Saturday, May 19, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Attaks and Kidnappings
Nigeria produces over 2 million barrels of oil a day (currently valuedat roughly $40 billion per year) which account for 90% of its export earnings and 80% of government revenue.
Nigeria also supplies 9% of US imports and is a pillar in the US post 9/11 African oil strategy devised by the Bush administration, which anticipates that the Gulf of Guinea will provide perhaps 25% of US imports by 2015. The Niger Delta Region is the main area where the black gold is extracted,and the focal point of Nigerian and international economical interests in the country.
Since the discovery of oil the region has always been volatile, plagued by corruption, environmental disasters, ethnic conflict and, more recently, waves of kidnappings of expatriates and attacks on the oil industry carried out by heavily armed rebel groups and gangs of robbers. Rebels and gangs operate both inland and offshore, which demonstrates their power and knowledge of the territory. Mystrass is a platform vessel that has been anchored 90 km off the coast of the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt for three years. Last November it was attacked and hostages were taken. The boat with hostages and gangs on board was intercepted by the police, who shot and accidentally killed a Briton and badly wounded an Italian expatriate.
The time I visited the Mystrass vessel the crew was putting up barbed wire and considering new strategies to prevent future attacks.
A few days ago, on Thursday May 3rd, MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, a coalition of militia groups fighting for greater regional control of oil and gas resources in the region ) attacked Mystrass and took 6 hostages.
After the fraudulent presidential elections in Nigeria the region has seen a series of new and well organized attacks against oil companies and the contractors who work with them.
The Niger Delta is gripped by tension and expatriates are being advised by Embassies all over the world to stay in their compounds or better, leave Nigeria and return to the safety of their own countries.
Here is the Chronology of some major Attacks and Kidnappings from the beginning of 2007:
-- Jan. 12, 2007 - Nine South Korean workers and one Nigerian are freed two days after being kidnapped from the Bayelsa state capital, Yenagoa.
-- Jan. 16 - A Dutch oil worker and two other people are killed when their boat, operated by South Korean firm Hyundai, is attacked on its way to the Bonny Island export terminal.
-- Jan. 18 - Gunmen free five Chinese workers kidnapped on Jan. 5 in Rivers State. An Italian is also released.
-- Jan. 23 - Gunmen kidnap two engineers, one American and one British, in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt. They are released in February.
-- Jan. 27 - A Belgian working for a building materials company dies of wounds after gunmen ambushed him in Warri.
-- Feb. 4 - Nine men working for the Chinese National Petroleum Company, which was doing work for Shell in Bayelsa, are released after being kidnapped on Jan. 25.
-- Feb. 6 - Gunmen abduct a Filipino worker on the road between Port Harcourt and Owerri.
-- Feb. 7 - A Frenchman, working for oil giant Total, is kidnapped in Port Harcourt. He is rescued by troops on March 16.
-- Feb. 13 - Militants release all 24 Filipino crew members captured when their cargo ship, belonging to a German company, was attacked on Jan. 20. -- Feb. 18 - Gunmen kidnap one Montenegrin and two Croatian oil workers, employees of Hydrodrive Nigeria, in Port Harcourt. They are rescued by the military on March 12.
-- Feb. 23 - Gunmen kill a Lebanese construction engineer in Port Harcourt. -- Feb. 26 - Two Italians working for a construction company are released. They were kidnapped near Port Harcourt on Feb. 23.
-- Feb. 28 - Gunmen kidnap a Lebanese construction worker who was employed by a local firm, in Rivers state.
-- March 8 - A Filipino oil contractor is freed.
-- March 14 - Militants release two Italian workers they had been holding hostage since Dec. 7.
-- April 4 - A Dutch manager for German building contractor Bilfinger Berger, kidnapped in Port Harcourt on March 23, is released. A British worker, abducted from the Bulford Dolphin oil rig on March 31, is freed. Two Lebanese employed by Setraco who were abducted in Bayelsa on April 2 are also released.
