during the raid in which shots were fired.

Brent Goddard (R), of Wellington, and Bruce Klenner (L), of New Plymouth, were kidnapped with three other men at dawn on Wednesday as they worked on a rig in the Niger Delta, where at least four other Kiwis have been kidnapped and later freed since 1999.

The other hostages taken in the latest raid were Jason Lane, of Australia, George Saliba, of Lebanon, and Andreas Gambra, of Venezuela.

Goddard's partner, Gilly Sannazzaro, said yesterday she went into shock and "just lost it" after being told by Lone Star executives of the attack and kidnapping.

She said the gunmen had contacted the firm to say the men were OK, and no demands for money had been made.

"They (the firm) run a pretty tight ship, from all accounts. They have security guards," she said.

"I asked for a photo of security that is out on the rig and I got this photo of boats with semi-automatic rifles on them."

Sannazzaro, 45, a mother-of-two, said Lone Star told her the attack started at 4am (3pm New Zealand time).

"My immediate concern is if they were attacked at 4am, where were the security people?" she said.

"Lone Star just said the rig was seized and the gunmen were on board and had taken dynamite on. There was firing; there was someone hurt.

"They didn't give me any more details than that, except five workers were taken as hostages and were removed from the rig. They don't know the location or the whereabouts of the men."

Goddard was Lone Star's chief mechanic and had 10 years of experience in the oil industry, she said. Before that he had worked as a commercial diver and was an experienced hunter.

"He is going to take this absolutely in his stride. That is one thing that attracted me to Brent when I first met him – his level-headedness, his attitude to life.

"He is a very clever man," she said.

"That is not to say this situation won't have him stressed, but he will deal with it in a way that won't jeopardise his safety or that of his colleagues."

The Niger Delta has been at the centre of a long confrontation between the Nigerian Government, militants who claim to be fighting for a larger share of oil resources for locals, and armed gangs out to gain ransom money.

At least 200 foreigners, mostly oil workers, have been kidnapped in the region since the beginning of lst year. Most have been freed.

The kidnappings have not deterred Kaiapoi oil worker Matthew Pasco, who is returning to the region despite narrowly escaping a kidnapping attempt when his rig was raided this year.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and the world's eighth-largest exporter of crude oil.

Klenner's wife, Linda, said her husband and Goddard were friends and fishing partners.

She was confident they would emerge safely from their ordeal.

Lone Star told her that sources in Nigeria said the men had not been harmed.

She said it was a nervous time and she would spend the next few days by the telephone.

"I think there is risk in any job, really," she said.

"It's just where it is and the volatility of the place, but I just honestly believe it's going to be all right. You have to."

She said it was her husband's second stint in Nigeria and that he had been there working month-on, month-off since November last year.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters said through a spokesman that diplomats were liaising with Shell as well as Australian authorities and the Nigerian Government.

They were also offering support to the men's families.

"Shell has considerable experience in these matters and they are taking the lead," the spokesman said.

"At this point we don't have a lot more detail."

New Zealand High Commissioner to Britain Jonathan Hunt, who is accredited to Nigeria, said there were few details about the motive.

"We don't know who abducted them or if any demands have been received from the kidnappers," he said yesterday.

Kidnappers Stoop to a New Low (AP, BBC)

Gunmen smashed in the windows of a car carrying a British girl to school Thursday and kidnapped the three-year-old, marking the first seizure of a foreign child in Nigeria's increasingly lawless oil region.

In London, the British government called for the immediate release of Margaret Hill, who was taken from her car as it idled in Port Harcourt's heavy morning traffic. Nigerian community leaders were outraged.

"Taking an innocent child by force is a criminal act that should be roundly condemned by Nigerians," said Anabs Saraigbe, an influential chief of the ethnic Ijaw people who predominate in the region. "Such dastardly acts can't take us anywhere and must stop."

Over 200 foreigners have been kidnapped since militants stepped up their activities against the oil industry in late 2005 and more than 100 expatriates have been seized this year alone as criminal gangs took up the practice.

Kidnappers have focused mostly on foreign, male workers of international companies presumed to have the resources for ransom payments.

While two children of wealthy Nigerians have been seized in the restive Niger Delta in recent weeks, Margaret's seizure was the first of a foreign child _ indicating yet one more barrier toppled in an increasingly restive region where hospitality is normally venerated. Both Nigerian children were released within days, without injury.

Thursday's attack came during morning rush hour, as Margaret was being driven to school, said the British embassy in Nigeria.

A local radio station aired an interview with a woman identified as a witness, who said seven gunmen scared away onlookers by firing rifles in the air.

They then broke in the windows with their gunstocks, dragged out the child and bundled her away in a Peugeot, the woman told Rhythm FM.

In London, Britain's Foreign Office called for Margaret's "immediate safe release."

Nigerian security forces were investigating the case, said Rivers state police Spokeswoman Irejua Barasua.

Acquaintances of Margaret's family said her father is a longtime resident of Nigeria who works for a firm performing contract work in Nigeria's oil industry, which is the continent's largest.

They also said he was the owner of a renowned Port Harcourt night spot popular with expatriate workers. The bar was shuttered Thursday and Margaret's family members couldn't be located by The Associated Press.

Kidnappers who seized a three-year-old UK girl in Nigeria have threatened to kill her unless her father agrees to take her place, her mother says.

Margaret Hill, the daughter of an expatriate worker, was grabbed from a car on her way to school in the oil city of Port Harcourt.

Her mother, Oluchi, told the BBC that the kidnappers had called her demanding a meeting in a town in the Niger Delta.

She said they then allowed her to speak to her daughter who was crying.

Margaret was snatched by gunmen at 0730 (0630 GMT) on Thursday after they smashed a window of her car as it stood in traffic.

Mrs Hill said the kidnappers told her to meet them in a town in Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region, but that neither she nor the police had been able to locate it.

"They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby," she said. "He wanted to go down for his baby but the police commander told him not to."

The kidnappers then threatened to kill Margaret if Mr Hill did not come within three hours, she said.

But Mrs Hill said she had not been contacted by the kidnappers since then.

The UK's Foreign Office has called for the "immediate safe release" of the girl.

Criminal kidnappings have become common in the region, where the crude in Africa's biggest producer is pumped. More than a dozen foreigners are currently in captivity, including five seized Wednesday from a Royal Dutch Shell oil rig.

Hostages are generally released unharmed after a ransom is paid _ often by state governments that control huge, unregulated security slush funds, with officials taking a cut, according to industry officials. At least two hostages have been killed in the crossfire when security forces crossed the kidnappers.

The government of new President Umaru Yar'Adua is trying to calm the oil region, where security began worsening with the emergence of a new militant group in late 2005.

The militants, whose bombings and kidnappings have cut Nigeria's normal oil output by about one quarter, say they're fighting to force the federal government to give the Niger Delta region a greater share of state oil money.

Despite four decades of oil production, the region remains among the poorest anywhere in Africa, a situation residents blame on official corruption and mismanagement of government money.

While the militants pioneered the practice of kidnapping, saying it was a pressure tactic used for leverage with the government, most kidnappings now are purely criminal, without a political element.

Margaret's seizure appeared to set a new benchmark, however, with virtually no one in the country exempt from the rampaging violence. While the militants enjoy some measure of support for their political demands, Nigerians are generally dismayed by the hostage takings, which flourish partly in oil region because hostages can be hidden away from prying eyes in the vast maze of creeks and swamps.

"Kidnapping is a violation of the victim's fundamental human rights and can never be justified under any known law," said Onueze Okncha, former head of the Nigerian Bar Association. "It's going to cause problems for Nigeria people in ways we could never imagine."