Nigeria Security Update #2 020707

AFRICOM'S Intentions Questioned (ISN)

By John C K Daly for ISN Security Watch (02/07/07)

As US plans for an African command (AFRICOM) operations base forge ahead, perceptions that the base's raison d'etre is to gain control over regional oil assets and counter growing Chinese influence are growing.

While Washington is proffering AFRICOM as a largely benign organization, Africans remain wary, having seen that a US military footprint in Djibouti led to operations such as Somalia, and believe that the Pentagon could not resist intervening to protect US investments in oil producing nations such as Nigeria or Equatorial Guinea if their regimes were toppled.

Unveiled on 6 February this year, AFRICOM is slated to be fully operational by 30 September 2008. In March, a transition team, including approximately 60 staff, led by Navy Rear Admiral Robert Moeller was assembled. This team will form the core of the new command.

Previously, Africa was divided between three US Unified Combatant Commands: European Command (EUCOM), Central Command (CENTCOM) and Pacific Command (PACOM). The new AFRICOM will be responsible for the entire continent, with the exception of Egypt, which will remain under CENTCOM's responsibility.

AFRICOM's designated area of responsibility also includes the Atlantic Ocean Cape Verde, the islands of Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, as well as the Indian Ocean Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles islands.

The unit will differ from other US military commands in that it will include diplomatic, developmental and economic staffers from the outset. The Pentagon has announced that AFRICOM's deputy commander position is being reserved for a State Department staffer rather than a military officer, and that half of the command's 200 employees will not be from the Department of Defense.

As ISN Security Watch reported in February The Defense Department defines AFRICOM's mission as to promote US strategic objectives by working with African nations and indigenous organizations to help build regional stability and security, with AFRICOM's military operations primarily focused on deterring aggression and responding to crises.

The creation of a new combatant command requires changes by the president to the Unified Command Plan classified executive document, which defines the underlying organization of US armed forces and is reviewed every two years. The 2006 review recommended the establishment of AFRICOM.

The unit's founding represents a complete reversal in Pentagon strategic thinking over the last decade. In 1995, the Department of Defense in its US Security Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa stated: "Ultimately we see very little traditional strategic interest in Africa." The 7 August 1998 al-Qaida terrorist bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya quickly led to the abandonment of this line of thought.

The current US military presence in Africa is about 1,800 troops, mostly at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, established in May 2003 as part of CENTCOM's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), which began operating in October 2002. CJTF-HOA's US military and civilian personnel cover the land and airspace in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Seychelles, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen, as well as the coastal waters of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

There are also a number of small training teams in such areas as the Sahel and Tamanrasset, Algeria. US troops have also helped train anti-terrorism forces in Algeria, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda among other countries. The US military presence in African waters is also slowly growing, most visibly with recent naval exercises in the Gulf of Guinea designed to protect oil shipments and operations off Somalia to deter piracy.

The Defense Department's strengthening focus on Africa is epitomized in the increasing revenue directed towards its "Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara (OEF-TS)." The program is designed to support Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria and Morocco in resisting terrorism, with the revenue spent to send US troops to train with host-nation militaries and other missions. OEF-TS received US$5 million in 2005 and US$31 million in 2006, while this year's funding is US$81.7 million, and is expected to be increased to approximately US$100 million annually for 2008 through 2013, according to EUCOM statistics. OEF-TS is now under AFRICOM's supervision, along with Joint Task Force Aztec Silence, the combined arms organization assigned to implement OEF-TS' missions.

Orphan AFRICOM

The Pentagon reportedly plans to establish another dozen bases in the region; in Algeria, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia.

But for now, AFRICOM remains an orphan without an African home, with Algeria and Libya rejecting the idea outright, and Morocco being distinctly cool.

The Transition Team will be housed temporarily at the US Army's Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart-Mohringen, Germany until the issue can be resolved. AFRICOM initially will be a sub-unified command, subordinate to EUCOM, also based in Stuttgart, with a projected Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by October 2007. As the Defense Department continues to search for a suitable African host country, high among its concerns is providing for the safety and security of an estimated 500 American personnel and their families who will staff the command.

