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SDN Newsroom

SDN staff are in the Niger Delta working directly with communities affected by the conflict and the social and environmental issues related to the extraction of Oil and Gas. We also work at the international level with Amnesty International and others trying to make a difference to the people of the Delta. Read the latest news as highlighted by SDN here.

>> Watch videos and news reports from the Delta

SDN staff are on the ground in Nigeria and will be updating this area regularly...

(For interviews or more information please contact + 44 (0) 7966755751)

SDN in the news: Group to Site Radio Station in Ogbia - Thu, 11 Mar 2010

Yenagoa — In a bid to build transparency and accountability at the grassroots, Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN), a civil advocacy group in the Niger Delta has concluded plans to site a community radio station in Ogbia, Bayelsa State.

BBC: Police minister condemns Nigeria police 'killings' - Thu, 11 Mar 2010

Nigeria's police minister has launched a scathing attack on the force, accusing officers of killings, robbery and other abuses.

BBC: Nigerian army 'ignored warning of massacres' in Jos - Thu, 11 Mar 2010

The governor of Nigeria's Plateau state has accused military commanders of ignoring warnings of an attack on Sunday near the city of Jos.

Statement by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs on Political Situation in Nigeria - Tue, 9 Mar 2010

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement expressing Canada’s concern over the present political situation in Nigeria:

"On behalf of the Canadian people, I would like to join Nigerians in welcoming President Umaru Yar’Adua back to Nigeria. We wish him a prompt recovery, and hope he will soon be well enough to return to his official duties."

Niger Delta Peace Consolidation Conference a resounding success - Thu, 4 Mar 2010

Over 100 participants drawn from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society groups and the media from across Europe and Nigeria as well as representatives of ethnic nationalities, the Dutch government (Parliament), the Nigerian legislature and the Nigerian Embassy in The Netherlands converged on the Novotel Hotel, The Hague, for the Niger Delta Peace Consolidation Conference.

SDN in the news: Capacity Building in Governance Through ICT - Thu, 4 Mar 2010

The coming of a United Kingdom (UK)-based advocacy group, 'Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN) to the Niger Delta region is the pivot of the increasing awareness for community people in the region...

Book: A Swamp Full of Dollars: Pipelines and Paramilitaries at Nigeria's Oil Frontier - Wed, 3 Mar 2010

Nominated for the Guardian first book award, A Swamp Full of Dollars tells the murky and revealing story of the relationship between Africa’s most populous nation and oil that pumps through western cities.

Al Jazeera: Police arrested in Nigeria killings - Mon, 1 Mar 2010

Seventeen Nigerian security officers are reported to have been arrested in the country's north in connection with a series of extra-judicial killings caught on video obtained by Al Jazeera earlier this month.

BBC: President Yar'Adua unexpectedly returns to Nigeria - Fri, 26 Feb 2010

Nigeria's deputy leader Goodluck Jonathan is still the country's acting president while Umaru Yar'Adua is sick, the information minister has said.

Dora Akunyili was speaking amid confusion about who wields power in Nigeria after President Yar'Adua unexpectedly returned home.

>> Read the full article on the BBC website

London Event - Curse of The Black Gold - Tue, 23 Feb 2010

50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta
A week of exhibitions and events in London - March 2010

BBC: Goodluck Jonathan becomes acting president - Thu, 11 Feb 2010

Nigeria's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has become acting president, after weeks of political turmoil caused by the absence of its ailing leader.

BBC: Nigeria Anambra state election 'gravely flawed' - Tue, 9 Feb 2010

An election for governor of Nigeria's Anambra state has been condemned amid reports of vote-buying and ballot-box theft.

Group flays poor revenue generation in states - Fri, 29 Jan 2010

Niger Delta Citizens and Budget Platforms, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) has flayed the heavy dependence on monthly federal allocations by state governments across the country, saying it has resulted to a lack luster attitude in exploring internally generated revenue in the respective states.

>> Read the full article on the Champion website

Video: Protests in Abuja at president Yar'Adua's absence - Thu, 14 Jan 2010

January 2010 video news report: There were protests in Abuja, Nigeria concerning the ailing President Yar'Adua.

>> Watch the full news report

Nigeria: Amnesty International - Police 'Kill At Will' - Thu, 10 Dec 2009

Amnesty International exposed the shocking level of unlawful police killings in Nigeria, in a new report released today.

Federal Government: Our hands are tied on as Flaring - Thu, 10 Dec 2009

The Federal Government has said that any attempt at stopping gas flaring through legislation now will lead to very unpleasant circumstances, which the nation can hardly cope with.

Such action, it said, would lead to the loss of billions of dollars derivable from carbon credit.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), disclosed this at the weekend in Abuja while fielding questions from some State House correspondents.

>> Read the full article

Nigerian victims take Shell to court - Thu, 3 Dec 2009

On Thursday, 3 December 2009, the unique legal action taken by four Nigerian victims of Shell oil leaks, in conjunction with Milieudefensie, will begin at the court in The Hague. This is the first time in history that a Dutch company has been brought to trial in a Dutch court for damages occurring abroad.

Amnesty International - Oil can be a filthy business - Thu, 12 Nov 2009

Amnesty International - A catastrophe is unfolding in the Niger Delta. Entire communities are devastated. The land they have lived on for generations is poisoned.

International Criminal Court - Summary of recommendations for the African Union - Tue, 27 Oct 2009

The African Union (AU) is to meet on November 3-6 to review the setting up the International Criminal Court (ICC).

More than 160 African civil society groups have called on African ICC states parties to reaffirm their support for the ICC.

Waterfront leaders allege threats to lives - Mon, 19 Oct 2009

The leaders of Bundu-Ama community have raised the alarm over threats to their lives. This followed the alleged killing of eight persons by soldiers and riot policemen on Monday in a bloody clash over enumeration and demolition.

>> Waterfront leaders allege threats to lives - full article on The Nation
>> Troops, ex-militants in bloody clash - full article on The Nation