Highlights
– MEND militant group attacks gas plant
– Nigerian oil worker unions delay strike over kidnappings
– Smugglers set custom’s officials on fire
On February 7, 2009, members of the largest militant group in southern Nigeria, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), took responsibility for an overnight assault on a natural gas plant belonging to the Dutch oil company, Shell. The Nigerian military reported that it had repelled the attack, killing three of the attackers in the process.
“The militants got to the plant, but they did not succeed.” stated Brigadier-General Wuyep Rimtip, commander of the Joint Military Force (JTF), a special military unit responsible for the area the attack occurred in. He went on to describe the attack as an exchange of gunfire, in which three militants were slain and one soldier injured.
Recently, Shell confirmed that an incident had taken place at the natural gas plant in Utorgu, Nigeria, and that in addition to the wounded combatants, one employee and two contractors were injured in the fighting.
MEND called an end to a four-month long truce on January 30, 2009 after an army attack on their interests, and warned of retaliatory “hurricane” attacks.
In a statement released by MEND following the attack, the group stated, “This attack and many smaller ones to come are like the rains and wind heralding the arrival of the hurricane.” MEND further denied that any of their fighters had been injured in the clash.
This latest violence is a continuation of nearly three years of conflict in the southern area of the Niger Delta, where attacks on facilities, and kidnappings of oil workers and their families for ransom are common. Militants claim that the violence is in response to the deep poverty levels rampant in the south, and demand that the Nigerian government send additional funds to the region. In response, the government is claiming that the militants are no more than criminals who are profiting off black market overseas trade of oil stolen from Nigeria.
Regardless of accusatory claims from both sides, the tensions resulting from the conflict have driven Nigeria’s oil output down by nearly a quarter, further exasperating the situation. As poverty levels rise due to the global financial downturn, and oil revenues drop due to continuous fighting, we expect that attacks against the country’s oil infrastructure will increase. Further, we anticipate that militants will continue to vent their alleged frustrations on foreign assets, while attributing their plight and the plight of the region to widespread government neglect.
Unions Delay Strike Against Kidnappings
Nigeria’s oil unions, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), announced that their strike, originally planned fro February 9, 2009, would be delayed in order to carry out talks with other concerned unions.
According to Bao Olowoshile, PENGASSAN secretary general, “We are not going to strike tomorrow, but we are leaving our doors open.”
Oil workers planned the strike to protest their continued targeting for kidnapping by MEND militants, as workers and their families have become favored victims for kidnapping in the recent months, due to the ransom they so often command. Militants have even targeted children for these attacks, recently slaying an eleven-year-old girl while kidnapping her nine-year-old brother in the oil center of Port Harcourt.
As the economic situation in Nigeria continues to deteriorate, we expect kidnappings of foreign employed workers in Nigeria to increase. As little has been done to de-incentivize kidnapping in the region – and oil companies continue to pay ransoms for employees and their families, we foresee no let up in the frequency of kidnappings in the near to medium-term.
Smugglers Burn Custom Officials Over Contraband Rice
In a further example of the declining economic and security situation in Nigeria, two custom officials were slain on February 8, 2009, by a crowd angry at the deaths of five rice smugglers. The smugglers had been following the officials after their luxury bus loaded with illicit rice was confiscated at the border.
The smugglers lost control of their car and crashed into a ditch, killing all five occupants. Villagers from Kongolam, witnessing the demise of their colleagues, attacked the Custom officials, going so far as to over power the Border Gendarmes at the Niger border after the officials sought refuge across the border. The officials were doused in gasoline and set on fire. We foresee that incidents like this will remain commonplace in Nigeria, a symptom of the extreme poverty levels that have been exasperated by violence, kidnappings, and the global financial crisis.