Ryan Henry, principal Defense Department under secretary for policy, first toured Africa in April, visiting six African countries including South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Senegal trying to drum up support for the concept. During a second round of visits earlier this month, Henry traveled to Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and the African Union, but to little avail.

One of the greatest fears among Africans is that AFRICOM will suffer from mission creep, moving steadily away from its humanitarian aspirations towards a more distinctly interventionist role. Such fears were heightened in January when US forces with AC-130 gunships secretly operating from Ethiopia carried out at least two air strikes in Somalia, targeting suspected al-Qaida members.

In the "frequently asked questions" section of its website, AFRICOM is clearly concerned about perceptions increasingly common in Africa that its purpose might be to gain control over regional oil assets and counter growing Chinese influence. One query asks: "Is this an effort by the United States to gain access to natural resources (e.g. petroleum)? Is this in response to Chinese activities in Africa?" AFRICOM's reply: "No."

Henry told reporters that AFRICOM's purpose was not to wage war, but "to work in concert with our African partners for a more stable environment in which political and economic growth can take place," adding that another formal round of talks on AFRICOM would take place with representatives from the UK, France and other European countries sometime in the fall.

Henry's earnestness is somewhat undercut by EUCOM commander General Bantz Craddock, who last month told journalists in Washington, "You look at West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, it becomes more focused because of the energy situation," with the result that protecting energy assets "obviously is out in front."

Africans have also increasingly come to criticize AFRICOM. Michele Ruiters of Johannesburg's Business Day magazine wrote in a February op-ed piece that "It is necessary for Africans to oppose the expansion of US military power in Africa.[...] AFRICOM would destabilize an already fragile continent and region, which would be forced to engage with US interests on military terms," Ruiters wrote.

Commentaries in South Africa and Kenya have opined that AFRICOM was less about fostering African prosperity than it was an attempt to counter China's growing presence while securing access to African energy resources.

On 8 February, Kenya's The Nation wryly noted in an editorial that "Ironically, AFRICOM was announced as Chinese President Hu Jintao was touring eight African nations to negotiate deals that will enable China to secure oil flows from Africa."

A 12 April editorial in Zambia's The Post daily newspaper was even more blunt, alleging that AFRICOM was "aimed at influencing, threatening and warding off any competitors by using force," a direct reference to China's growing presence in Africa.

Mission creep fears

Many Africans fear that the nexus of energy, poverty and terrorism may swiftly push AFRICOM beyond its stated humanitarian objectives. The rising violence in Nigeria's Delta region may well be the rock upon which AFRICOM's humanitarian focus founders.

Since the insurgency began there in 2004, when protesting armed youths of the oil and gas region took to the creeks, violence has caused a sharp upturn in global world energy prices, with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation sources in Port Harcourt claiming off the record that Nigeria's oil production has been reduced by nearly 40 percent because of militant activity (other sources say 25 percent).

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has dismissed AFRICOM, saying it smacks of typical American braggadocio "which has no place in the realism of living in today's world."

MEND militants have already succeeded in shutting off approximately 711,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Nigeria's daily output of 2.5 million bpd, nearly 25 percent of the country's exports. If a combination of militant attacks and general strikes completely paralyzed Nigerian production, it would seem rather unlikely that US military forces would sit by idly as oil shipments from America's third largest oil importer ground to a halt.

And oil is hardly the continent's sole export of interest to the Pentagon. US military sources estimate that up to a quarter of all foreign fighters in Iraq are from Africa, primarily from Algeria and Morocco. Such a connection makes it further unlikely that the Pentagon would stand by passively digging wells and building schools while passing up the chance of eliminating hard-core terrorists.

The lure of African oil

World attention must necessarily increasingly focus on African energy reserves, underlined by massive recent oil discoveries in Ghana (which is currently discussing hosting a US military base), Equatorial Guinea and Angola, all countries of rising US interest. Western oil giants including American companies ExxonMobil and Chevron, France's Total and Britain's BP and Royal Dutch Shell plan to invest tens of billions of dollars in sub-Saharan Africa over the next several years.

