Nigeria Security Update #1 310707

Pakistani Construction Manager Kidnapped (VOA)

Seven gunmen abducted a Pakistani construction manager in southern Nigeria on Tuesday and demanded a ransom, a local rights activist said citing sources at the man's company and witnesses.

The attack takes to at least 12 the number of foreigners being held hostage by armed groups in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where crime and militancy have surged since early 2006.

The gunmen, dressed in red, arrived by boat at a road construction site run by Italian firm Gitto near Bodo community in the Ogoni area of Rivers state, said Patrick Naagbanton, coordinator of the local Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development.

Bodo has been plagued by deadly fights between two rival "cults" or youth gangs and the gunmen's red clothes suggested they may be members of Deebam, one of the cults.

"They held everyone at gunpoint before seizing the Pakistani manager and taking him away by boat," Naagbanton said by telephone from Rivers.

The abducted man was in charge of dredging for Gitto's road project, which is financed by the federal government. The road will cross several creeks and rivers.

Contacts at Gitto said the kidnappers called demanding a ransom but they did not disclose the amount, Naagbanton said.

Militants who criticised the neglect of the impoverished delta and demanded local control over oil revenues launched a violent campaign against the oil industry in early 2006.

They have forced the closure of several oilfields and oil output from Nigeria, the world's eighth-biggest exporter, is down by about a fifth.

But violence has spiralled out of control with numerous criminal gangs using the militancy as a cover to carry out abductions for ransom and armed robberies.

Over 200 expatriates have been kidnapped since the start of last year and almost all have been freed in exchange for money.

Chronology of Recent Abductions

Below is a chronology of some major attacks and kidnappings involving the Nigerian oil industry since President Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn in on May 29.

• June 3 - Gunmen kidnap six staff of United Company RUSAL, the Russian aluminium giant, in Ikot Abasi in the southeast. The men were working at the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria.

• June 15 - Gunmen kidnap two Lebanese men, working for Italian firm Stabilini, near Ogara in Delta state.
  
• June 16 - Militants release 10 Indian hostages held since June 1. The hostages included at least three senior executives of Indonesian petrochemical company Indorama.
  
• June 23 - Four hostages, from Britain, France, the Netherlands and Pakistan, employed by oil services giant Schlumberger are released unharmed. The men were abducted on June 1 from Port Harcourt.
• June 25 - Two Indian construction workers, kidnapped near Sapele in Delta State on June 15, are freed.
  
• July 4 - Armed men attack a Shell facility at Soku and abduct five expatriates, two from New Zealand, one Australian, one Venezuelan and one from Lebanon. They are released on July 11.
  
• July 5 - A 3-year-old British child, Margaret Hill, is abducted in Port Harcourt. She is released on July 8.
  
• July 7 - Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said one of its teams had been attacked in Rivers state in the delta and two Nigerian workers taken hostage. The Nigerians are released on July 11.
  
• July 8 - A Briton was among two foreign workers kidnapped from a production barge near Calabar in Cross River state.
  
• July 12 - Francis Samuel Amadi, the 3-year-old son of a traditional ruler in the community of Iriebe, is kidnapped near Port Harcourt. He is released the next day.
  
• July 31 - A Pakaistani man, a manager in charge of dredging on a construction site run by Italian firm Gitto, is kidnapped near Bodo community in the Ogoni area of Rivers state.

Predicted Peace May Make Oil Flow Again (Reuters)

Nigeria's new government and militant groups in the oil-producing Niger Delta are moving towards talks that could restore lost output from the world's eighth-largest oil exporter.

An 18-month campaign of guerrilla attacks on Western oil facilities has prompted thousands of foreigners to leave Africa's top producer, reduced output by a fifth and helped oil prices rise to record highs.

But since taking office two months ago, President Umaru Yar'Adua has moved swiftly to engage the militants. He has met two of their demands by freeing two jailed leaders of the Ijaw ethnic group, the most populous in the Niger Delta.

In response, 25 armed groups have joined into a united front for talks with the government. The two sides are now working on preconditions for formal talks to address militant demands for more regional control over the delta's oil.

"I am very optimistic. The militias are ready to cease fire and give negotiations a chance," said Dimieari Von Kemedi, an Ijaw activist involved in the talks.

A truce called by several armed groups has held since Yar'Adua's inauguration on May 29. However, a crime wave continues to sweep the delta's largest city of Port Harcourt, posing a threat to the peace drive, he added.

Armed groups protesting against neglect and poverty in the vast wetlands region have stepped up violence against oil workers and industry facilities since the 1990s.

But the line between militancy and crime is blurred and dozens of criminal gangs use militant rhetoric as a cover to kidnap foreigners for ransom or steal oil from pipelines.

BLIP?

Security consultants working for international oil companies are split over the significance of the peace moves. Some see them as a temporary respite in a long-term decline in the vast region of swamps and mangrove-lined creeks.

"Though violence has eased in the last few weeks, the perception of companies is still negative," said one security consultant working for Western multinationals.

"Companies see a long-term deterioration in security. It may not be linear, but each cycle of violence is worse than before," added the consultant, who is not allowed to talk to the media.

There are still good reasons to be worried.

One powerful militant who leads a faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has so far refused to take part. His fighters have been responsible for some of the fiercest attacks over the past 18 months.

"The government is attempting to resolve the unrest in the delta through selective appeasement. This will secure a cease fire but how long this 'peace' will last, I cannot tell," said the leader, who uses the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo, in an e-mail.

"They will attempt to stall and pacify dissenting voices financially. Let's watch and see where things go. We will attack without further warning if there is a need to," he said, adding that he saw no prospect of better use of resources in the delta.

Despite these concerns, some projects and investments that had been on hold because of a surge in attacks in the first half of the year are now going ahead.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has moved some workers back to its western delta oilfields, where 500,000 barrels per day has been shut since they were evacuated in February 2006.

It has resumed pumping 36,000 barrels per day from one oilfield and two tankers are expected to load from the Forcados terminal in August, the first shipments in 18 months.

U.S. oil giant Chevron has lifted a ban imposed in May on non-essential staff in offshore operations, industry sources say. And construction workers have begun setting up work sites to start building a new $1.8 billion highway across the delta, which had previously been frozen by security concerns.

Nigerian Army Retires 40 Top Officers (AP)

The Nigerian Defense Ministry has asked 40 top army officials to retire, a Nigerian defense spokesman said on Tuesday, two months after the country swore in a new president.

"There's no big deal about it. It's a continuous process," said Col. Mohammed Yusuf, who said the process was routine.

He said that under new Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, the armed forces would be sticking strictly to rules that said members must retire at the age of 60, or after 35 years of service.

"They will now try to follow the process very properly, like it did not happen before. Once it is time, there is nothing you can do," he said.

Yusuf said the retirements had no political motive.

"There is nothing like mass retirement," he said, pointing out that classes of officers often graduate over 100 at a time.

He refused, citing national security concerns, to say how many generals were in the Nigerian armed forces or how many generals were among the 40 top officers being retired.

Nigeria has undergone several tumultuous decades of military rule and seven coups since wresting independence from Britain in 1960, but last April's elections that marked the country's first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power.

The elections were widely condemned as rigged by domestic and international observers, but some Nigerians were simply grateful that there was a peaceful transfer of power at all. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had also previously been a military ruler of the country in 1975. He returned to power in 1999 on the back of a popular vote and also proceeded to retire a number of generals shortly afterward.

Most Nigerians do not believe that a coup is currently likely.

Before he promoted current President Yar'Adua as his protege, several of Obasanjo's supporters tried to force through a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to run for a third term.

Although the country receives tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues annually and is rated as one of the most corrupt in the world by Berlin-based Transparency International.

Bank Manager, 3 More Killed By Armed Robbers in Lagos (Daily Champion)

ONITSHA branch manager of a second generation bank (name withheld), Nnamdi Obi and two policemen were killed by yet-to-be identified gunmen in separate incidents Sunday in Onitsha and Enugu, respectively.

Similarly, armed robbers yesterday stormed the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, (MMIA), Lagos, leaving an unidentified man dead, and several others wounded after their operation.

Daily Champion gathered that Obi who hailed from Nawfia in Njikoka local government area of Anambra State, was shot dead inside his car near the abattoir in Onitsha where he had accompanied his wife to.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Anambra command, Mr Felix Agbo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed the killing.

