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References All web links were active at time of the last update, 15th August 2006. [1] An example of this is given by Shell's limited evacuation of 254 non-essential staff from the sensitive Soku gas field in late 2004, when the fighting between Alhaji Asari Dokubo's fighters and the military task force was within kilometres of Soku. In this case, militias recruited from poor communities threatened foreign oil companies' facilities, which withdrew staff. The military struck back hard, to show the foreign investors it was safe to continue operating, but ordinary people were caught in the crossfire, increasing the general sense of insecurity and escalating the underlying conflict dynamic. Shell's concerns had in part been driven by an existing dispute over ownership of the gas field - and the nearby 'Sand Village' (used for aggregate in building materials) - between at least three neighbouring communities. Detailed in: WAC Global Services, December 2003 'Peace and Security in the Niger Delta: Conflict Expert Group Baseline Report. Working Paper for SPDC' '3.3.2 Assessment of the Soku, Elem-Sangama and Oluasiri Conflicts' p53 - 63, Lagos. See also: Jem Bendell et al, January 2005 '2004 Lifeworth Annual Review of Corporate Responsibility' 'Oil Change?' Greenleaf Publishing Ltd, Sheffield.
Anna Borzello, 24th September 2004 'Shell pulls staff from oil region' BBC News Online, Ilorin.
John Ighodaro, 27th September 2004 'Shell Evacuates Workers From Gas Plant Over Threat From Rivers Warlord' Vanguard, Lagos.
Karl Maier, 10th June 2004 'Shell Feeds Nigeria Discord, May End Onshore Work' Bloomberg, London.
[2] Human Rights Watch, February 2005 'Rivers and Blood: Guns, Oil and Power in Nigeria's Rivers State' London.
[3] Amnesty International, 3rd November 2005 'Ten years on: injustice and violence haunt the oil Delta' London.
Amnesty International, 3rd November 2005 'Claiming rights and resources - Injustice, oil and violence in Nigeria' London.
Amnesty International, 9th November 2004 'Are Human Rights in the Pipeline?' London.
See also: Tom Ashby, 24th May 2005 'Poverty Grinds Against Oil Wealth in Nigerian Delta' Reuters, Fishtown, Nigeria.
The Economist, 12th May 2005 'Guns, boats and oil' London.
Jedrzej George Frynas, 2000 'Oil in Nigeria: conflict and litigation between oil companies and village communities' LIT/Transaction, Hamburg, New Brunswick, NJ and London. D V Kemedi, 2003 'Community Conflicts in the Niger Delta: Petro Weapon or Policy Failure?' Berkeley Workshop on Environmental Politics Working Papers, Berkeley, CA.
Ike Okonta and Oronto Douglas, 2001 'Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights and Oil in the Niger Delta' San Francisco, Sierra Club Books.
Michael Peel, July 2005 'Crisis in the Niger Delta: How Failures of Transparency and Accountability are Destroying the Region' Chatham House, London.
Andy Rowell, James Marriott & Lorne Stockman, November 2005 'The Next Gulf - London, Washington and Oil Conflict in Nigeria' Constable & Robinson, London.
Nicholas Shaxton, March 2005 'New Approaches to Volatility: Dealing with the "Resource Curse" in Sub-Saharan Africa' International Affairs, 81, 2, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London pp.311-324.
Patrick Smith et al, 8th October 2004 'Day of the locusts' 'Vol 45 No 20' Africa Confidential, London. Patrick Smith et al, 10th September 2004 'Guns, gangs and oil' 'Vol 45 No 18' Africa Confidential, London. Michael J Watts, M. 2001 'Petro-Violence: Community, Extraction, and Political Ecology of a Mythic Commodity' in 'Violent Environments' Watts, M and Nancy Peluso (eds). Ithaca, Cornell University Press. Anna Zalik, 2004 'The Niger Delta: "Petro Violence" and "Partnership Development"' Review of African Political Economy No.101, ROAPE Publications Ltd, Sheffield UK, pp401-424.
[4] "Alongside worsening violence in the Middle East and the impact of Hurricane Ivan in the Gulf of Mexico, the unrest in Nigeria is part of a 'perfect storm' of forces combining to drive oil prices upwards." See: Alison Rowat, 30th September 2004 'Oil Rebels Hold the World to Ransom' The Herald, Glasgow.