The US currently consumes about 20 million bpd. Last year 22 percent of US crude imports came from Africa, in comparison with only 15 percent in 2004; the rate now slightly exceeds US imports from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Over the last five years US oil imports from Africa have nearly doubled. The National Intelligence Council projects that African oil imports will account for 25 percent of total US imports by 2015, primarily from Gulf of Guinea countries, Nigeria and Angola. Other estimates place the percentage as high as 35 percent for the same period. Between 2004 and 2007, African oil production climbed from seven million barrels per day (bpd) to 9.5 million bpd, and a US Department of Energy study estimates that African oil production will rise 91 percent between 2002 and 2025. In March, Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, overtook Saudi Arabia as the third largest oil exporter to the US.

The region's surging oil production is occurring amid rising social tension, most notably in Nigeria. West Africa remains the most poverty stricken region in the world, with 23 West African nations sitting on the bottom of the UN human development index on poverty despite rising energy revenues.

Despite its rising prominence in US energy imports, Nigeria's continuing instability has had a marked impact on global prices. World oil rates rose above US$60 per barrel in April 2007 after Nigeria held elections widely dismissed as fraudulent and again in May 2007 after attacks on pipelines in the Niger Delta.

Despite such fluctuations, increasing focus on African energy reserves is inevitable. In his 2006 State of the Union address, President George W Bush announced his intention "to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025." It is difficult to see how such a goal could be achieved without a massive increase in African oil imports.

Shake Up In Police (Daily Champion)

Few weeks after the Inspector-General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro promised to flush out corrupt police officers, a major shake up has been effected in the police hierarchy, with 35 police commissioners changing positions.

Force Public Relations Officer, Commissioner of Police Haz Iwendi, who was not affected in the shake-up in a statement, said the IGP carried out the operational changes to invigorate the crime-fighting capabilities of the police.

According to him, Okiro, in a strongly worded letter, "charged the affected officers to fight all forms of criminality and corruption".

Under the new arrangement, CP Mohammed Abubakar, who was the CP, Airport, will now man the Lagos Police Command, while Audu Abubakar, who was in Imo state was moved to the Airport as new helmsman.

Alhaji S. D. Faki, who was in Osun state, is now to report to the Force Headquarters as Deputy Force Secretary. Johnson Uzuegbunam, who was the CP at Force Headquarters, is to move to the Nigeria Ports Authority, while Bashiru Azeez, who was in Lagos, is to move over to Enugu.

Female CP, Elizabeth Ayo-Eremie, who was at the FHQ is to move over to the Special Duty Unit, while Saleh Abubakar, who was in Jigawa is to move over to Nasarawa State.

Abayomi Onashile, who was in Abia State is now CP in Ekiti state, while Charles Akaya, Deputy Force Secretary is now in charge at Plateau, and Mohammed Yesufu, CP Bauchi will move over to Kano state.

Emmanuel Ezeozue, Commandant, Police Staff College, Jos, will move over to Niger state as CP, just as Emmanuel Adebayo, who moved from Lagos to Nasarawa is now redeployed to FHQ Administration Department.

Samuel Adekunle, who was in Kogi state is moved to become the Force Provost Marshal, while Innocent Ilozuoke, who was in Ondo state will move over to Cross River State.

Mr. Udom Ekpoudom, who recently moved over to Lagos briefly and left for Benue as crime burster, is now moved to Oyo State, the same way as Adanaya Gaya, the Bakassi CP in Anambra before moving over to Ebonyi is to report to Bauchi as crime burster.

Donald Iroham, who was in FHQ, is now moved to Imo State, while Mohammed Zareqa, Police Provost Marshal is now CP in Zamfara State.

Abubakar Mohammed, who was at FHQ is now moved to Jigawa state. Similarly, Ibrahim B. Ahmed, who was in the same place as Abubakar, is now to head Kwara State.

Danlamin Yar'Adua, who was the crime burster in Cross River State has been moved to Borno state, while Paul Iseghohi, who was in Niger is moved to Abia State.

Another female CP, Juliana Iroha, who was at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) is now moved to Ebonyi state, while Ibezimako Aghanya, who was in Ekiti state is now in Kogi state.

Mr. Ibiyinka Kayode, who was in Plateau has been moved to Benue state, while Shehu Babalola, who was in Borno state has been transferred to Ondo, the oil rich state.

John Moronike, who was part of the FCID, is now moved to Osun state, while Bukar Maina, also in Kwara is to be at the FCID.

Atiku Fakur, who was in Kano has been moved over to become the CP Homicide, while Charles Dawudu, who was in Enugu, the coal city state, is also transferred to the FHQ Admin Department.

Calistus Anuide, who was in the Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), is also at the Admin B Department, while Sani Magaji, who was at the FHQ, has been moved to be the new CP Welfare.

Kefas Gadzama, who was in Zamfara is now CP SARS, while his colleague, Jonathan Johnson, who was in Oyo state, is now Commandant of the Police College, Oji river in Enugu state, just as Mr. Ephraim Amakulor, who was at FHQ is now CP Admin C Department.

Price of Machetes Drops in Nigeria Since Elections (Reuters)

The price of machetes has halved in parts of Nigeria since the end of general elections in April because demand from thugs sponsored by politicians has subsided, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported.

NAN surveyed prices in the northeastern state of Gombe and found that a good quality machete was now selling for 400 naira ($3) compared with 800 naira before the elections, which were marred by politically motivated violence in many states.

"A price survey on machetes, which served as a popular weapon among political thugs in the state, indicated ... a drop in the price of the implement," NAN reported over the weekend.

Machetes are primarily used as a tool for farming in Nigeria but they are also popular among political gangsters.

"Before the conduct of the general elections, I was selling a minimum of seven machetes daily but can hardly sell one a day now," said Usman Masi, a trader quoted by NAN.

Africa's most populous country returned to civilian rule in 1999 after three decades of almost continuous army rule but violence remains a feature of politics, especially during the build-up to elections.

European election monitors estimated that at least 200 people were killed in politically motivated violence during months of campaigning ahead of the April polls.

Nigeria Security Update #1 210607

Strike Begins to Affect Oil Sector

Following the nationwide strike, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday withdrew key staff of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) from oilfields and export terminals.

The Congress, which spared oil production and exports yesterday, being the first day of the indefinite strike action, made the withdrawal at midnight yesterday.

According to branch Chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), “between now and 12 midnight, we will withdraw our members from all DPR locations, including oil exports terminals.”

The union members went on with the strike despite series of concessions offered by President Umaru Yar'Adua, who faces the first major test of his government three weeks after assumption of office.

Offices of Western oil companies in Nigeria were closed, along with most other businesses and government offices, but oil production and shipments remained uninterrupted, company officials said.

One executive was quoted as saying, "all our offices are locked up, but there has been no interference in our operations yet."

Unions ordered workers to go on "total strike,” but leaders of the oil unions said it would take time to shut the industry down.

Oil companies use non-unionised staff to maintain essential operations, but some union members are required to sign-off on exports, and this is where unions hope to put pressure.

Also, some international and domestic flights had been cancelled because of shortage of jet fuel.

Army and Militants Set to Square Off (This Day)

The sad episode that led to the massacre and the sacking of Odi community in 1999 is set to repeat itself as the Nigerian Army is set to lay siege to Ogboinbiri community where 12 soldiers were killed on Sunday.

Unlike that of Odi, however, the militants are ready to do battle with the military as youths are said to be trooping in to the embattled community from as far away as Warri, Burutu, Bomadi and Patani in Delta state and Okirika in Rivers state.

The movement of the boys followed reports that the federal government has deployed several hundreds troops to Ogboinbiri to recover the bodies of soldiers killed and those held as Prisoners of War by the militant when the Ogboinbiri flow station belonging to Italian oil company, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) was invaded by rampaging militants.

Even as the youths are converging at the community, Troops from the Elele Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army yesterday started moving to Yenagoa.

The movement, THISDAY checks reveals, is part of the Army’s effort to warn the people on the consequences of their children action and to call them to order as the Army is ready to do battle with the boys at the expiration of the 48 hours ultimatum given to them.

The ultimatum was handed over to the state Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva by the Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Brig. Gen. Lawrence Ndagene on Tuesday afternoon.

All effort to get the Commander of the JTF, Gen Ndagene and his Public Relations Officer, Major Omale Ochagwuba to comment on the rumour making the rounds that a State of Emergency may be imposed on the state if the military option was carried out proved abortive.

Contacted however, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Timipre Sylva, Mr. Ebimo Amungo dismissed the rumour.

He clarified that the ultimatum issued by the federal government on the return of the soldiers was issued to the militants not the state government.

According to him, the Governor is not in charge if security at the flow station or anywhere at all, adding that all the state government can do is ensure that all is well in the state.

Amungo said the Governor has been meeting with all arms of security in the state to ensure that situation returns to normal.

He admitted that the militants are still occupying the flow station and efforts are still on to persuade them to vacate facility peacefully.

Reacting to the Ultimatum issued by the federal government, a Non-Governmental-Organisation (NGO), Government of the People (GOP), lamented the sad turn of events in the state.

In a statement made available to THISDAY in Yenagoa and signed by its coordinator, Dr. Youpele Banigo, the GOP described the Reports that Federal Government has “issued a-48 hour ultimatum to the Bayelsa State Government to produce 21 officers and oil workers, or face the full wrath of a full military action” as a worrisome development.

It would be recalled that on Sunday June 17, 2007 militants invaded an oil flow station belonging to the Italian company AGIP located at Ogboinbiri, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and engaged security personals protecting the facility in a gun battle.

Earlier in the week, soldiers deployed to protect the facility killed nine youths in the area, an action which was follwed by Sunday reprisal action by the youth.

The GOP lamented that the situation is that “a sad replay of history appears to be on the way. In the early days of the first civilian/democratic government a similar event occurred at Odi when youths allegedly killed police officers, which culminating to the killing and destruction of Odi, and the rest is now history. But suffice it to say that we have not learnt from history, and may likely repeat that costly mistake.

Already tension is mounting in the area as the local people, including children are said to be fleeing from Ogboinbiri and the neighbouring communities following the elapse of the ultimatum.
‘Government of the People’, is deeply concerned about the situation and we are compelled to call on all and sundry, especially the Federal Government, State Government, the communities leaders, the youths, and the Nigerian military to be extremely cautious so that we to avoid another Odi or Odioama.”

The group said “Ogboinbiri borders Amasooma where the Niger Delta University is located. The University accumulates a considerable large number of people from around the country including students, scholars, researchers and other non-academic workers.
We therefore call whoever that is holding these officers and workers to immediately and unconditionally release them on humanitarian grounds and also to avoid a military reprisals.”

Gangs Clash with Police and Soldiers in Lagos (This Day)

As the nation witnessed another round of industrial action called by the Nigeria Labour Congress, armed hoodlums yesterday took to major areas in Lagos metropolis to prevent people from going about freely. At the end, no fewer than five soldiers and a police officer were said to have been injured and are presently on the danger list following the injuries they sustained when some suspected street urchins attacked their vehicle at the Iyana Ipaja end of Lagos State.

This is even as some armed rampaging hoodlums yesterday stormed the ever busy Maryland bus stop end of Ikorodu Road to disperse workers who came out in search of commercial vehicles that would take them to their respective places of work.

Eyewitness account alleged that the soldiers who may be on their way home ran into an unofficial road block mounted by some hoodlums at Ipaja area.

Also the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bashiru Azeez, yesterday paraded atleast 23 suspected armed robbers who were said to have operated within the Lagos metropolis within the past one month.

Though, the soldiers were said to have held their cool when they got to the road block, but that some of the urchins got irritated when they eventually discovered the true identities of the occupants of the vehicles.

Some of them opened fire at the vehicle as the soldiers attempted to escape from the scene when it became obvious that the hoodlums were not going to allow them go.

“Some of them sustained severe bullet wounds while a few of them had matched cuts. They were said to have been rushed to an undisclosed hospital by a team of mobile police officer drafted to the area” the source added.

In the same vein, some suspected street urchins, about 50 held some workers hostage at the Mary Land end of Ikorodu Road. St the end one Mobile policeman attached to mopol 20, Keffi was said to have been injured in the crisis.

The injured persons, majority of whom were said to be on their way to their respective places of worker were chased back to their house by some armed hoodlums who had allegedly laid siege on top of the Mary Land bypass.

The hoodlums were said to have fired sporadic gun shots into the air to scare away the workers and some filling station operatives who were selling fuel in jerry cans to buyers.

The incident which started at about 7am yesterday later spread to Onipan area/
It was at Onipan that one policeman who was said to be on his way to work ran into a story bullet fired by the suspected urchins.

Though, normalcy has been brought to both areas by the presence of armed mobile policemen, but uneasy calm still hover around the areas, but the situation may get worse from tomorrow when the few stations that had the products would have run out of stock, a marketer one of the filling station attendant told THISDAY at Maryland.

However, policemen were kept busy through out the better part of yesterday in Lagos, as commercial and vehicular activists were brought to a halt. This may not be unconnected to the fear that urchins might eventually take over the struck to carry out their criminal activities.
The few commercial vehicles that were on the road collected trice the original amount from commuters.

Unconfirmed reports alleged that about ten persons were arrested and that they are currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti Street, Yaba for further interrogation. Though how truthful this was could not be ascertained as the Command Headquarters were said to be parading about 23 armed robbe4ry suspects at the Command Headquarters at the time the crisis were on in the State.

Armed policemen from Mopol 29 and 22 also disrupted some protest match said to have been embarked on by organized Labour.

Some of the suspects arrested in Lagos were could not be identified as police sources said investigations was still on as to the involvement of the crisis in Ipaja and Maryland where five soldiers and one policeman were injured.

The protesters were coming from a rally held at various places in Lagos and were heading for the National Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Yaba, when they encountered the police.

As early as 3pm, policemen from the state police command were sighted on major roads of the state capital, while intense and thorough search were
Conducted on private vehicles.

While Police were battling to curtail the activities of hoodlums in some parts of the metropolis. The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bashiru Azeez, paraded about 23 suspected armed robbers who have been operating within the state in the past one month.

Addressing journalists at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, he some most of them have made useful confessional statements that will aid the police.

“The fine turned crime strategy was strengthened by the nine way test of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro in his determined war on corruption and crime” he said.

Willbros Workers Protest Treatment by Company (Scoop)

WITH oil production activities still being largely disrupted in the Rivers State axis of the Niger Delta, amid incidents of sporadic gun shooting by rival cult cum militia cells in most parts of the state, a United States (U.S.) oil firm is currently heightening the worsening security situation in the oil and gas region of Nigeria.

The management of Willbros Nigeria Limited, one of the frontline U.S. oil servicing companies operating in the Niger Delta, is locked in confrontation with over 1000 of their junior and intermediate workers who are protesting against the U.S. firm's alleged breach of their Collective Agreement.

Some top functionaries of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) who made this known to our correspondent in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, on Tuesday night, are alleging that Willbros management response to the workers demands was not encouraging. The protesting oil workers are being branded as ''terrorists'' by the U.S. company.

Already, security agencies in the oil region are beginning to in guarded whispers that the impasse at Willbros has the potential of spiraling into a full blown crisis that could impact negatively on the larger sector of Nigeria.

Concerned labour leaders in the oil and gas region are also worried that the protesting Willbros workers have been defined by their management, through an alleged publication of ''seditious information'' in some key embassies and governments in Nigeria.

Chibuzor Nanwu, Chairman of the Willbros branch of NUPENG and his Treasurer, Alex Agwanwor, are alleging that the company has breached the agreement they reached in May 2006, by putting them on perpetual standby without pay. The U.S. company is also being accused of selling its greater portion to ASCOT Offshore Nigeria Limited, without settling the workers.

According to the union leaders, the workers are being owed over nine months pay. They are also accusing the company of defrauding the workers to the tune of over N50million pension deductions.

In the mean time, each of the affected workers are demanding a settlement package of N5.00million. For the 1000 of them, this is likely to be in the region of N5.00billion. ASCOT, the company that is buying up Willbros is said to be owned by one of the immediate past governors of the Niger Delta.

For those who know better, the alleged unwholesome acts of the American firm is heightening the security situation in the oil region as those being laid off, put on standby ''are sons and daughters of the oil region whose economic lives have been rendered impotent''

NUPENG says children of the protesting oil workers are being chased out of schools for want of money to pay school fees. According to the union, the Willbros workers ''are now subjects of landlord attacks for want of money to pay house rents, they are now malnourished for want of money to buy food with which to feed and a lot more serious suffering''.

But Willbros is keeping sealed lips on this accusations. Public Relations Officer of the company, Solomon Aluge, says he is not competent to speak on the issues being raised by the workers.