He told our correspondent on telephone that investigation was on-going to unmask the killers.

Other gang of armed robbers Sunday night shot and killed two policemen in what appeared to be a planned attack on a police check point along Ogui Road, Enugu and about a 100metres from the police station on the same road.

The hoodlums also snatched the service rifles of the slain cops after, as eyewitnesses recounted, hurling abuse on and kicking their corpses.

The police check point had been mounted near two popular fast food shops and restaurants that are the favourite haunts of Enugu's rich and famous and had been targets of armed robbery attacks in the past.

The permanent police presence there had helped to keep the hoodlums at bay. The weekend's attack on the check point is widely viewed as an act of vengeance by the criminals against the men who had prevented them from operating freely in the area.

Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred at about 8.30 pm when the robbers who were travelling in a flashy car whose make could not be ascertained suddenly opened fire on the unsuspecting policemen as they approached their checkpoint. The hoodlums were said to have climbed down from their cars and after molesting the corpses of the cops, took their service firearms.

"It all happened in a flash, we suddenly heard gunshots and the next thing we saw were some people climbing down from a car and rushing at the policemen who were already lying on the ground. They kicked at the bodies and shouted insults at them before taking their guns and escaping in the car", said one witness, who pleaded anonymity.

Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Mike Abattam, who confirmed the incident, said the bodies of the two dead cops had been recovered, adding that a massive man-hunt for the hoodlums had commenced.

"We have alerted all units to hunt down those hoodlums and I can assure you, we will get them in no distant time. They cannot escape", he said.

The hoodlums are also suspected to have been behind several robbery incidents in different parts of the city on Sunday night shortly after the attack on the policemen.

It also came barely a week after robbers killed a policeman and wounded another in a failed attempt to rob a bank at Nsukka.

Daily Champion learnt that the robbers, who started their operation at about 2am, tied up the six security operatives on duty and the three plain clothed caps seizing the gun of one of the victims.

According to some of the workers the alleged mad man was also shot dead on the spot. It is not the bureau de change office when he accosted the armed robbers.

What the rampaging hoodlums carted away, extensive damage to most of the offices and the vehicles that were parked there.

The chairman of the bureau de change, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, who spoke with Daily Champion confirmed the incident and stated that there have been strict orders to everyone at the bureau de change not to keep money overnight.

"We have a very strict order that nobody should keep his money overnight in the compound, so that order has been very helpful; because nobody kept money and the robbers did not find any money in the safe that were forced open," he said.

According to him, three safes opened and almost all the offices in the bureau de change were broken into by the bandits who went on a rampage riddling bullets on vehicles and windows when they found nothing to steal.

Airport Command police authority are yet to comment on the incident not reacted to it.

It is recalled that a similar incident took place early in January at the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) where over N120 million was carted away and the suspects not been captured.

Unlike Sunday afternoon's robbery in Isolo, Lagos where the robbers allegedly trailed the bullion vans, yesterday's robbery in Lagos witnessed the raiding of some bureau de change offices at MMIA.

A police officer's rifle was allegedly snatched during the operation.

Nigeria Security Update #1 300707

Armed Robbery Suspects Gunned Down (The Tide)

The police in Rivers State have killed three suspected armed robbers during an exchange of fire along Rumuigbo Road, old GRA, Port Harcourt.

The men of the underworld met their waterloo when the police getting information that a gang of armed robbers are operating in the area and they immediately swoop into action.

A source said that as the police Anti-crime Patrol team was mobilized to the scene, the robbers on sighting them, opened fire and in the process exchange of fire ensued.

It was learnt that during the exchange of fire, the three armed robber suspects were gunned down and others took to their heels and escaped.

The source further said the police have intensified efforts to track down the fleeing suspects and bring them to face the full wrath of the law.

The police public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Ireju Barasua, a Deputy Superintendent of police (DSP) who confirmed the incident however called on the public to always assist the police with timely information on criminal activities, as to enable the police move into action.

Another Missing Ship (Nigerian Tribune)

CURIOUSLY, it seems that Nigeria’s reputation for the proliferation of absurdities is on a steady rise. Now, it is commonplace for ships arrested for one crime or the other to literally disappear from the custody of those keeping them as if they were some small items that could be pilfered by a common pickpocket!

ABOUT two months ago, two ships, MT Balle and MT Alruhula, were used to transport crude oil that was fraudulently obtained. The officers and crew of the ships were arrested by some “overzealous” naval men in the Calabar area and the ships were steered to Port Harcourt. The ships were then officially delivered to the officers of the NNS Pathfinder at their base in Port Harcourt.

BUT rather than moor the ships, the officers of the Pathfinder found a path for the ships to escape and the naval authorities tried to cover up the scandal until a group called Nigerian Youths for Good Governance made allegations against the Nigerian Navy establishment and when the press asked the Navy to react to these allegations, they issued a statement on the matter.

ITS Director of Information, Captain Obiora Medani, said it was true as stated by the Nigerian Youths for Good Governance that two ships detained at the Port Harcourt base had disappeared but that the naval authorities had not tried to conceal the matter and that a board of inquiry headed by a Captain Bimbo Ayuba would determine if the crude found on the ships was illegally obtained and whether the NNS Kyanwa had a good reason to arrest the two ships.

IT is pertinent to recall that many high ranking naval officers were retired following the disappearance of MT African Pride because, according to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye, the officers had criminal connection with crude oil. As we asked in our Editorial of June 28, 2007, from where the foregoing is copiously quoted, “Is retirement a retribution for these Mephistophelian atrocities? Is retirement alone enough deterrent to others who might have discovered a greater reward in this criminality than in continued stay in service?”

CAPTAIN Medani, however, after our editorial on the Navy and the missing ships, had made allegations in the newspapers about a smear campaign in the media being sponsored by certain ex-naval officers who had been compulsorily retired from the Nigerian Navy and their relations trying to impugn the integrity of the Chief of Naval Staff and discredit the Board of Inquiry. Captain Medani even called the Nigerian Youths for Good Governance a fictitious group.

HOWEVER, hardly had he finished writing when another ship, an impounded Greek vessel, MT Tritya, escaped, this time, with three security officials detailed to secure it. This was disclosed at a press conference by the legal consultants to the shipping agents. The ship, according to the legal consultants, was legally detained as a pre-judgment security for the satisfaction of the civil claims of the shipping agents until an acceptable security by way of bank guarantee had been furnished by her owners. The ship had been impounded through an injunction obtained from the Federal High Court in Lagos against the vessel and three others claiming certain amounts of money until the final payment for short delivery of the cargo of gas and oil.

WE are worried by the regular disappearances of vessels from Nigeria, especially vessels detained over one offence or the other. We think that their escape in the various circumstances had been facilitated by bribed hands. The latest ‘disappearance’ is even curioser, as the security officers who were supposed to secure it ‘disappeared’ with the vessel. Were they abducted by the criminals who steered the vessel away under the cover of night? Or did they too connive with the criminals to get out of the country to seek for greener pasture elsewhere? The three security officers who reappeared some days after claimed they were abducted and brutalised by their captors before being released on the high sea. This claim needs to be investigated too by the authorities.

DISAPPEARANCE of vessels with ease speaks volumes about the security of the country’s territorial waters and this is where the Navy is implicated. If ships under its observation can ‘disappear’ without any trace and officers who had been found guilty had only been retired, how much easier will it be for other ships bound only by legal constraints from the courts to escape too?

THE ‘disappearance’ of MT Tritya should be properly investigated using all diplomatic leads and those found to be guilty should be appropriately punished by the relevant authorities. The Navy too should do better than whine about a smear campaign when in reality ships are disappearing, like small items that can easily be contained in someone’s pocket. It is plainly absurd that in the Nigerian state, ships can easily slide into the waters when the pockets of some felons bulge with ill-gotten wealth.

Report from the Creeks (Vanguard)

PASTOR Ayo Oritsejafor is the general overseer of Warri-based Word of Life Bible Church and the national president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN who recently initiated a spiritual solution to the protracted Niger Delta crisis. After several weeks of evangelical mission to Europe and America, he recently granted Sunday Vanguard, an interview during which he x-rayed the state of the nation, and the Niger Delta. Excerpts

THE Yar'Adua government started with an industrial action. We just want you to look at the state of the nation.