-- April 7 - Gunmen kidnap two Turkish engineers from their car in Port Harcourt. One works for Merpa, a Turkish firm that maintains telecommunications on oil platforms.
-- April 27 - Gunmen kill two policemen in a failed kidnap attempt in Port Harcourt as the officers were escorting a convoy of vehicles carrying expatriate staff to work.
-- May 1 - Four Italians are among six oil workers kidnapped from an offshore oil facility operated by U.S.-based Chevron. Chevron reduces output by 15,000 barrels a day.
-- May 3 - Gunmen kidnap 20 foreign workers in three attacks in the Niger Delta, but eight are freed within hours. Saipem reduces output by about 50,000 barrels a day.
-- May 5 - Gunmen abduct a British oil worker from Trident 8 rig operated by U.S.-based Transocean off the coast of the state of Bayelsa. Separately, gunmen abduct a Belarussian woman, who works as a manager of Britain's Compass Group, from outside her residence in Port Harcourt's exclusive GRA district.
(estract from Oyibos online)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
NIGERIAN ELECTIONS-a personal Experience
-To the brave independent Nigerian citizens that had the courage to vote and to the independent observers and journalists and NGOs who witnessed and reported objectively the Nigerian Elections.-
Nothing “free and fair” or “regular” was witnessed by me or my journalist colleagues in the Nigerian 2007 Elections.
Saturday 14th
Travelled with two other journalists to observe the Gubernatorial elections around Port Harcourt and surrounding villages within River State.
The elections are due to start officially by 8am and end at 3pm.
At around 10am, when my colleagues and I arrived in Rumudomaya Obio/Akapor Local Government offices in River State, voting materials had yet to be distributed to the various polling stations in the area. We observed INEC official sorting materials, gathering and loading them into vans for distribution - obviously later than the scheduled time.
So they arrived almost an hour late at Ikwerre LGA (Local Government Area) and in two other places near Elele. It was clear that in that area there were willing voters but they would have to wait at least one or two more hours.
We continued travelling to see whether anyone was actually voting. By now it was around 1pm.
Instead we came across a van crammed full of dodgy youngsters followed by four of five motorbikes each carrying two, three or four passengers.
We weren’t sure if it was a good idea but we followed them. We were able to interview them and they were excited to pose for my camera.
Their leader told us that they were travelling from one polling station to the next to make sure there was no violence and to make sure the elections were pursued peacefully. They openly stated they supported the Governor’s Candidate Mr. Celestine Omehia (PDP, People’s Democratic Party), who promises jobs and opportunities to young people…just like them.
Finally we reached polling stations attended by a few voters, all of them crowded around the little voting table. Voting confidentiality. There was none.
We headed back to check areas within Port Harcourt. We saw a few deserted polling stations set up on market stalls and a couple more lively ones in some official buildings.
Going in was an overwhelming experience, confusion gripped the place, people argued loudly, as I passed people leaned their heads toward mine whispering “this election is rigged”, others told me firmly “the election is free and fair”, some stopped me to say INEC officials were taking voters’ hands and guiding them to mark the right candidate, onlookers whatched what people were voting and some other people said the election results had been set the night before.Incredible. It was 2pm when we found INEC officials in another polling station. They were already counting ballot papers. At every polling station we checked the results sheets were missing.
We left PH to return to the villages previously visited.
Back in Ikwerre we argued with the Village main chief who, exhausted by our insistence on seeing results sheets forbade us to enter the polling station where the ballot papers were being counted.
As we were moving away we met a young man who started to tell us how people hired by the governing PDP Party came to him and tried to bribe him to stay away from the polling station and not to do his job as a party official. He told us he refused the money and so was unable to enter the polling station to do his job.
A small crowd was surrounding us as we talked and suddenly he was attacked by someone. He was punched and dragged away from us.
The situation became confused, my colleagues intervened trying to stop the attacker, while I tried to film the situation. The crowd become a mob, people were screaming at us to leave immediately.
We got back into the car. We tried to rescue the young man who finally managed to get into our car, then we were surrounded, a woman lay down on the front of our car preventing us from moving, the mob smashed one of our side windows while someone else managed to sneak his arm in, open the door and drag the guy out.
We had to move. We left.
Later in the day through a series of telephone calls we were able to talk to him. He was ok, his friends and family were there, and had been able to take him to his house. We are keeping track of him to see he whether he’ll be safe.
Depressed and frustrated we got back to Port Harcourt to the main collecting point where all the voting material from the various areas was to be gathered and transported to the Main INEC offices.
The scene was one of abandon: ballot boxes were piled and left aside neglected, ballot papers scattered on the floor for anyone to pick up.
A series of telephone calls to independent observers, journalists and NGOs confirmed that the situation was the same in almost all the Niger Delta oil producing region and throughout the West and North of the country. Irregularities, intimidation of voters, shootings aimed at disrupting the elections, houses burned to the ground.
The free and fair elections were to end two days later with the announcement of the winning candidates to the governorships in all 36 states.
Saturday 21st: Presidential Elections
I travelled around Delta State with observers from an NGO and a journalist from AP (Associated Press)
We experienced more or less what we had witnessed the previous week.
We followed the distribution of voting materials from the outskirts of Warri, Uvwie Local Government Council
While waiting for the material to be sorted and distributed, we went and checked other distribution points.
We stopped at the main distribution point in Ughelli South where groups of police officers and army staff were securing the place. They let us in and we met an INEC official who showed us evidence of last week’s attack on the building when a group of party opponents attempted to burn the station down.
Police prevented us from recording any evidence of the place and pushed us out.
Back in Uvwie we waited for distribution to begin. It was around 1pm when vans started to depart with voting material to distribute to various polling stations in the area. We followed several vans to see whether they would stop at any chief’s house, and finally we stopped in Airport Rd in an area called Bright Hope.
The location of the polling station was going to be announced at 2pm. People were milling around, some of them found us and started to complain loudly about how they had waited in vain to vote for the governors the week before.
No polling station was set up last week.
They showed us their voting cards and stated that they would not vote this time unless they could vote for the Governor first. Very few of the 1762 registered voters where there, and even fewer were willing to cast their votes.
On our trip we stopped to inspect what remained of a chief’s house which had been attacked the previous Friday.
Apparently Mr. Pogy, a PDP party affiliate and Chief – who some allege got rich through an involvement in oil bunkering – tried to ignore protesters gathered outside the walls of his large house. The mob was accused him of hiding ballot papers and results sheets in his house with the intention of rigging the vote.
Not very cleverly his wife decided to take up a weapon and shoot two people in the crowd. The protesters went mad and one week later there was little to see where his house and several cars had been.
We went to two other places. We witnessed a young man being punched because he voted for the wrong party. I have a series of shoots that show him casting his vote and toughs intercepting him as he left.
I did not witness his beating because I was shooting from a balcony above the polling station, but the observers I was with described how he was stopped, punched and how he finally escaped.
Finally we stopped at a polling station where we found a bundle of ballot papers on the floor – they had already been marked to vote for the same party: the PDP.
Again our observers and journalists Network, throughout Niger Delta States, west and North Nigeria, witnessed the same Elections farce, irregularities, intimidations, anger disillusionment.
From the 29th of May when the old mandate will end, the new Nigerian President the fraudulently elected PDP party Umaru Musa Yar’Adua will lead the country for the next 4 years mandate.
Nothing “free and fair” or “regular” was witnessed by me or my journalist colleagues in the Nigerian 2007 Elections.
Saturday 14th
Travelled with two other journalists to observe the Gubernatorial elections around Port Harcourt and surrounding villages within River State.
The elections are due to start officially by 8am and end at 3pm.
At around 10am, when my colleagues and I arrived in Rumudomaya Obio/Akapor Local Government offices in River State, voting materials had yet to be distributed to the various polling stations in the area. We observed INEC official sorting materials, gathering and loading them into vans for distribution - obviously later than the scheduled time.
So they arrived almost an hour late at Ikwerre LGA (Local Government Area) and in two other places near Elele. It was clear that in that area there were willing voters but they would have to wait at least one or two more hours.We continued travelling to see whether anyone was actually voting. By now it was around 1pm.
Instead we came across a van crammed full of dodgy youngsters followed by four of five motorbikes each carrying two, three or four passengers.
We weren’t sure if it was a good idea but we followed them. We were able to interview them and they were excited to pose for my camera.
Their leader told us that they were travelling from one polling station to the next to make sure there was no violence and to make sure the elections were pursued peacefully. They openly stated they supported the Governor’s Candidate Mr. Celestine Omehia (PDP, People’s Democratic Party), who promises jobs and opportunities to young people…just like them.
Finally we reached polling stations attended by a few voters, all of them crowded around the little voting table. Voting confidentiality. There was none.
We headed back to check areas within Port Harcourt. We saw a few deserted polling stations set up on market stalls and a couple more lively ones in some official buildings.
Going in was an overwhelming experience, confusion gripped the place, people argued loudly, as I passed people leaned their heads toward mine whispering “this election is rigged”, others told me firmly “the election is free and fair”, some stopped me to say INEC officials were taking voters’ hands and guiding them to mark the right candidate, onlookers whatched what people were voting and some other people said the election results had been set the night before.Incredible. It was 2pm when we found INEC officials in another polling station. They were already counting ballot papers. At every polling station we checked the results sheets were missing.
We left PH to return to the villages previously visited.
Back in Ikwerre we argued with the Village main chief who, exhausted by our insistence on seeing results sheets forbade us to enter the polling station where the ballot papers were being counted.
As we were moving away we met a young man who started to tell us how people hired by the governing PDP Party came to him and tried to bribe him to stay away from the polling station and not to do his job as a party official. He told us he refused the money and so was unable to enter the polling station to do his job.
A small crowd was surrounding us as we talked and suddenly he was attacked by someone. He was punched and dragged away from us.
The situation became confused, my colleagues intervened trying to stop the attacker, while I tried to film the situation. The crowd become a mob, people were screaming at us to leave immediately.
We got back into the car. We tried to rescue the young man who finally managed to get into our car, then we were surrounded, a woman lay down on the front of our car preventing us from moving, the mob smashed one of our side windows while someone else managed to sneak his arm in, open the door and drag the guy out.
We had to move. We left.
Later in the day through a series of telephone calls we were able to talk to him. He was ok, his friends and family were there, and had been able to take him to his house. We are keeping track of him to see he whether he’ll be safe.
Depressed and frustrated we got back to Port Harcourt to the main collecting point where all the voting material from the various areas was to be gathered and transported to the Main INEC offices.
The scene was one of abandon: ballot boxes were piled and left aside neglected, ballot papers scattered on the floor for anyone to pick up.
A series of telephone calls to independent observers, journalists and NGOs confirmed that the situation was the same in almost all the Niger Delta oil producing region and throughout the West and North of the country. Irregularities, intimidation of voters, shootings aimed at disrupting the elections, houses burned to the ground.
The free and fair elections were to end two days later with the announcement of the winning candidates to the governorships in all 36 states.
Saturday 21st: Presidential Elections
I travelled around Delta State with observers from an NGO and a journalist from AP (Associated Press)
We experienced more or less what we had witnessed the previous week.
We followed the distribution of voting materials from the outskirts of Warri, Uvwie Local Government Council
While waiting for the material to be sorted and distributed, we went and checked other distribution points.
We stopped at the main distribution point in Ughelli South where groups of police officers and army staff were securing the place. They let us in and we met an INEC official who showed us evidence of last week’s attack on the building when a group of party opponents attempted to burn the station down.