Soldiers in Warri Arrest Nine (Nigerian Tribune)

Nine persons have been arrested by men of the Joint Military Task Force (JMTF) in connection with last Tuesday’s violent clash between youths and elders of Abitiye and Benikrukru communities in Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State over

what to do with N150 million compensation paid to them by Chevron Nigeria Plc.

The oil company was said to have paid the money to the elders on behalf of the communities in its areas of operations for an oil spill from Abiteye flow station that destroyed the property of the people, especially fishing equipments in October last year.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that one person was allegedly shot during the clash with the youths reportedly firing indiscriminately in protest against the elders who were accused of shortchanging them in the sharing of the money said to have been paid last Monday.

The sources said that as part of the strategies to get what was due them, the youths invaded the Abiteye flow station on Monday, disrupting activities of the oil company to show that their elders should not be relied upon in settlement that may come up in future.

But the elders were said to have invited soldiers of Operation Restore Hope to protect the flow station from being vandalised and that it was during the intervention by the soldiers that some of the youths were arrested.

JTF spokesperson, Major Omale Ochagwuba, confirmed the incident but did not give further details.

The Scramble for Africa's Oil - Analysis (The New Statesman, Christopher Thomas)

The Pentagon is to reorganize its military command structure in response to growing fears that the United States is seriously ill-equipped to fight the war against terrorism in Africa. It is a dramatic move, and an admission that the US must reshape its whole military policy if it is to maintain control of Africa for the duration of what Donald Rumsfeld has called "the long war." Suddenly the world's most neglected continent is assuming an increasing global importance as the international oil industry begins to exploit more and more of the west coast of Africa's abundant reserves.

The Pentagon at present has five geographic Unified Combatant Commands around the world, and responsibility for Africa is awkwardly divided among three of these. Most of Africa - a batch of 43 countries - falls under the European Command (Eucom), with the remainder divided between the Pacific Command and Central Command (which also runs the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). Now the Pentagon - under the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the defense department - is working on formal proposals for a unified military command for the continent under the name "Africom." This significant shift in US relations with Africa comes in the face of myriad threats: fierce economic competition from Asia; increasing resource nationalism in Russia and South America; and instability in the Middle East that threatens to spill over into Africa.

The Pentagon hopes to finalize Africom's structure, location and budget this year. The expectation is that it can break free from Eucom and become operative by mid-2008.

"The break from Europe will occur before 30 September 2008," Professor Peter Pham, a US adviser on Africa to the Pentagon told the New Statesman. "The independent command should be up and running by this time next year."

A Pentagon source says the new command, which was originally given the green light by the controversial former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is likely to be led by William "Kip" Ward, the US army's only four-star African-American general. In 2005, Ward was appointed the US security envoy to the Middle East and he is reportedly close to President George W. Bush. He also has boots-on-the-ground experience in Africa: he was a commander during Bill Clinton's ill-fated mission in Somalia in 1993 and he served as a military representative in Egypt in 1998. Ward is now the deputy head of Eucom.

America's new Africa strategy reflects its key priorities in the Middle East: oil and counter-terrorism. Currently, the US has in place the loosely defined Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative, incorporating an offshoot of Operation Enduring Freedom that is intended to keep terrorist networks out of the vast, unguarded Sahel. But the lack of a coherent and unified policy on Africa is, according to some observers, hampering America's efforts in the Middle East. US military sources estimate that up to a quarter of all foreign fighters in Iraq are from Africa, mostly from Algeria and Morocco.

Moreover, there is increasing alarm within the US defense establishment at the creeping "radicalization" of Africa's Muslims, helped along by the export of hardline, Wahhabi-style clerics from the Arabian peninsula.

"The terrorist challenge [has] increased in Africa in the past year - it's gotten a new lease on life," according to Pham.

But it is the west's increasing dependency on African oil that gives particular urgency to these new directions in the fight against terrorism. Africa's enormous, and largely untapped, reserves are already more important to the west than most Americans recognize.

In March 2006, speaking before the Senate armed services committee, General James Jones, the then head of Eucom, said: "Africa currently provides over 15 per cent of US oil imports, and recent explorations in the Gulf of Guinea region indicate potential reserves that could account for 25-35 per cent of US imports within the next decade."

