NIGERIA’S REBELS DECLARE EIGHT WEEKS OF CEASEFIRE

The main rebel group in Nigeria’s Niger Delta is to observe a 60-day ceasefire in its attacks on the oil industry. Mend – the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta – said the move was in response to the freeing of rebel leader, Henry Okah, on Monday.

Mr Okah was released from jail as part of a government amnesty; he’d been held for more than a year on charges including treason. The Mend ceasefire is set to come into effect from Wednesday, a statement said.

On Sunday, just hours before Henry Okah was freed, militants in speedboats attacked the main oil depot serving Lagos – well away from the usual area of operations in the Niger Delta. Mr Okah said he regarded that attack as a gesture, welcoming him to freedom. But he said the Niger Delta needed a kind of peace process. People there, he said, were fighting so that the government would recognise the poverty and injustice that exists.

Asked if he would favour a partial decommissioning of weapons, he said: “Yes, yes, I would. But the government must start attending to our problems.”

Numerous attacks by Mend on installations in the Niger Delta in recent years have seriously disrupted the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Mend says it is fighting for a fairer distribution of the wealth from Nigeria’s natural resources, but in the past the government has dismissed the militants as criminals.

In a bid to end the attacks, the government offered militants an amnesty three weeks ago. Officials said any rebel willing to give up weapons by October would benefit from a rehabilitation programme, including education and training opportunities. The government’s critics say the amnesty is unlikely to work because the unrest is not a straightforward political struggle.

NIGERIAN MILITANT LEADER HENRY OKAH ‘TO BE FREED’

Nigeria is to release militant leader Henry Okah because he has accepted a government amnesty offer, the presidential spokesman says. But spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said details of the release still needed to be worked out. Henry Okah is a leader of the Mend militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

The government recently offered an amnesty to members of any militant group which laid down its weapons. Speaking on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Italy, Mr Adeniyi said: “The president is delighted to hear that he [Mr Okah] has accepted the amnesty offer. With his acceptance, he will be released when the formalities are concluded.”

A senior spokesman for the Mend rebels, General Boyloaf, confirmed to the BBC that, if Henry Okah was set free, the organisation would lay down its arms. But he said the release of Henry Okah was just one issue – and there were other issues to be settled in the region.

The Mend rebels have been fighting for an increased share of Nigeria’s vast oil wealth in the Niger Delta region, but the government has in the past dismissed them as criminals. The militants say they are fighting for the rights of local people in the delta.

SOURCED FROM BBC

PRESIDENT YAR’ADUA ORDERS AMNESTY FOR HENRY OKAH

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua told his interior minister on Monday immediately to meet rebel leader Henry Okah, who is on trial for gun-running and treason, and offer him amnesty. Yar’Adua offered a 60-day amnesty on Thursday to gunmen in the Niger Delta, including Okah, who have been responsible for pipeline bombings, attacks on oil and gas installations and the kidnappings of industry workers over the past three years.

“The president has directed the chairman of the presidential panel on amnesty, Godwin Abbe, to immediately arrange a meeting with … Mr. Henry Okah and formally offer him the amnesty,” said Yar’Adua spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has launched a string of attacks against the oil industry this month, has made Okah’s release one of its key demands.

The government said Okah, who was arrested in Angola in September 2007 and extradited to Nigeria five months later, would be freed if he took the amnesty offer. “I wish to state that the offer of amnesty is unconditional and covers Henry Okah who will be released as soon as the federal government concludes its consultations with the governments of Angola and Equatorial Guinea,” said Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, spokeswoman for the amnesty committee.

A Nigerian delegation left for Angola and Equatorial Guinea on Saturday to inform the two countries’ leaders of the clemency offer. Officials said the two countries had “problems” with the suspected militant in the past and Nigeria wanted to pay them a courtesy visit before taking action.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS

NIGERIAN MILITANT ATTACK A MAJOR PIPELINE

Militants in Nigeria’s oil-producing region say they have blown up a major pipeline belonging to Italian energy firm Agip. Agip has not yet commented on the claims. A military spokesman denied that a pipeline had been hit but said there had been a “skirmish”. He also denied the militants’ claims to have disarmed seven soldiers.

Violence in the Niger Delta region has severely cut production in Nigeria – one of the world’s main oil exporters. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) has rejected the government’s offer of an amnesty, although another militant leader, Ateke Tom, has agreed to lay down his weapons.

Mend has warned all foreign oil workers to leave the area. It says its latest attack took place in Nembe creek in Bayelsa State on a pipeline supplying crude oil to Agip’s Brass exports terminal. “Our fighters encountered a military gunboat and all the soldiers numbering seven were dispossessed of their weapons. The gunboat was also stripped of its weapons before it was disabled by explosives,” Mend said in an e-mail sent to news organisations.

If confirmed, this would be the second attack in Bayelsa State this week, after a pipeline belonging to Shell was blown up on Wednesday. Correspondents say the militants seem to be expanding their field of operations, as most recent attacks have been in neighbouring Delta State.