Also: Steven Downes, 28th September 2004 'Oil prices to "cause global recession"' Times Online, London.
Carl Mortishead, 28th September 2004 'Nigeria violence pushes oil price to new record' Times Online, London. [5] Chris Agbambu et al, 21st September 2005 'Asari Dokubo arrested, detained in Abuja' Daily Independent, Abuja.
AFX News 16th September 2005 'Nigerian militants threaten British oil after politician's arrest' Lagos. Associated Press, 21st September 2005 'Crude prices jump as Hurricane Rita prompts more oil rig evacuations' Singapore. Daniel Balint-Kurti, 20th September 2005 'Militia Threatens Nigerian Oil Facilities' Associated Press, Lagos. BBC News Online, Friday, 16th September 2005 'Nigerian governor arrested in UK' London. BBC News Online, 21st September 2005 'Nigeria militia violence threat' London. James Butty, 29th November 2005 'Nigerian Troops Deployed in Bayelsa State' Voice of America, Washington, D.C.
John Donnelly, 3rd October 2005 'Burdens of oil weigh on Nigerians. Ecological harm, corruption hit hard' Boston Globe, Johannesburg.
Collins Edomaruse, Moses Jolayemi and Joseph Adeyeye, 16th September 2005 'Alamieyeseigha Restricted to UK. "Presidency behind my travails." Fani-Kayode: No hiding place for corrupt officials' This Day, Abuja / Lagos. Desmond Osueke, 29th November 2005 'Military explains soldiers' deployment to Yenagoa' The Tide, Port Harcourt. Mike Oduniyi, 20th September 2005 'Alamieyeseigha: Asari Dokubo Arrested' This Day, Abuja. Samuel Oyadongha, 23rd September 2005 'Troops lay siege to Yenagoa' Vanguard, Abuja. Reuters, 20th September 2005 'Nigeria militants threaten oil "mayhem" over arrest' Abuja.
Estelle Shirbon, 21st September 2005 'Nigeria militants threaten oil mayhem over leader's arrest' Reuters, Abuja.
Xinhuanet, 16th September 2005 'Nigerian group calls governor arrest in London "conspiracy"' Lagos.
[6] "People are concerned about what is the situation in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria - which is not producing half-a-million barrels a day of its output - Venezuela and Bolivia, to name but a few. And people look at that and say, 'What's the score card between anxiety about geo-political affairs and peace and calm?' So they're saying, 'We vote for anxiety.'" Lord Browne, BP. Quentin Peel et al, 3rd August 2006 'Over a barrel?' Analysis, BBC Radio 4, London. Bloomberg, 16th January 2006 'Crude Oil Rises on Concern About Nigeria Unrest, Iran Standoff' London. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4310&l=1 For incidents in 2006, see: BBC News Online , 1st September 2006 'Nigerian police to get arms boost' London. Foluso Akinwumi, 1st September 2006 'N/Delta: FG seeks foreign assistance' Nigerian Tribune, Ibadan. Human Rights Watch, 29th August 2006 'Nigeria: Military Must Be Held to Account for Razing of Community' Port Harcourt. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2920722.htm Tom Ashby, 24th August 2006 'Nigerian militants vow revenge for killings' Reuters, Lagos. Reuters, 9th August 2006 'Chronology: Nigerian militants' attacks on oil, gas industries' London. Dino Mahtani and Daniel Balint-Kurti, 26th April 2006 'Shell uses Nigerian companies linked to rebels' Financial Times, Lagos. BBC News Online, 8th March 'Nigeria Delta general moved out' London. Ken Wiwa & Barry Nalley, 5th March 2006 'Death rules the delta in battle toc control oil' Observer, London. Rory Carroll, 25th February 2006 'Shell told to pay Nigerians $1.5bn pollution damages' Guardian, London. Emma Amaize & Paul Bebenimibo, 22nd February 2006 'Niger Delta: The gathering storm of war' Vanguard, Lagos. Emma Amaize, Simon Ebegbulem, Emma Arubi & Paul Bebenimibo, 22nd February 2006 'Ibori, FG raise hope on hostages' Vanguard, Lagos. BBC News Online, 21st February 2006 'Nigeria's shadowy oil