These high-quality reserves - West African oil is typically low in sulphur and thus ideal for refining - are easily accessible by sea to western Europe and the US. In 2005, the US imported more oil from the Gulf of Guinea than it did from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Within the next ten years it will import more oil from Africa than from the entire Middle East. Western oil giants such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, France's Total and Britain's BP and Shell plan to invest tens of billions of dollars in sub-Saharan Africa (far in excess of "aid" inflows to the region).

But though the Gulf of Guinea is one of the few parts of the world where oil production is poised to increase exponentially in the near future, it is also one of the most unstable. In the big three producer countries, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola, oil wealth has been a curse for many, enriching political elites at the expense of impoverished citizens. Angola is now China's main supplier of crude oil, supplanting Saudi Arabia last year. The Chinese, along with the rest of oil- hungry Asia, are looking covetously at the entire region's reserves.

Realpolitik of What Suits

Looming over West Africa is the spectre of the southern Niger Delta area, which accounts for most of Nigeria's 2.4 million barrels a day. Conflict here offers a taste of what could afflict all of sub-Saharan Africa's oilfields. Since 2003, the Delta has become a virtual war zone as heavily armed rival gangs - with names such as the Black Axes and Vikings - battle for access to pipelines and demand a bigger cut of the petrodollar.

Oil theft, known as "bunkering," costs Nigeria some $4bn (£2.05bn) a year, while foreign companies have been forced to scale back production after kidnappings by Delta militants. Such uncertainties help send world oil prices sky-high.

The Pentagon's new Africa policy is to include a "substantial" humanitarian component, aimed partly at minimizing unrest and crime. But the reality is that a bullish China is willing to offer billions in soft loans and infrastructure projects - all with no strings attached - to secure lucrative acreage.

"It's like going back to a Cold War era of politics where the US backs one political faction because their political profile suits their requirements," says Patrick Smith, editor of the newsletter Africa Confidential, widely read in policy circles. "It's a move away from criteria of good governance to what is diplomatically convenient."

According to Nicholas Shaxson, author of Poisoned Wells: the Dirty Politics of African Oil, "[Africom] comes in the context of a growing conflict with China over our oil supplies."

Africom will significantly increase the US military presence on the continent. At present, the US has 1,500 troops stationed in Africa, principally at its military base in Djibouti, in the eastern horn. That could well double, according to Pham. The US is already conducting naval exercises off the Gulf of Guinea, in part with the intention of stopping Delta insurgents reaching offshore oil rigs. It also plans to beef up the military capacity of African governments to handle their dissidents, with additional "rapid-reaction" US forces available if needed. But - echoing charges leveled at US allies elsewhere in the "war on terror" - there are fears that the many authoritarian governments in sub-Saharan Africa might use such units to crack down on internal dissent.

Raising Hackles

The increased US military presence is already apparent across the Red Sea from Iraq, where, in concert with Ethiopia, Washington has quietly opened up another front in its war on terror. The target: the Somalia-based Islamists whom the Americans claim were responsible for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Earlier this year, US special forces used air strikes against suspected al-Qaeda militants, killing scores.

"Hundreds of terror suspects have been held incommunicado since Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in December last year."

FBI interrogators have also been dispatched to Ethiopian jails, where hundreds of terror suspects - including Britons - have been held incommunicado since Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in December last year, according to Human Rights Watch. The problem with this more confrontational approach in Africa is apparent. "There's definitely a danger of the US [being] seen as an imperial exploiter," says Shaxson. "The military presence will raise hackles in certain countries - America will have to tread lightly."

Nonetheless, the Pentagon is hoping that Africom will signal a more constructive foreign policy in the region and a break with the past. "Politically [Africa] is important and that's going to increase in coming years," says Pham. "It's whether the US can sustain the initiative."

African Oil: the Numbers

22% of US crude oil imports came from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2007

25% of US crude imports came from Saudi Arabia in the same period

75% of the Nigerian government's income is oil-related

800,000 Nigerian estimate for barrels of oil lost each day through leaks, stoppages or theft by rebels

$2.3bn cost of building Chevron's Benguela Belize platform off the coast of Angola