I have a feeling that I always seem to talk differently from everybody else. I don't like talking because that's what is popular or that's what everyone likes to hear; because there are certain things people want you to say.

For me, I will say, first, thank God that we came through the elections and we are still a nation together. I say thank God because there were some things some of us won't want to say publicly. Before the elections, there were spiritual indications which I never said anything to you about, that the problem was not just going to be the elections but immediately after the elections and so some of us had to set certain things in motion.

I don't want to go into all the details. We needed to get people to do certain things - to pray us through and so that's why I said, number one, thank God that we came through the elections and we are still and will continue to remain a nation. The second thing is, in my own opinion, some of the things that have happened like the industrial action, for example, it was rather unfortunate. I think first of all that there were problems on both sides.

I am going to be economical with words because it has come and gone. I don't think at this point, I should be the one stirring up anything, talking this way or talking that way but, like I said, it was a very unfortunate thing that happened when it happened at that point in time. But thank God again it has come and gone.

I believe also that the Yar'Adua's government is beginning to find its feet. It's not going to be easy because in my own opinion, he is stepping into very big shoes, big Nigeria and big Obasanjo that has just left. So, it's going to take a while for him to stabilise and be able to bring out his own style of doing things.

I will appeal to the media to help him and give him a chance. Sometimes, some of the things I read are so troubling. Oh Obasanjo is influencing you, and so on. They should just leave this man and let him find his feet. Let him know what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. Give him a break.

The media is only mirroring the mood of the nation. Everybody seems to think that the past president has an overbearing influencing on every decision taken by Yar'Adua...

Is there any proof of that?

Well, for instance, he has taken over the PDP Board of Trustees?

Are you a PDP member? (Laughs). Again, you see, these are some of the troubling things. You are not a member of PDP, I am not a member of PDP. Let's leave PDP to sort themselves out. I've heard people say Yar'Adua is not the president of PDP, he's the president of Nigeria. I hail that.

That is true. He stood for election as a PDP candidate but now he's the president of Nigeria. So let's concern ourselves more with what the government does for Nigeria. Let's downplay this issue of PDP Board or no Board and all that stuff.

I think we are over flogging that issue. To me, it's too much,

let's concentrate more on the government and Nigeria. We want to move forward. There are other parties. I don't want to get a PDP membership card. I'm not a member and I don't want to be a member, I don't think you want to. If they want somebody from the moon to be their chairman, that's their problem, that's not mine.

The day I become a member then I can tell them, I don't like it. But to say that Obasanjo has hand in Yar'Adua's government, to me again, is speculation. It is true that Obasanjo was very much instrumental in bringing him in, we won't run away from that. That's the truth! It's there, it's obvious, but that doesn't make him a man that doesn't know what he wants in life. I mean, when you look at him, the man is 56 years old for God's sake, he's not a child. How did he get to where he is?

Was it Obasanjo that held his arm and took him to school through university? Was it Obasanjo that governed Katsina State for him? I think we should give the man a break. A lot of most of the things we are seeing is speculation and I will tell you why there's so much speculation. Part of it is because there are certain persons who know what people want to hear. I keep repeating that, and they blow up these and you people make them movie stars because they know what you want to hear too.

So, they open their months wide and you put all these things on your front pages and then the next person you go to says his own too and you put his own there. The president and his predecessor should be friends, they shouldn't be enemies! For one thing they belong to the same party, one was instrumental to bringing in the other, and secondly Yar'Adua naturally should consult with him in the sense of you've been in this thing, how did you do it? What happened here, what happened there? These are normal things. So, to me, let them allow this man settle down and do his job.

As part of his settling down, he called for a government of national unity. Are you in support of that?

One hundred per cent! I think it's a very good thing. I think it's a good thing because, first of all, Nigeria is more important than me as a person. Nigeria is more important than Yar'Adua. Nigeria is more important than any individual person. Nigeria is more important than any political party. We all know that we had serious problems during the elections. It's a fact, you can't run away from it. The reality is that there were a lot ofirregularities from all parties. If I may say, some did it more than others, but they all did it.

Let's not pretend about it because that's a fact. I met someone who ran for an office in a certain state and somehow it didn't work out and he was trying to tell me how they did this. So, I sat him down and started telling him how his own people did this and that too. I said we at the grassroots know what happened.

So the truth is that, everybody had a part to play in whatever had happened before. So, looking at where we are coming from, when you think of all the things that happened, yes, some people have been declared winners at the presidential and the state levels.

To find a way to keep Nigeria one, I think it's a very wise thing to reach out to other parties and say alright, come and contribute your part to this. For example, you see that in Obasanjo government, whether we want to give him credit for it or not, some of the people he appointed did very well, some didn't.

Incidentally mostly the women did very well. But if you want to look at it, you should say, Obasanjo did very well as far as those people are concerned. But my point is, some of those people were not even party people initially, but eventually they had to become. But they were not at all. Some were actually from other parties.

Could you imagine if some of those people were not given the opportunity to serve, we will never be talking about them today. That's one. Two, they would never have achieved the things they achieved, not for themselves but for all of us, for Nigeria. The reason they were able to achieve those things was because they were brought in and given that opportunity.

I think the idea is, some of these other parties may have credible people who can come into government, who can also add to this nation, to Nigeria. Because all we want is power supply, good roads, water and food. These are the things we want.

The Niger Delta question and power will be his cardinal programmes. He has spent two months and not even one word yet in that direction...

Is it really that not one word yet? I wouldn't say not one word yet. Again like I've always told you I think nobody will say now that I love Yar'Adua so much. I don't even know the man. Take the Niger Delta for example, I know that they have inaugurated a committee that is supposed to look at the security situation in the area. That is very important because most of the people in that committee know what is on ground.

If you go to Delta State, you'll see that the same thing is on ground now. There is a committee set up by the governor, a waterway security committee and the people in that committee know what is on ground. Now, that is very important. If you are going to solve the Niger Delta problem, you must involve the people who know what is on ground. They've done that. For example, again, NDDC, I initiated something, the week long prayers for peace which was concluded recently.

I actually initiated it through the past president. I think that is very important because one of the mistakes they've always made, when they call the so-called stakeholders in the Niger Delta, they never involve the Church. And it puzzles me, it has always puzzled me why they don't bring in the Church.

I went with the vice president and the Delta State governor, Dr. Uduaghan, to the creeks. I was shocked the way I was received! I was surprised by some of the leaders of the town and the young people. Before the vice president arrived, because some of us went ahead of him, they took me into a big room and gave me a special welcome separately. You know the way we entertain visitors. They brought out money, put money on the table, everything, received me.

I couldn't believe myself. They started singing songs with my name, but I'm a pastor. As I stepped into the place, they were shouting Papa. I couldn't believe myself. I said this is unbelievable. In this kind of place? So, it's a mistake not to have involved the Church all along, because we have something at stake. The Niger Delta, basically, is supposed to be a Christian part of this country.

That is the truth. Let's be honest with ourselves. There are no genuine Muslims anywhere in the Niger Delta. They are not there. Everybody you see there, if they want to be honest with you are Christians, one way or the other. They may not be very committed but that's who they are. Now, if they are Christians, they were baptised in a church probably. Their mothers took them to a church; their fathers took them to a church.

Organizing of prayers

They have gone to a church and I am a pastor. There are still some credible pastors that you can still involve. Like I said to NDDC and I hope we can get this across also to the government and those in charge, not only are we organising prayers, which is very important but we want to be involved further.

We want to be involved in negotiations in the sense of, you see, some of these boys don't trust a lot of government officials but there are people they believe are credible. It's possible they may think some of us are also credible. We can become the bridge, we can say to these boys, we have talked to government, let's give them one year - no fighting, no cheating, no nothing, put your arms down, let them do something.

If they don't, then nobody can blame you. And then we say to government, you see, we have put our neck on the line, my credibility is on the line, now perform. If they don't perform, we'll come out publicly to condemn them. I don't need money from government. I don't need anything. I say it everywhere, every time, I don't need it. No governor has given me one naira before, it doesn't happen because I don't want it. I don't need it. If they don't perform, we will come out and shout. And when we start talking, people will listen because they know we are not politicians.

So they need to involve us more.

For example, the master plan, a plan is just a plan until you can implement it, but how do you implement it? So, we want to be involved to help, so that this plan can be implemented. And in implementing it, there has to be dialogue and this dialogue has to involve the church. A lot of the institutions in this country have been bastadized, many don't have credibility and I don't want to start mentioning them.

But I think to an extent, there are still people in the Church leadership that have credibility that can say this is it and they will stick to it. And we know that if we say something and we don't do what we say then we're in trouble because we have nothing to preach to anybody. My members can walk out of the church because truth, justice, equity, all these things are directly, not indirectly, related to what we do. It's a direct thing. So if I don't stick to what I say, it goes completely against everything that am saying. So I have no platform.

What practical solution do you expect from the prayer sessions?

First of all, everything physical derives from the spiritual and so prayer is very important because there's no way you'll want to achieve peace without calling on the prince of peace. God is the owner of peace. There is a spirituality that goes with peace. When you call upon Him and you do it right, God can enter into the hearts of men. Two people who disagreed before suddenly can begin to agree.

You remember in the Bible, Jacob was coming from his uncle's place and he was told that Esau was coming with 400 men angry because of what Jacob did to him. And Jacob had an encounter, in other words, he had an all-night prayer meeting. In the morning, when Esau saw him, instead of killing him, Esau embraced him. So who created that peace? Was it Jacob? No, it was supernatural. So there is a supernatural aspect to the problem in the Niger Delta.

There are demonic forces that want to maintain the status quo because it is only in this kind of atmosphere that idol worship can thrive. Idol worship only thrives in confusion, in poverty, in this kind of situation. The moment development starts coming, believe you me, idol worship is gone.

Nobody will have time for that. And these spirits know this that's why they blind our people spiritually to make sure they can't understand this fact. If not, you sit down and think, our people had all these shrines, the white man came and colonised them with all these heavy shrines, used them as slaves and yet the juju couldn't do anything.

They can't even think, when these people came, some of our people were naked, they had to give you cloth to cover you and your juju was there, your juju liked you naked, running around in the forest. People are not thinking, with all these things you're serving, telling you bring blood, telling you to kill your brother, kill your fellow human being. You think that's a good thing? It certainly cannot be, but they are not thinking. So there are problems there and these spirits like it that way.

So we have to challenge this and the way to challenge it is spiritually. You can't challenge spiritual things with physical things. So what we have brought into it now is the spiritual dimension so that the prayers that have been done now for this one week, and like I told them, you can't end with one week of prayers.

Nigeria Security Update #1 270707

Nigeria Nuclear Safety in Question

The new president of Nigeria is urging the country to embrace nuclear power, although his own nuclear watchdog is struggling to track the radioactive materials already in use here.

"We need to develop the capacity to utilize nuclear power for power generation. Who knows, nuclear power may be the only source of energy in the future, and we must think of the future," President Umaru Yar'Adua said in a speech this week.

Nigeria has frequently said it would like to build a nuclear power plant to address its chronic power shortages, partially caused by poor management and maintenance of its electricity infrastructure. The country is Africa's largest crude producer, but currently imports all its refined oil because its four refineries have been shut down by accidents, broken parts or sabotage.

The petroleum industry is currently the main user of radioactive materials in Nigeria. The materials, used in tools to detect cracks in pipelines or measure exploratory oil wells, have gone missing -- or been stolen -- in the past.

Nigeria also has nuclear materials for research and medical purposes, including in a reactor, that are regularly inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog for the United Nations. The United States signed an accord with Nigeria's nuclear agency in 2005 agreeing to pay for tighter security at sites where radioactive materials are kept.

William Potter, director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, said the radioactive materials used in the construction industry would be of interest to terrorists who might want to construct a "dirty bomb" -- which could spread radiation by a conventional explosion. He added that inadequate regulation of radioactive materials is a global problem, but "even more acute in those countries which lack well-developed nuclear regulatory bodies and material control and accounting practices."

Even in the U.S., Potter said, about one radioactive device a day was "orphaned" or lost track of.

Shamsudeen Elegba, director of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, said in a speech last week that despite upgrading controls designed to halt the illicit trafficking of radioactive materials, "we still have some challenges in the safety and security of radioactive sources."

He said that progress had been made but highlighted the lack of dedicated storage facilities and detection capacity at ports of entry, inadequately trained personnel and inadequate tracking of sources as Nigeria's major challenges.

Before the establishment of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority in 2001, there were no restrictions on the import or export of radioactive materials. The body is still battling to effectively regulate their use and import.

In 2002, two devices used for X-raying oil pipelines for cracks were stolen from the back of a truck in the restive southern Niger Delta, according to news reports at the time.

The devices, which contained radioactive americium-beryllium, were lost in December. But the government did not issue a public warning until two months later, when a delegation from the IAEA arrived to help investigate their disappearance.

The devices were eventually found in a European scrap yard, said an oil worker who was familiar with the investigation. He thought the thieves may have stolen them to sell as scrap.

An IAEA official confirmed the oil worker's account, but agency officials authorized to speak to the media were not immediately available for comment.

The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority refused to answer questions about individual breaches of security.

The oil worker, who asked not to be named due to company restrictions on speaking to the press, said he was aware of at least one other occasion when radioactive materials went missing but declined to give details due to the sensitive nature of the incident. He did say that to the best of his knowledge, the materials stolen in the second instance had not been recovered.

A private security contractor who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said that in 2004, radioactive materials had been abandoned on rigs that had come under attack by gunmen. Attacks on the Nigerian oil industry occur several times a week. Over 250 foreigners have been kidnapped in the last two years and a quarter of the country's oil production is currently shut in following a series of bombings by militant groups demanding greater political rights for their impoverished region.

Earlier this year, the government also publicly chastised four oil and oil service companies for moving around radioactive materials without the proper permits. It did not specify what the materials were but americium and cesium are two of the most commonly used by the industry, although usually in relatively small amounts.

The oil worker said that in Nigeria, it was impossible to say which companies used radioactive oil well mapping devices or how many they owned.

The methods for tracking such materials seemed to differ company to company, he said, and if they're lost, nobody cares.



Solving Lagos' Security Problems (This Day)

The concern of an average Lagosian is the insecurity of lives and property in the metropolis, especially with the incessant cases of armed robbery even in broad daylight. One could recall vividly the robbery incidents within the last one month in areas like Maryland, Ikorodu road, Oregun, Ogba, Lagos Island, Iyana Ipaja, Apapa and Surulere during which people were deprived of their belongings including cars, jewelleries, mobile telephone handsets, huge sums of money and other personal effects by the hoodlums.

Rising up to the Herculean task of policing the state, the state police command engaged the men of the underworld in fierce battles during which casualties were recorded and some of the hoodlums apprehended and paraded before newsmen by the Police.

However, the efforts of the police appear not to be good enough even as the Lagos State Government has expressed concern over the rising wave of crime in the metropolis. Governor Babatunde Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), while taking oath of office on May 29, vowed to fight crime headlong.

Less than two weeks of assuming office, Fashola, on June 11, inaugurated a 33-man security committee headed by a former Inspector General of Police; Alhaji Musiliu Smith. Other members of the committee included heads of military formations namely the Army, Navy and the Air Force in Lagos State, State Police Commissioner, state director of security, Comptroller of Immigration, Comptroller of Customs, Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator; Kick Against Indiscipline[KAI] Marshal-General, Community Development Committee Chairman and representative of the state ministry of justice.

The committee which had a three- week period to submit its report, also had its terms of reference to include determining the causes and effects of small arms proliferation in Lagos state proffering solutions to the spate of violent armed robbery attacks on innocent citizens and institutions such as banks, hotels, eradicating the menace of area boy/street urchins in Lagos generally and in particular the Central Business Districts of Lagos and adjoining Ikoyi and Victoria Island; providing cogent solutions to transport insecurity as in the recklessness of motorbike transporters popularly called Okada riders; and such other ancilliary issues as may be necessary to guarantee overall security of lives and property in the state towards increasing the confidence of the entire citizenry of the state The committee which at its inaugural meeting realised the need to co-opt eleven more people who are experienced in safety and security matters as members received total of 30 memoranda that were analysed and considered during the committees six plenary sessions.