rebels' London. Rory Carroll & Larry Elliott, 21st February 2006 'Nigerian militants step up sabotage of oil installations' Guardian, London. Emma Amaize, Emma Arubi, Simon Ebegubulem, Paul Bebenimibo & Kingsley Omonobi, 20th February 2006 'Hostages: Obasanjo halts attacks on N-Delta' Vanguard, Lagos. IRIN, 19th February 2006 'Militants seize 9 foreigners in new attack, cause cut in oil exports' Warri. IRIN, 17th February 2006 'Army trades fire with militant groups in Niger Delta' Warri. IRIN, 17th February 2006 'Army attack on smugglers injured villagers, Niger Delta residents say' archived on Reuters, Warri. Nigerian Tribune, 16th February 2006 'Bombings in Warri, 20 Feared Killed' Ibadan. Alex Last, 15th February 2006 'Nigerian military in oil attack' BBC News Online, Abuja. BBC News Online, 30th January 2006 'Nigeria militants free hostages' London. IRIN, 30th January 2006 'Militants free foreign oil workers but vow more attacks' Port Harcourt. Nick Mathiason , 29th January 2006 'Oil delta burns with hate' Observer, London. Mark Trevelyan, 26th January 2006 'Nigeria hostage talks making progress: Obasanjo' Reuters, Davos. ISN Security Watch, 26th January 2006 'Villagers flee Niger oil delta' CSS, Zurich. Segun Owen, 25th January 2006 'Villagers flee Nigerian oil delta' Reuters, Warri. Segun James, 25th January 2006 'Secretary of Militant Group Arrested in Warri' This Day, Warri. BBC News Online, 16th January 2006 'Shell evacuates Nigeria workers' London. Ojobo was at the center of an earlier dispute between comunities, oil companies, military and security forces in December 2004. See reference [39]. Segun James, 16th January 2006 '14 Soldiers Killed in Niger Delta Shoot-out' This Day, Warri. Reuters, 16th January 2006 'Shell says no plan to pull out of Nigeria's delta' Lagos. See also: BBC News Online, 21st December 2005 'Fires burning on Nigeria pipeline' London. [7] Human Rights Watch, December 2001 'Jos: A City Torn Apart' London.
[8] It is not only militias that have identified Nigeria's oil as a potential leverage point over national government. For example, in March 2005, a political faction in Rivers State planed a region-wide oil shutdown to force the government to accept a presidential candidate from the Delta. See: Shai Oster, 21st March 2005 'Seeking a Voice Ahead of 2007 Election, Protesters Target Pumps' Dow Jones, Port Harcourt. The interdependency of any conflict over the Delta's oil resources with issues directly affecting a diffuse range of other "stakeholders" is far reaching. An indication of how an escalation in the Delta could affect ordinary people in the UK. For example, the UK's Conservative Party has warned that unsecured debt levels close to £1 trillion means that about 15 million people are exposed to external shocks, such as a sharp rise in the oil price. In October 2004 the conflict in the Delta, combined with conflict in Iraq, fears of terrorist strikes in Saudi Arabia and adverse weather in the Gulf of Mexico contributed to the then-record rise above $50 dollars per barrel. See: BBC News Online, 20th March 2005 'UK debt is at 'time bomb' levels' London.
[9] See: Dudley Althaus, 17th December 2004 'Oil's legacy in Niger Delta may be pollution, anger' Houston Chronicle, Port Harcourt.
[10] Dave Clark, 5th July 2004 'How the Niger Delta's oil fuels its brutal local wars' Agence France-Presse, Tombia, Nigeria.
See also: Dimieari Von Kemedi, 2005 'Armed Groups' Peace and Security Strategy Paper, Our Niger Delta, Port Harcourt.
[11] Human Rights Watch, June 2004 'Nigeria's 2003 Elections: The Unacknowledged Violence' London.
[12] Michael Hammer et al, 13th September 2004 'The security situation in Rivers State: an open letter from Amnesty International to Peter Odili, State Governor of Rivers State' Amnesty International, London.