The military is currently pursuing a major offensive against the militants which has caused thousands to flee their homes. Mend say they are fighting for the rights of local people to benefit more from their region’s oil wealth. But correspondents say many criminal gangs have taken advantage of the unrest to steal oil and extort money from oil companies.

SOURCED FROM  BBC

NIGERIAN REBELS CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHEVRON FACILITY ATTACK

Nigeria’s main militant group said on Monday it had sabotaged an oil pumping station in the Niger Delta operated by Chevron, the fifth attack claimed against the U.S. energy company in less than a month. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it attacked the Chevron-operated Abiteye flow station, which feeds oil to the Escravos export terminal in Delta state.

It was not possible to verify the statement independently. Chevron officials were not immediately available for comment. The militant group, which declared “an all-out war” against the military last month, threatened to expand its campaign in the region to include offshore oil facilities.

Oil markets have largely shrugged off the latest violence, focusing attention instead on the broader global economy and its affect on energy demand. “After destroying the entire oil infrastructure in Delta state, the hurricane will move into the neighbouring states of Bayelsa and Rivers before passing through the remaining state of Ondo, Edo and Akwa Ibom then finally head offshore,” MEND said in an e-mailed statement.

Chevron facilities in the southern Delta state have become a favourite target for attacks by MEND, which says it is fighting for a fairer share of the region’s wealth. Chevron has halted much of its operations in Delta state, shutting output of 100,000 barrels per day, after militants bombed one of it pipelines on May 24.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS

NIGERIAN MILITANTS RELEASE TWO BRITHISH HOSTAGE

A British oil worker taken hostage nine months ago in the southern Nigerian swamps has been released. Downing Street confirmed on Friday that militants had freed Matthew Maguire, 35, of Merseyside. His family said he was safe and well.

Mr Maguire, of Merseyside, was among 27 hostages taken from a boat near Port Harcourt last September. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has since released the other hostages. The group revealed in an email that Mr Maguire had been released at a secret location before being moved to Port Harcourt.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed the release in a statement which read: “This news comes a great relief to all concerned. “I am glad that, for Mr Maguire and his family and friends, this ordeal is over.” Bernard Maguire, who lives in Perth, Australia, told the BBC he was “delighted” his son had been freed.

“Matthew’s girlfriend, Emma, received a phone call from him earlier today,” he said on Friday evening. “He’s out now and no harm has come to him, so it’s a relief. Although he’s lost weight, he’s got no other health problems. “We have been waiting a long, long time for this and we have been given so much false hope in the past.”

His son was expected back in the UK on Sunday or Monday, he added. British hostage Robin Hughes, taken from the same boat as Mr Maguire, was released in April because he had fallen sick. The other hostages were released within days.

Hundreds of foreign oil and construction workers – and many more Nigerians – have been kidnapped by militants since 2006. Militants, who say they are fighting for a better share-out of Nigeria’s oil revenue, fund their groups with kidnapping, extortion and oil theft.

SOURCED FROM BBC

NIGERIAN INSURGENTS TO FREE BRITISH HOSTAGE

Nigerian militants say they will release Matthew Maguire, a British hostage held in the southern oil swamps for almost nine months.

An e-mail from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said Mr Maguire would be freed because 1 June is his birthday.

Mr Maguire was one of 27 hostages taken from an oil services boat in September – all the other hostages were released.

There has been fierce fighting in recent weeks between Mend and the army.

This has mostly been in Delta State, while it is believed that Mr Maguire is being held in Rivers State.

“Today, June 1 is Mathew Maguire’s birthday. He has spent close to 9 months in captivity and we hope to release him today as his gift,” Mend said in a statement from their pseudonymous spokesman Jomo Gbomo.

They warned the military not to try and attack them in an attempt to rescue Mr Maguire.

The British High Commission in Nigeria said it was “investigating” Mend’s claim and would comment when they had more information.

British hostage Robin Hughes, taken from the same boat as Mr Maguire, was released in April because he had fallen sick.

SOURCED FROM BBC

TAKING A SECOND LOOK AT THE NIGER DELTA

The Niger delta is infamously becoming synonymous with violence and youth restiveness; decades of neglect despite huge profits from oil exploitation in the region has culminated to destruction of oil facilities, hostage taking and oil pilfering by people, especially the youths as a way of showing its grievance. This led to the formation of armed groups (militants) like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger delta People (MEND) and Niger Delta Volunteer FORCE (NDVF), etc with the sole goal- greater control of the region’s resource.

When oil was first discovered in Oloibiri Bayelsa state in 1956, promises of heaven on earth were made both by the oil exploiters and the Nigerian government to the people of that settlement. Promissory notes were left unfulfilled by the creditors, not because the vaults were empty but the twin evils of corruption and greed proved to be stronger values. Today, Oloibiri is a barren land, dried up, like the well weaned mammary glands of  an old woman. The Oil Companies have vacated the area, leaving the people helpless, with no land to farm on and rivers to fish because of the damage done as a result of spillage. What an injustice?