At those sessions the committee discussed and harmonised the different opinions and suggestions by members and made recommendations accordingly. Submitting its report to Fashola on July 11, exactly one month after its inauguration, the committee chairman, Smith said his committee carefully considered all aspects of security which he said were quite complex and challenging and that all the terms of reference were thoroughly debated with a view to proffering workable and practical solutions.

The major findings of the committee which were contained in three binded volumes of the report submitted to Fashola, according to Smith, include that the effect of increased criminal and violent activities due to small arms proliferation are many and they impact negatively on every sector of the states socio-economic strata.

The committee also identified proliferation of small arms and other offensive weapons as a major cause of armed robbery and other violent crimes in the metropolis, adding that area boys and street urchins who hang around motor parks, highways, bus stops and other public places purposely to engage in various anti-social or criminal activities including extortion and harassment of the people.

While urging the state government to speedily implement the committees recommendations so as to ensure standard security situation in the state, Smith declared that there are additional issues ancilliary to the general and specific purposes of achieving overall security of lives and property in the state which the committee identified and considered and are contained in the committees report. The report is in three parts namely the main report, the executive summary and memoranda.

In receiving the report, the governor expressed appreciation to the members for a job well done and assured that government would consider the recommendations and take necessary steps towards adequate security of lives and property in the metropolis.

Ironically, weeks after government received the committee’s report, the menace of crime continued unabated in the metropolis. One only hopes that the Fashola-led administration in the state would before long come up with the white paper on the committees report so that the issue of crime would be given a comprehensive and wholesome approach.



Two Arrested for Kidnap Plots (Vanguard)

Two persons including a Police Constable have been arrested by police detectives attached to the Enugu State Police Command for attempting to kidnap foreign nationals in Enugu.

The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Bashiru Azeez, who disclosed this while briefing reporters on the achievements of his command in Enugu yesterday, said that even though his men succeeded in foiling the attempt to kidnap some foreign nationals, they were able to apprehend the suspects who have made confessional statements on their evil mission to Enugu.

According to him, the suspected kidnappers, a middle-aged man and a police constable identified as Francis Ekwenyi, came to Enugu from Port Harcourt with the aim of kidnapping some white men in a bid to make money.

"On information I dispatched my detectives to monitor and intercept them before the execution of their intention. On their way to Enugu they were intercepted by a team of Anti-Crime Patrol, on searching their vehicle, four AK 47 Riffles were recovered from them," the CP said, adding that the case was still being investigated.

Azeez, who expressed the determination of his command to reduce crime wave in the state, said that necessary security measures that would help reduce crime in the state had been put in place, saying with the decision of the State Government to increase the fleet of police patrol vehicles, criminals would be battled to a standstill.

Governor Sullivan Chime had shortly on assumption of office approved the purchase of 47 patrol vans for the police in demonstration of his government's readiness to combat crime in the state. The vehicles, which have already been procured, would be officially presented to the police command on Monday.

The new Commissioner of Police said that shortly after assumption, he initiated some programmes, which, he said, had made it possible for his men to apprehend some miscreants in parts of the state.

Shell Discovers New Oil (Nigerian Tribune)

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) announced on Thursday a material oil discovery onshore in its Eastern operations.

SPDC said in a statement issued that "An exploration well in Aghata-1X in OML-17 was drilled to a total depth of 4,679 metres. The well encountered some 245 metres of hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs, and production testing at two reservoir levels has been completed. The well has tested up to 5000 barrels of oil per day'.

It said the well had now been completed and hooked up to the nearby Agbada flowstation for further production testing. The company said "Initial production is expected to commence later this year after the completion of the production test, and studies are ongoing for appraisal and full field life-cycle development.

The Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair Shell Nigeria, Mr. Basil Omiyi, said: "Aghata-1 well is a material exploration success for SPDC and Shell.

It has the potential to immediately increase oil production in the area, and also enable us to find other potential exploration opportunities in similar geological settings. We continue to be proud of the contribution that SPDC is making to the development of oil and gas potential in the Niger Delta, and the contribution this offers to the Federal Government's energy aspirations and the future benefit of the Nigerian people."

Nigeria Security Update #1 260707

Bribes Given to Stay in Business Made by Wilbros (The Punch)

The United States Department of Justice on Wednesday, gave details of how a $6m (about N767.4m) bribe was allegedly given to officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

The bribe was in connection with the award of a $387m Eastern Gas Gathering System project.
The Department said that the scandal was not restricted to Nigeria.

It explained that, earlier this year, a US oil services company, Wilbros allegedly paid $10.5m to settle a securities-fraud class-action lawsuit accusing the firm of bribing government officials in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nigeria.

The claims of the Department of Justice were contained in some court documents that were obtained exclusively by The Punch on Wednesday.

The said documents, which were obtained on Wednesday by a US-based Nigerian news agency, Empowered Newswire, were filed before a Federal jury in the US.

In the papers, the US government indicted former Wilbros chief, Jason Edward Steph; two individuals acting in Nigeria as purported consultants to Wilbros; Nigeria-based employees of a major German engineering and construction company; and others.

The documents revealed that the aim of the conspiracy was to make corrupt payments to officials of the NNPC/NAPIMS, a senior official in government as well as officials of Shell Petroleum Development Company, to assist in retaining the EGGS business for Wilbros International Inc and its German partner.

According to USDJ, “Wilbros and German Construction Company formed a consortium, EGGS Consortium, and bid for EGGS coating work on EGGS Phase 1 that was approved for $387m in 2004.

“By 2004 and 2005, the consortium was, however, unable to get approval for EGGS phase 2.

“In and around late 2003 and 2004, defendant Steph, consultants 1 and 2, certain GCCB employees and others known to the Grand Jury, agreed to make a series of payments totaling in excess of $6m to and among others, officials of NNPC, NAPIMS, a senior official of the Federal Government of Nigeria as well as officials of SPDC, to assist in obtaining the EGGS project.”

The documents said that by 2004, some commitments were paid to the Nigerian officials.
Attempts by our correspondents to speak with the General Manager, Public Affairs, NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajonuma, were not fruitful as his telephone was switched off.

But a top official of the corporation challenged WII to identify the officials that were allegedly bribed to secure the gas contract in Nigeria.

The official, who spoke in confidence with our correspondents on the telephone on Wednesday, said that the corporation did not collect bribe from Wilbros, to approve the contract.

The official said, “Whoever said somebody took bribe from him should be able to mention the names of those he gave the bribe to, stating how much, where and when.”

He insisted that the idea of hiding the names of the culprits for security reasons was not good enough, as the reputation of the corporation was at stake.

He said that even if the culprits were highly placed officials of the corporation, they should be exposed.

“The International Police should come in here. Through the Interpol, it is possible to exchange security reports, instead of alleging bribery to faceless individuals,” he stated.

He argued that the NNPC/NAPIMS should not have been mentioned because the corporation could not have taken bribe as an institution.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, said, “I have never heard of that name (Wilbros). I don’t know the company you are talking about. Let them be specific about the allegation.

“We did not run our party or campaign with any bribe money. There may be some people hiding somehwere and posing as PDP officials and collecting money.

“There are some people that I am fighting now. These people have, somehow, got my letterhead paper and signature and they are writing letters to people for favour.

“I don’t know them. If you know them, ask them to provide you with more information and we will react appropriately.”

Meanwhile, the new owners of Wilbros Nigeria Limited, have said that the current bribery scandal will not affect the company’s image in Nigeria.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Henry Imasehka, said, “I don’t see how this will affect our image or operations in Nigeria.

“Our business partners know that we will not conduct ourselves in the same manner because the new owners are people of repute.”

He said that what was left of the EGGS contract had been concluded by the new owners, as the contract was on for over three years.

Steph, 37, a US citizen residing in Kazakhstan, was also charged with money laundering based on the international transfer of some of the bribe money.

Steph was a WII employee from 1998 to April 2005. From 2002 until April 2005, he served as general manager of WII’s on-shore operations in Nigeria, the Department of Justice said.

The Department said in exchange for the award of the EGGS project, the conspirators allegedly paid, promised to pay, and authorised payments to officials of NNPC, NAPIMS, a senior official in the executive branch of the Federal Government, and to political party, as well as to officials
of the operator of the EGGS joint venture.

Most of the payments were allegedly laundered through the consultants, who typically received three per cent of Wilbros’ contract revenue by wire transfer from Houston to a foreign bank, and transferred some or all of the funds to Nigerian officials.