Police prevented us from recording any evidence of the place and pushed us out.
Back in Uvwie we waited for distribution to begin. It was around 1pm when vans started to depart with voting material to distribute to various polling stations in the area. We followed several vans to see whether they would stop at any chief’s house, and finally we stopped in Airport Rd in an area called Bright Hope.
The location of the polling station was going to be announced at 2pm. People were milling around, some of them found us and started to complain loudly about how they had waited in vain to vote for the governors the week before.
No polling station was set up last week.
They showed us their voting cards and stated that they would not vote this time unless they could vote for the Governor first. Very few of the 1762 registered voters where there, and even fewer were willing to cast their votes.
On our trip we stopped to inspect what remained of a chief’s house which had been attacked the previous Friday.
Apparently Mr. Pogy, a PDP party affiliate and Chief – who some allege got rich through an involvement in oil bunkering – tried to ignore protesters gathered outside the walls of his large house. The mob was accused him of hiding ballot papers and results sheets in his house with the intention of rigging the vote.
Not very cleverly his wife decided to take up a weapon and shoot two people in the crowd. The protesters went mad and one week later there was little to see where his house and several cars had been.
We went to two other places. We witnessed a young man being punched because he voted for the wrong party. I have a series of shoots that show him casting his vote and toughs intercepting him as he left.
I did not witness his beating because I was shooting from a balcony above the polling station, but the observers I was with described how he was stopped, punched and how he finally escaped.
Finally we stopped at a polling station where we found a bundle of ballot papers on the floor – they had already been marked to vote for the same party: the PDP.
Again our observers and journalists Network, throughout Niger Delta States, west and North Nigeria, witnessed the same Elections farce, irregularities, intimidations, anger disillusionment.
From the 29th of May when the old mandate will end, the new Nigerian President the fraudulently elected PDP party Umaru Musa Yar’Adua will lead the country for the next 4 years mandate.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Ateke Tom
Ateke Tom, was an SSS man during the 2003 Elections ( State Security Services)
During the interview I witnessed, he stated that he was bribed by the then candidate Peter Odilli and PDP (People Democratic Party) to succed as Governor for Rivers State in the Niger Delta Area.
Mr. Ateke, while sipping his home made KaiKai ( local Gin ) told us that Mr Odilli promised him and his militias a large sum of money to disrupt the 2003 Guberatorial Elections at any cost: bribing threatening and using violence against any opponents in order to put him in power.
Apparently P. Odilli promised the payments and benefits that they (Ateke and his army) never received.
Ateke at that point left his SSS position to start a violent campaign against Odilli and PDP party leaders.
Just before the elections 2007 he claimed responsibility for the bombing of two police stations in Port Harcourt.
He retreated to the Creeks where he is currently hiding out with his young militia. The groups is composed of young boys with an educated backround, some with high school diplomas while others are university graduates. The common cause for joining the militia is the lack of employment, as well as frustration and disillusion regarding their government who they feel has let them down.
During the interview I witnessed, he stated that he was bribed by the then candidate Peter Odilli and PDP (People Democratic Party) to succed as Governor for Rivers State in the Niger Delta Area.
Mr. Ateke, while sipping his home made KaiKai ( local Gin ) told us that Mr Odilli promised him and his militias a large sum of money to disrupt the 2003 Guberatorial Elections at any cost: bribing threatening and using violence against any opponents in order to put him in power.
Apparently P. Odilli promised the payments and benefits that they (Ateke and his army) never received.
Ateke at that point left his SSS position to start a violent campaign against Odilli and PDP party leaders.
Just before the elections 2007 he claimed responsibility for the bombing of two police stations in Port Harcourt.
He retreated to the Creeks where he is currently hiding out with his young militia. The groups is composed of young boys with an educated backround, some with high school diplomas while others are university graduates. The common cause for joining the militia is the lack of employment, as well as frustration and disillusion regarding their government who they feel has let them down.
Friday, April 13, 2007
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