[13] See: NDDC website http://www.nddconline.org [14] A bill currently before the Nigerian Federal Senate proposes to: reduce the Federal government contribution to NDDC from 15% revenues currently accruable to States, to 10%; reduce oil company contributions from 3% of their annual budget to 2%; remove Senate oversight of appointments to the NDDC board by the President. See: Emmanuel Aziken, 18th November 2005, 'Niger Delta groups disagree on NDDC amendment bill' Vanguard, Lagos. [15] Nigeria secured a write off of $18 Billion from a total of $31 Billion in Paris Club debt at the G8 Summit in July 2005. BBC News Online, 23rd October 2005 'Nigeria "to reduce oil reliance"' London.
Tunde Rahman, 13th March 2005 'Debt repudiation has its costs - Muhtar' This Day, Lagos. Editorial, 7th March 2005 'Hope in the Land of Dashed Hopes' New York Times, New York.
[16] "President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday in London said the National Political Reforms Conference holding in Abuja will remove Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees immunity from criminal prosecution for the president, vice president, governors and their deputies out of the nation's legal system." Femi Solaja, 16th March 2005 'Obasanjo: Conference'll Remove Immunity' This Day, Lagos. See also: Dudley Althaus, 17th December 2004 'Creating lasting reform critical, officials say' Houston Chronicle, Port Harcourt.
[17] Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made a number of high profile arrests in the last year. Ben Agande, 29th August 2004 '170 Billion Alleged Loot Alarms Obasanjo' Vanguard, Abuja. BBC News Online, 28th November 2005 'Nigeria presses UK over governor' London.
BBC News Online, 2nd May 2005 'Nigerians wary of corruption crackdown' London.
BBC News Online, 28th March 2005 'Nigerian's war against corruption' London.
BBC News Online, 22nd March 2005 'Nigeria sacks "corrupt"' minister' London.
Adetutu Folasade-Koyi and Paul Mumeh, 23rd March 2005 'Wabara, Senate President, resigns' The Daily Independent, Abuja.
Pini Jason, 29th November 2005 'Legal Immunity for Tafa Balogun?' Vanguard, Lagos Chinedu Offor, 23rd March 2005 'U.S. to ban corrupt Nigerian officials' Daily Independent, Washington D.C.
Donald Ojogo, 13th November 2005 'Alamieyeseigha faces impeachment' Sunday Independent, Lagos. Reuters, 19th March 2005 'Nigerian anti-graft agency arrests minister' Lagos. Cached at: Additionally, it has been reported that Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, chairman of the EFCC, is considering an investigation of former Nigerian head-of-State General Ibrahim Babangida, potentially raising the political stakes, to put it mildly. "A window may have been opened on a dark era in the country's past as the long-sought-for report of the Pius Okigbo panel entered the public domain on Sunday [...] In spite of desperate official efforts to keep the report away from the public in the last 11 years, there are indications that the report indicted the former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and two others for mismanaging about $12.4billion oil revenue in six years." Yusuf Alli, 16th May 2005 'Okigbo report indicts IBB, two others' Punch, Port Harcourt. See also: Adamu Adamu, 17th March 2005 'In Defence of Babangida' Daily Trust, Abuja. [18] World Markets Analysis, 18th November 2004 'Navy Sailors Give Evidence in Nigeria's Vanishing Oil-Tanker Case' London. [19] See: Dudley Althaus, 17th December 2004 'An African tale of looted oil money, vanished ship' Houston Chronicle, Port Harcourt.
Hector Igbikiowubo, 28th October 2003 'Recovered Stolen Crude From 15 Vessels Valued At N19.5b' Vanguard, Lagos. Rory Carroll, 24th October 2003 'Smugglers use tankers to steal Nigerian oil' Guardian, London.
[20] In July 2005 it was rumoured that the M.T. African Pride had been found in the United Arab Emirate in the custody of its Greek owners. Ben Agande, 19th July 2005 'M.T. African Pride found in UAE' Vanguard, Lagos. [21] SDN is aware of various independent assessments that usually put average village's armouries at between 20 - 100 pieces, most of which are AK47s. [22] "Countries and territories with significant financial centres should take, as a matter of urgency, all necessary legal and administrative measures to repatriate illicitly acquired state funds and assets. We call on G8 countries to make specific commitments in 2005 and to report back on progress, including sums repatriated, in 2006." Commission for Africa, March 2005 'Our Common Interest: Report of the Commission for Africa' 'Part 1: The Argument' Recommendations, Corruption, p68. London.