The NNPC is responsible for developing Nigeria’s oil and gas wealth and regulating the industry.
It is the majority shareholder in certain joint ventures with multinational oil companies. The multinational oil companies often serve as the operators of the joint ventures.

Among other functions, NNPC and NAPIMS also approve the award of major oil and gas construction projects to private contractors such as Wilbros.


Bayelsa Speaker's Mother Abducted (This Day)

Gunmen suspected to be militants invaded the country home of the Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Werenipre Seibarugu, in Akiabiri, Yenagoa, on Tuesday night and kidnapped his 70-year-old mother.

Seibarugu, who was attending a parliamentary conference in South Africa along with some principal officers of the House, abandoned the event on learning of the kidnap of his mother and made for the country.

Also, an American Professor of Environment, Mr. Michael Watts from University of Berkeleys, United States of America, was yesterday morning shot and wounded in the arm by hoodlums who also dispossessed him of $600.

The fate of the speaker’s mother who was popularly called Madam Yenagoa was still unknown by last night.

THISDAY gathered that those who abducted her were also yet to make any demand for ransom.

It was learnt that the gunmen who seized Madam Yenagoa were dressed in military fatigues as they invaded the sleepy community of Akiabiri, in Ekpetiama, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

They allegedly came in two boats from the River Nun at about 8.30 pm.

The speaker’s mother also known as Madam Hansel in the community was taken from her bedroom by the militants who shot sporadically into the air to scare away villagers who might want to dare them, before whisking her to an unknown destination.

The speaker was immediately contacted by the state Governor, Mr. Timipre Sylva, who briefed him on the efforts by the police to ensure the safe return of the old woman.

Confirming the incident to newsmen in Yenagoa, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Julian Okpaleke, said five heavily armed youths carried out the kidnap.

He said one suspect had already been arrested and was helping the police in its investigation.
Okpaleke who could not say whether the kidnappers were militants or not, however, pointed out that they were armed.

He said they shot sporadically into the air before moving into the compound, where the woman was kidnapped.

Reacting to the incident, Sylva vowed to purge the state of criminal elements, which, according to him, were damaging the image and economy of the state.

In a press statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ebimo Amungo, the governor said he had initiated a strategy to rid the state of hostage takers.

Sylva said: “My Honourable Speaker, I want you to be strong in this time of trial. We share your pain and I can assure you that I will use all the resources available to me to help find your mother and bring these criminals to justice. My administration shall run a zero-tolerance policy against kidnappers in Bayelsa state”.

Sylva said government was working with security agencies in the state to ensure a quick release of the old woman, as well as bring the kidnappers to book.

A source at Yenagoa Government House told THISDAY that the speaker would head for the state today on arrival from South Africa.

It was also learnt that the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, may also head for Yenagoa to have dialogue with some militant groups in the state over the development.

Also speaking with newsmen on the incident, Personal Assistant to the Speaker on Media, Mr. Jonah Okah, said, “I have confirmed the kidnap of the mother of Speaker Seibarugu after speaking with his close family relatives. I am aware that government is making effort to unravel the incident.”

Okah described the kidnap as a bad omen for a state that was in dire need of development.
He, however, appealed to those who seized the woman to release her quickly.
The kidnap of relations of top politicians and businessmen ostensibly for ransom appears to be the new face of militancy in the Niger Delta.

But up till the kidnap of Seibarugu’s mother, the incident was restricted to Rivers State
Meanwhile, the news of the kidnap has paralysed activities in the state assembly.
The assembly complex wore a grave look as only a few security operatives stationed at the entrance were around.

The kidnap of the speaker’s mother came on the heel of reports that some members of the House of Assembly had initiated impeachment proceedings against the Speaker, Seibarogu and Deputy Governor, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi.

But the assembly had on Monday denied that any such move was being contemplated.

The shooting of the American academic in Port Harcourt came yesterday as another employee in the oil sector simply identified as Elder Uchendu, was shot dead in his Ede Street in Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt by unknown gun men.

The incident occurred at about 11pm last Tuesday.

THISDAY learnt that the American was in the country to carry out a study in environment and communal conflicts in the Niger Delta had gone to National Point Newspaper, a local tabloid to interview reporters on their stable when the hoodlums stormed the office of the newspaper.

The men said to be four in number and armed were said to have made no pretences as they shot the gateman of the newspaper house many times on the leg before entering their newsroom where they also shot the American in the arm and demanded for the money.

A Nigerian human rights activist, Patrick Naangbaton, who latter rushed the American to an undisclosed hospital, said the gateman of the newspaper was critically injured and had to be moved from the first place he was taken to for a specialist attention.

Attempts by THISDAY to speak with the professor proved futile as he was said to be sleeping after taking medications.

Watts was said to have visited some of the environmentally degraded sites in the Niger Delta region and was just fine-tuning his materials through local media men who may have witnessed the incidents when he was attacked.

The killing of Elder Elendu came in controversial circumstances.

When his assailants succeeded in gaining entry into his apartment, they made straight for him and shot him severally.

On confirming that he was dead, they left his lifeless body and fled the scene before sympathisers who were attracted by the sound of the gunshots rushed him to a hospital where doctors confirmed him dead.



Port Harcourt Newspaper Attacked by Gunmen (Indymedia UK, Daily Champion)

At about 11 AM, the gunmen stormed the gate and and moved into the offices with sporadic shooting. Bullets shattered doors and left scars on the walls. Drawers and lockers were ransacked as the gunmen demanded for money and carted away 2 laptop computers and mobile phones belonging to Social Action and National Point volunteer and staff.

Professor Michael Watts of the University of California, Berkeley who was visiting the offices was a major target. He had since visited a Port Harcourt clinic to receive treatment from injury sustained during the attack.

The attackers shot Richard Kenneth, a security guard, in the leg. Richard has been taken to the Medicines Sans Frontiers trauma centre in Port Harcourt where he is receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.

Professor, Mark Watts, yesterday escaped death by the whiskers as gunmen attacked him at the premises of The National Point newspaper in the Diobu Line area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

But a Nigerian identified as Elder Echendu, was unlucky , in a separate incident as suspected armed robbers yesterday shot him dead at Ogbunabali in the city.

Daily Champion gathered that Watts got a hot chase from the unknown gunmen who trailed him from a branch of a first generation bank to the premises of the weekly community newspaper.

According to an eye-witness, who pleaded anonymity, the robbers caught up with the professor at the gate leading to the newspaper where they shot severally and wounded the security man on duty.

Though the American escaped unharmed, the robbers were said to have snatched two laptops and two GSM handsets from the employees of the newspaper.

Thereafter, they shot sporadically into the air to scare people and escaped.

The identity of the guard, who is said to be responding to treatment at a private hospital in the city, could not be ascertained at press time.

In a related development, another gang of robbers reportedly shot dead Echendu and snatched his Toyota Camry car.

Contacted for comments on the incidents, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Mrs. Ireju Barasua, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), while confirming the attacks said the police have recovered the two computers from the robbers who dumped them on the road.

Insecurity in the Niger Delta has escalated after the April, 2007 general elections with politicins of the ruling PDP seemingly unable to control thugs armed to rig the elections. However, in recent weeks, politically sponsored attacks by armed gangs and violent robberies have left dozens killed in the oil city of Port Harcourt, with residents now living in fear.

Nigeria Security Update #2 190707

Youths Threaten to Blow Up Shell Facility (Vanguard)

Youths of Obe community in Orhionmwon Local Government Council of Edo State have threatened to blow up the Shell flow station this weekend, should the state government fail to re-constitute the membership of the newly constituted Oil and Gas Producing Communities Commission and appoint some body from the area as the chairman.

The angry youths had last Tuesday shut down the flow station protesting the composition of the committee but with the intervention of the over one thousand mobile policemen deployed to the area by the state Police Commissioner, Mr Bala Hassan, the flow station was brought back to life against the wish of the youths.

The crisis in the area erupted after Governor Oserhiemen Osunbor sent a list of seven members and three ex-official members of the committee to the state House of Assembly for approval.
The youths insisted that as the highest oil producing community in the three oil producing Local Government Councils in the state, the area should produce the chairman of the committee.