The recent attack by the Nigerian military on the region could be tagged as barbaric. A step which was applauded by the national assembly and fully in support of, displays the level of injustice we have in Africa. Genocide is not only in the numbers but the act, the Nigerian military actually committed Genocide when it lunched that attack on a community resulting to the death of over 1,000 innocent citizens. The reason given for this was the abduction of 14 expats by the militants and their demand for ransom which is their usual practice. Though, unjustified, but not enough to wipe out a whole village, this is undemocratic and dictatorial. Dialogue remains the only option, in a democratic setting like ours. Come to think of it, the Nigerian government already knows what this people want.

The military should take the fight to the creeks were this militants have their camps not the villages were innocent citizens reside after been treated unjustly by the Nigerian government. On the other hand, it’s a shame on the national assembly to encourage such an act of dictatorship; these are Nigerians with rights and privileges.

The struggle did not start today, it started with likes of Isaac Boro, he was killed by the Nigerian government, and next in line was Ken Saro-Wiwa who was unjustly executed by the Nigerian government. Killing all the people of the Niger delta will not work, because more and more will resurrect as history has shown. Nigerians are one and should be treated the same. The Niger deltan has suffered so much injustice from the Nigerian government and is fighting back as a way of showing their resistance, not that they are necessarily violent.

It’s time for peace in that region, the Nigerian government should go for dialogue, the people of that region should be treated fairly for a continuous Nigeria and for posterity.

Emmaefe, CONNECTAFRICA

NIGER DELTA CRISIS: 1 NATIVE EQUALS 9 BARRELS OF OIL

Halt, halt!! and at the nick of time, an innocent man was saved from the stake. An intriguing scene from the book, ‘coup’ by Kalu Okpi-a Longman Macmillan pacesetter, one I read with gusto in the early 90’s. In one week of hostility between the Nigerian army and Niger Delta insurgents, there’s being no halt, its being presto, bedlam; anything from anarchy to gore, 5 communities in Warri, Delta state sacked in one week of clashes.

But wait a minute, everything is in the applecart but as usual there’s been no official statistics of causalities. Just like we all had to hear firsthand from CNN and BBC, that former Nigerian despot Sanni Abacha had died in the hands of Indian prostitutes, MEND and Amnesty, this time around are the purveyors of information. MEND puts the number of dead civilians at a 1000, Amnesty is a little diplomatic preferring to say hundreds are feared dead. Hostilities have subsided but the images beamed on local TV stations aren’t the burning embers of clandestine dingy holding camps of the militants in the creeks and mangrove forests, rather it is of families cringing for dear lives in bushes, bungalow dwellings destroyed by heavy military shelling. The Military glibly  parading its spoils of war; showed several ammunition it had seized from the militants  claiming it had in its possession a warehouse of insurgents armoury but was shy in announcing eleven soldiers were missing. MEND provided the answer to the JTF’s enquiry hours earlier saying it had killed 12 soldiers in an ambush the night before.

The National Assembly has been in the eye of the storm and recklessly so, not only did it give the military a thumbs up. It fuelled the insidious appetite of Honourable N’Allah in saying that Nigeria can do without 20 million Niger Deltans. When President Yar adua in the early days described the oil war in the Delta as bloody he failed to describe that the spirit that fuelled the war as one with tribal cells. The House of Representatives must use all the apparatus within its power to sanction the erring lawmaker otherwise this war becomes tainted; this is a critical period in Nigeria’s history which calls for sombreness and well screwed on skulls.  The president hasn’t been faithful to his respect for the rule of law. There is no logical reason that says because five soldiers were killed, five communities must be sacked without an investigation. It is this brigandage that the army exhibited years ago in its attack on Odi that is rearing its tyrannical head once again. Three years ago, I asked the incumbent commander of the joint AU/UN hybrid force in Darfur, Gen Martin Luther Agwai if the army would retaliate following killing of 8 soldiers in Ughelli, Delta state. He shook his emphatically saying no. In addition he said that no matter the strength of the country’s military, the war cannot be won with guns, but rather on the dialogue table. The president cannot dangle carrots and then reign down terror from the skies and water. The recent upsurge in abductions all around the country isn’t directly linked with the Niger Delta struggle; these fellows are mainly common criminals who are exploiting Nigeria’s porous security network, which require the use of the police and law courts. As the National assembly supports the military incursion into Bayelsa and Rivers state, it must remember that its current zero price of a Niger Deltan could also be subsequently translated into a zero pricing of the Nigerian crude and ultimately, the Nigerian state

Aghogho, CONNECTAFRICA

NIGERIAN MILITANTS HIJACK A VESEL, KIDNAP 15

Nigeria’s most prominent militant group said on Thursday one of its affiliate groups have hijacked a vessel in the Niger Delta and kidnapped 15 of its passengers. “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) can confirm that an affiliate group hijacked the MV Spirit yesterday in Delta state and have taken 15 foreign crew members hostage,” the militant group said in an emailed statement.

It was not possible to independently verify the claim. MEND, a loose coalition of militant groups, on Thursday gave oil companies an additional 48 hours to evacuate their staff in the Niger Delta and threatened to attack helicopters and planes after the deadline.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS