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| Africa: Subsaharan | |
| Nigerian Militants Seize Chevron Oil Facility | |
| 2005-09-22 | |
| Armed militants have begun attacks on oil installations in Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta after warning they would do so. The fighters are protesting the arrest of their leader who is being held in the capital, Abuja. Joe Bavier has this report from VOA's West Africa bureau in Abidjan. Dozens of armed separatists sped in boats toward Niger Delta oil installations owned by U.S.-based oil firm Chevron. Fighters said they had taken over the Idama flow station and forced it to shut down. One commander said they would take over other installations and threatened to set them on fire or blow them up.
Military officials, who began setting up checkpoints for security this week, say they are ready to defend oil pipelines and wells. But faced with the growing threat of violence, some oil companies say they are removing employees from sensitive areas and are restricting the travel of others. Last year, Mr. Asari announced, what he called, a full-scale war on foreign oil interests. The situation was calmed after President Olusegun Obasanjo met with him personally. The militant leader promised to disarm in exchange for government help. But an advisor to Delta State traditional rulers, Ologorun Atuyota Ejuhnre, says a lack of follow-up on government promises have spawned further resentment in a region that has remained impoverished despite rich natural resources. "Apparently I do not think that much has been done," he said. "In fact, some of the papers have carried some publications that a lot of militias were being trained, about 6,000 young persons, who have been training with a view of declaring a republic of the Niger Delta." Federal troops have been accused of violent crackdowns and human rights violations in their attempts to pacify the Niger Delta. Mr. Ejuhnre says the government's decision to bolster its presence there may end up causing more harm. "In my personal view, it will exacerbate the situation, because foot soldiers are likely to react rather negatively and violently. And I think a solution should be more of negotiation than clamping down," he said. The Niger Delta has long been the scene of violent confrontations between federal troops and local militias. The armed groups are demanding a bigger share of oil revenues and blame foreign firms for widespread environmental destruction. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #11 viv le mort...viv le guerre...viv le sacre mercenaire Some mercenaries could clean this up toot sweet. Just a suggestion. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-09-22 23:31 |
| #10 You'd think the federalis had enough sense to keep the golden goose healthy and safe from the locals getting their seething rage on ... but no. Very un-Nigerian of them to let their collective and quite greedy eye stray from the ball but then again ineptitude and incompetence in civil administration are time honored traditions also. |
| Posted by: MunkarKat 2005-09-22 23:19 |
| #9 don't these guys have email scams to run? Jeebus |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-22 22:07 |
| #8 The Nigerian Civil War followed the conversion of over 300,000 central Nigerian tribesmen to Islam. Christian Southerners reacted by assassinating the "Saudana," a prominent Muslim leader. Perceiving a central government that did not represent their interests, the Ibos began an independent revolt. So why have Ibos now rallied around a Muslim terrorist? Why not? Current Western reaction to Muslim aggression has ranged from passive to regressive (GBW's subsidized Iranization of Iraq, in the name of Sharia constitutionalized nation building and Islamofascistic one-time democraticization). Beleagured South-South Nigerians have absolutely no allies to look for among the outside world. Muslim Aggressors are winning on every front. |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2005-09-22 21:56 |
| #7 Great. Just what the world needed. A gazillion bad things happen at home, making gas worse--and NOW THIS CRAP!?! I hate militias. |
| Posted by: OnlySaneManLeft 2005-09-22 21:43 |
| #6 But if the boss is called Mujahid, there is a new element here. No prize for guessing. Gimme a mulligan, please - lotsa AK-47's from Peshawar? |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-09-22 16:19 |
| #5 ZF IIUC the french supported the Ibo. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-09-22 16:05 |
| #4 Grunter: Are these the same tribe- the Ibo- who got whipped in the Nigerian civil war, back in the sixties? Ibos are Christians. Many moons ago, Frederick Forsyth wrote a book about the Biafran War that criticized British intervention in behalf of the corrupt and brutal Nigerian Federal Government - in the form of financial assistance and military aid. Now that they've had the benefit of 30 years of disastrous Federal rule, it's clear that the Ibos probably couldn't have done much worse with an independent country of their own. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-22 16:00 |
| #3 Are these the same tribe- the Ibo- who got whipped in the Nigerian civil war, back in the sixties? Same place. A nasty little war. But if the boss is called Mujahid, there is a new element here. No prize for guessing. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2005-09-22 15:36 |
| #2 But someone's going to have to put boots on the ground to help them fulfill said death wish and I, for one, have absolutely no idea who might be in a position to do that right now. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-09-22 15:19 |
| #1 Dozens of armed separatists sped in boats toward Niger Delta oil installations owned by U.S.-based oil firm Chevron. Fighters said they had taken over the Idama flow station and forced it to shut down. One commander said they would take over other installations and threatened to set them on fire or blow them up I can't think of a better way to get the entire world on your ass. These idiots have a death wish. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2005-09-22 15:01 |