The youths led by Prince West Ogienwonyi asserted to Vanguard in Benin, yesterday, that “because they are controlling the police and the soldiers they went and opened the flow station. But we want to say that our resolve on the issue has not changed. If by weekend and that committee is not re-constituted as we demanded, we are going to blow up the entire flow station.

“Is it because we have been keeping quiet and they think that we are fools. If one visits our community you will not know that you visited an oil producing community. They have marginalised us in infrastructural development and that is why we said we want our person to be made chairman of the commission because he knows our problems better than some body who hails from where they produce little or no oil” he argued.


New Militant Group Holds Expatriate Hostages

There is apprehension over the failing health of two expatriates currently being held hostage by a militant group at Alabeni, Ekeremor Council in Bayelsa State.

The hostages, a Bulgarian and a Scot, working for Peak Petroleum, a contracting firm to Chevron/Texaco, were abducted last Monday by some militants aboard a marine vessel, "Monipo", which was reportedly hired by the firm.

The hostages’ poor health may not be unconnected with the absence of medical facilities in the area.

Reports said the vessel was halted by armed youths who invaded the area with four speed boats. They fired several shots into the air before kidnapping the foreigners.

Already, a group, Authentic Emancipation of the Movement for Peace and Development in the Niger Delta (EMOPEND), has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

The group threatened not to release the foreigners until its demands are met.



U.S. Ambassador Pledges Support (This Day)

The United States (US) has said it would continue to stand beside Nigeria in its journey towards sustainable development and democratic governance.

US High Commissioner in Nigeria, Sir John Campbell yesterday restated his country's commitment to Nigeria Project at a briefing in Abuja, adding that the US would strengthen trade relations with Nigeria, especially in oil and gas among other common areas of interest to both countries.

Campbell seized the briefing to comment on the US visa process, stating that "our visa service have been improved by opening of our consular section in Abuja. We strive to provide the best consular service we can to all Nigerians whether dual citizens or those seeking to visit their families."

When asked to mention some areas of US-Nigerian relations, the out-going ambassador said the relationship between Nigeria and the US "is multifaceted," noting that his country "relates well with Nigeria in oil and gas."

According to him, with respect to stable economic growth and development, I would like to see our trading relationship become stronger, and more foreign investment by American companies in Nigeria.

He called on the governments to improve its infrastructure, educational system, power and communication sectors, remove trade barriers and other tarrifs in order to make Nigeria more competitive for direct foreign investments (FDIs).

He said: "Nigeria must continue to work for peace, stability and economic progress because democracy building is a never-ending process. "The United States will continue to stand beside Nigeria on its pilgrimage toward democracy. Through the US Agency for International Development, we provided fifteen million dollars for technical and other assistance with 2007 elections, and we will continue supporting both Federal Government of Nigeria and Nigerian Civil Society in strengthening electoral law, the tribunal system and the independent courts and assemblies. This is vital to build a strong nation.

"The notable economic and political reforms achieved over the past few years can be broadedened and translated into an improvement of the living standard of all Nigerians," Campbell stated.While commenting on the monumental growth experienced by Nigeria since its transition to democratic regime, Campbell assured that the US would hesitate to assist Nigeria-both in kind and cash-in such areas as education, health and investment among others.

"I have been glad to experience a growth in ties between America and Nigeria's Muslim community during my time in Nigeria. Our example is Arewa House's project to catalogue, preserve and make bettwer known Nigeria's wonderful collection of Islamic manuscripts, supported by Northwestern University, the Library of Congress and this Embassy.

"America has a significant Muslim community, and we welccome students and visitors, especially from Nigeria, and value their contribution to our culture, society and educational system," he stated.

Drwaing inference from a native America proverb common in the Sioux tribe which says with all things, in all things, we are relatives, Campbell said "this saying is apt because of the strong partnership that America has with Nigeria. Our ties are cultural, political, educational, economic financial and familial among others.

Campbell said millions of Nigerians had dual Nigerian-American citizenship, adding "millions more have their family members living in the United States."

Niger Delta in Turmoil - An Analysis (This Day)

Against a background of incessant hostage taking and communal strife borne out of poverty, concerned citizens seek elusive peace for the troubled oil-rich Niger Delta region. Abimbola Akosile reviews inputs made by various stakeholders at home and abroad on a vital process

Toddler Dimension

In the past few months, some desperate inhabitants in the Niger Delta region have resorted to kidnapping innocent citizens and returning them for ransom. Scores of expatriates from different nations of the world have suffered this fate, and some only secured their release after money exchanged hands.

However a more frightening dimension to the kidnap saga is the taking of little kids for money. Three of them who were kidnapped in recent times include 3-year old Michael Somiari-Stewart, son of a Rivers State law-maker; 2 year-old Samuel Amadi, son of Eze Francis Amadi; and 3 year-old Margaret Hill, daughter of a British father and Nigerian mother.

Although the three kids have since been released, a frightening precedent has been set, and only quick intervention can save the region from further toddler kidnapping and anarchy.

Turning Spears into Plows

In the restive Niger Delta region, aggrieved youths have been accused of hostage-taking, bank robberies and other crimes. A recent attempt to convince said youths to down their weapons in exchange for implements of peace was boosted at a reformatory home in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A notable attempt to find a lasting solution to the continual violence and restiveness in the Niger Delta took place in Aluu, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State; at a skills acquisition center, where youths, some aged 14, and numbering well over a hundred, gathered and camped for weeks.

Above scheme, mid-wifed by a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) named Academic Associates Peaceworks (AAP) led by Dr. Judith Asuni, was in conjunction with various leaders of the cult groups who have resigned and are pursuing a reversal of roles they had played so that up coming youths would not fall into the vicious circle of violence.

Another aspect of the programme was to ensure that there would be elections in the Niger Delta region, to ensure emergence of credible and true leadership that would lift the region out if its current economic and infrastructural doldrums.

Above programme, an eye-opener, is a welcome development in the restive Niger Delta region. Such youth programmes, when combined effectively with government peace and developmental efforts in the region, would go a long way to clean up a previously un-conducive atmosphere; and in turn usher in an era of peaceful co-existence and rapid growth. Kudos to AAP and other concerned stakeholders.

Executive Neglect

According to Professor Julius Ihonvbere, Special Adviser on Project Monitoring and Evaluation to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, leadership has failed in the Niger Delta region of the country.

The activist-technocrat, while presenting a book titled "Towards an Integrated Development of the Niger Delta", which was compiled by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja, chided the Niger Delta governors (especially the out-gone executives) for not managing the resources that accrued to them for the overall benefit of the people of their states.

He said these States received over N600 billion since 1999, which they failed to channel into developmental projects. According to him, if the governors had spent at least N30 billion effectively, problems associated with the people of the Niger Delta would have been adequately solved.

Ihonvbere called on the government to put in structures at the local government levels, to help take governance closer to the people, tackle militancy in the region and resolve abject poverty.

The detailed book was compiled through research by the trio of former Executive Director of CDD, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Miss Stella Amadi, Regional Coordinator of CDD and Ololade Bamidele. The book has six chapters and 270 pages.

To underline the vital importance of the issue of the Niger Delta, among the personalities who attended the book presentation were Dr. Tajudeen Abdulraheem, Chairman of CDD Governing Council; Dr. Kole Shettima, Africa Country Director of MacArthur Foundation; Professor Omafume Onoge; Honourables Dino Melaye and Femi Kehinde of the House of Representatives.

Others included Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, current Director of CDD; Mr. Turhan Saleh, UNDP Representative in Nigeria; Odia Ofeimun of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), who reviewed the book; Mr. Waziri Adio of Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI); Barrister Femi Falana, President of West African Bar Association (WABA); Miss Nyree Triptree of United States Embassy; and the chairperson Ms Nkoyo Toyo of Gender and Development Action (GADA).

Toward a Lasting Solution

According to Dr. Chukwuma Nwaonicha, a Nigerian living abroad, the solution to the Niger Delta crisis requires honest dialogue backed with infrastructural or public utilities developmental efforts from the stakeholders.

These include the Federal Government through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), State and Local governments, the international and local organisations and other agencies operating in the Niger Delta region.

He claimed hostage taking and killings are wrong, and the use of force to settle the problem of the Niger Delta, a wrong agenda. "The criminal activities, including bunkering, killings, and hostage taking in the Niger Delta had become an obstacle to the development of the region. Hostage taking is no fun. It is a serious criminal act. What the militants are demanding is unrealistic goal".

He believed that if it takes over forty-six years to 'destroy or neglect' the region, it may equally take more than forty-six years to develop it. "Development does not occur overnight, and development cannot occur along side violence. Development is a gradual and continuous process", he said.

To Nwaonicha, the key factors in developing the Niger Delta region and promoting peace are good governance, enforcement of the rule of law, public trust, fairness, peace, safety and security among others.

"We strongly encourage the stakeholders; the Federal, State and Local governments to be committed in spending the resources meant for developing the region in the region. This region cannot be developed if funds budgeted for the region are not honestly used or embezzled. You can't eat your cake and have it".

He also recommended that the various governments should set-up necessary developmental goals for the region. These include short-term goal of community policing, peace initiative and conflict resolution committees, various types of job training (1 year); mid-term goals of infrastructural development (low capital intensive projects) thereby creating jobs (five years) and long-term goal of high capital intensive infrastructural development projects there by creating jobs (more than five years).

To him, the Federal, State and Local governments need to do better for the Niger Delta region and the other states in the nation; and the difference between development and destruction is awareness.

Implementing an Action Agenda

Timely adoption and implementation of a seven-point development agenda recommended in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2006 Niger Delta Report would ensure desired progress in the restive region.

Agenda 1: Peace-Building

Peace in the Niger Delta has been adversely affected by militarisation of the region, lack of effective dialogue, lack of negotiation of conflict between interests, lack of access to economic benefits and opportunities, and inability to protect human lives and enforce human rights. Past efforts at addressing genuine grievances have been ad hoc and flowing top-down rather than from the communities themselves.

Recommendations

- Set up credible institutions whose membership will include interest groups and people acceptable to aggrieved communities and other stakeholders; address the issue of resource control to ensure community ownership and use of natural resources for development and environmental protection. True fiscal federalism should be practiced. In the interim, the percentage of derivation should be increased to 50 percent;

Agenda 2: Local Governance

Democratic local governance is crucial to solving the crises in the Niger Delta. The prevailing reality is that there is no participatory local governance. Both the Federal and particularly the State Governments have hampered autonomy of the local governments. Local government autonomy is therefore a key goal in the attempt at resolving the crisis in the Niger Delta. There is need to devolve power and create mechanisms to assure that local governance is transparent and accountable to the people.

Recommendations

- Provide a legal framework to ensure constitutional autonomy of LGAs as opposed to the present practice of making them just administrative third tier of government; promulgate laws to recognise and regulate Community Development Associations (CDAs) as an integral component of local governance;

Agenda 3: Economic Diversification

There is high dependence on oil and gas resources, which provide over 90 percent of the foreign exchange earnings of the country, thereby making it a monolithic economy. The oil sector has limited capacity for employment and spread of industrial development. Agriculture has been relegated to the background and food security is threatened.

Recommendations

- Encourage oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta to establish ancillary industries to add value and boost employment opportunities for the people of the region. Recommended areas include electricity generation, refineries, petrochemicals and others which could produce the much needed oil and gas sector-based goods and services that are still imported.

- Provide easy access to micro-credit and extension services for farmers and those engaged in agro-allied industries; create awareness and sensitise the people on the opportunities available in the agricultural and solid minerals sectors.

Agenda 4: Social Inclusion

Sustainable development in the Niger Delta has been considerably hampered by the limited involvement of women, youths, children, physically and mentally challenged and disadvantaged groups in the conception, planning and implementation development programmes.

Recommendations

- Build capacity of community institutions for participatory development with greater involvement of disadvantaged groups; provide increased access to quality education, including building structures, massive supply of science equipment and recruitment of science teachers, especially in rural/riverine communities; provide infrastructures for skill acquisition relevant to the Niger Delta, and greater access to credit facilities by disadvantaged groups;

Agenda 5: Environ-mental Sustainability

The continued degradation of the Niger Delta environment makes the path of sustainable development challenging and difficult, if not impossible to attain. Traditionally, the deltans were farmers and fishermen, hence the loss of their environment is a major threat to their traditional occupation. This has therefore denied host communities the needed sustainable livelihood opportunities and human development.

Recommendations

- Undertake a comprehensive assessment of the physical environment of the Niger Delta taking into consideration impact of oil spillage and exploration; and democratise access to environmental information; build affirmative actions for host community participation in the oil activities; enforce environmental laws and compensation regimes for the oil gas activities; and empower communities to participate in community budgeting and environmental protection measures and processes.

Agenda 6: Integrated Approach to HIV & AIDS

There is increased prevalence of HIV&AIDS in the Niger Delta attributable to poverty, limited education/ awareness, frequent job mobility, presence of oil and gas workers, military and para-military personnel and harmful traditional practices, with the most vulnerable groups being women, youths and children. It was also observed that malaria, tuberculosis and cholera are serious health issues afflicting the people.

Recommendations

- Promote behavioral change, through social mobilisation and access to information; ensure empowerment of state and local action committee on AIDS (SACA and LACA) for them to be more result-oriented in their primary mandates; increase access to comprehensive gender-sensitive preservation, care, treatment and support services for the general population, including free ant-retro-viral drugs for the people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA), Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and mitigate HIV/AIDS impact on the people and economy;

Agenda 7: Building Partnership for Sustainable Devt

There is absence of partnership coordination in the region. In addition to the fact that oil companies' community development activities are not integrated into the mainstream development planning, international development partners also operate in the region in an uncoordinated manner. In fact, most Niger Delta states do not have database of development partners' activities in their domain. Capacity building is desirable for partnership.

Recommendations

- Establish, immediately, a unit that will coordinate partnerships in the region. Also establish project monitoring units (PMUs) in all the states of the Niger Delta region to monitor various development activities. Unlike what happens in the past, there should be a steering committee comprising of representatives of CDAs, NGOs, private sectors, religious bodies and government officials. The PMUs are to undertake the Monitoring & Evaluation of development programmes and projects based on established indicators.

Unveiling a Crisis Report

A detailed report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) claimed root causes of the Delta insurgency are well known. Violence, under-development, environmental damage and failure to establish credible state and local government institutions have contributed to mounting public frustration at a slow pace of change under the country's democracy, dogged by endemic corruption.

Nigeria had estimated oil export revenues of $45 billion in 2005 but the slow pace of systemic reforms and the lack of jobs, electricity, water, schools and clinics in large parts of the Delta have boosted support to insurgents such as MEND.

Observers warn that a worst-case scenario could lead to a one to two-year shutdown of the oil industry in the Delta, where most of Nigeria's 2.3 million daily barrels of crude oil originate, the report said.

Illegal oil 'bunkering' has accelerated the conflict and provided militant and criminal groups with funds to purchase arms. Another factor is the scale of poverty.

Community groups frequently charge that projects are derailed by bad management, compounded by corruption at local, contractor and company levels. These accusations are often difficult to judge, although several oil company officials have privately acknowledged that internal corruption is a serious problem they are trying to address. Broken promises and charges of favouritism have further soured relations between oil companies and communities.

Resolution Steps

Governments and corporations must change direction if they are to lessen the likelihood of violent meltdown in the Niger Delta. Attempts to secure energy production have too often been heavy handed, alienating large segments of the population and boosting support for militants, the report stated. While laudable attempts have been made to initiate development, many have been poorly executed or hijacked by outsiders and local elites.

Although Delta militants are responsible for their own share of the brutality, it is a symptom of a wider problem that has created a reservoir of anger against the government. Care should be taken not to reward violence or encourage copycat attacks, by merely co-opting individual militant leaders into the Nigerian elite.

The militants' demands for devolved resource control is legitimate, however, and steps should be taken to bring this about transparently, increasing oversight of elections and elected officials and allowing broad-based community structures to play a leading role in their own development.

Defusing the militant time bomb requires a commitment to negotiate with residents that goes beyond the commissions and committees of the past. There has never been a better opportunity to increase state and local resource control, according to the report.

Urgent measures are needed to promote transparency and stiffen penalties for corruption. While the Yar'Adua Government does a better job than its predecessors at opening its financial activities to scrutiny, it is not enough to reveal financial allocations to the states and localities. How that money is used is key to resolving the conflict in the embattled oil-rich region.