The legislation exists to undertake this task, if it can be done in the wake of the September 11th attacks then it can be done again. See H M Treasury website, 'Action against terrorist financing': http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/international_issues/terrorist_financing/int_terrorfinance_index.cfm [23] See EITI website http://www.eitransparency.org/section/countries/_nigeria [24] "The Anglo-Dutch energy group has now been forced to cut its proved oil and gas reserves by almost a third in 12 months. The news overshadowed its reporting yesterday of record net income of $18.5bn (£9.82bn) in 2004, on the back of high crude prices." James Boxell and Ian Bickerton, 4th February 2005 'Shell's reserves cut further' Financial Times, London / Amsterdam. See also: Bolajo Alabi, 22nd February 2005 'NNPC, DPR And Shell Reserves' This Day, Lagos. BBC News Online, 2nd February 2004 'Shell cut reserves 'over Nigeria'' London.
Simon Pirani et al, 24th June 2004 'Shell in Nigeria' Stakeholder Democracy Network, London.
Carola Hoyos and Michael Peel, 15th April 2004 'Nigeria had raised concerns over Shell oil reserves' Financial Times, London. Carola Hoyos and Michael Peel, 24th April 2004 'Nigeria holds the clue to the groups wrongly booked reserves debacle' Financial Times, London. [25] Royal Dutch Shell, 2nd February 2006 'REG-Royal Dutch Shell: 4th Quarter & Full Year 2005 Results - Part 3' Note 8, Amsterdam. Cached at: BBC News Online, 9th January 2006 'Shell sued by Dutch pension funds' London. "It was not clear last night whether [Sir Philip Watts] was still being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission." Barney Jopson and Thomas Catan , 9th November 2005 'FSA drops case over Shell reserves scandal' Financial Times, London. [26] Dudley Althaus, 17th December 2004 'Executed writer led fight for environment, local control' Houston Chronicle, Port Harcourt.
[27] "A year on from the reserves crisis that shattered confidence in Royal Dutch/Shell, less than half the Anglo-Dutch energy company's workforce believes it is well led, according to an internal study [...] internal correspondence seen by the Financial Times is further evidence of frustration within the company. One employee wrote: 'I am worried that far too little has visibly changed or happened. Those that are in charge of change are themselves tied to the old culture.'" Ian Bickerton, 2nd February 2005 'Shell staff unhappy with leaders' Financial Times, Amsterdam. [28] "Citing analysts, the [internal Shell] report said experienced engineers will be hard to find, with employees of the other oil majors possibly reluctant to move to Shell because of its recent difficulties." James Boxell and Ian Bickerton , 17th January 'Shell to hire 1000 engineers to lift credibility' Financial Times, London / Amsterdam. [29] James Boxell and Ian Bickerton, 18th January 2005 'Shell outlines strategy to restore its reputation' Financial Times, London / Amsterdam. [30] Mark Milner, 28th October 2005 'Shell cheered by record profits and swift hurricane recovery' Guardian, London.
BBC News Online, 28th October 2004 'Profits rise as Shell unites board' London.
Royal Dutch Shell plc, 28th October 2004 'Royal Dutch/Shell proposes one company, one board and one Chief Executive' London.
Royal Dutch Shell plc, 28th October 2004 'One Company, One Board, One Chief Executive' media presentation, London. [31] The long term security of off shore operations is in doubt, following the kidnapping and subsequent release of eight oil workers from the Bulford Dolphin oil rig 64 kilometres off the Nigerian coast. It is believed the kidnappings were carried out by members of the Ekeremor local government area in Bayelsa using speedboats. Estelle Shirbon, 3rd June 2006 'Nigerian gunmen kidnap foreigners on oil rig' Pretoria News. Michael Peel, 19th January 2005 'Big potential profits outweigh high risks' Financial Times, Lagos. Carola Hoyos and Friederike Tiesenhausen Cave, 30th April 2004 'Strong results a respite for Shell' Financial Times, London. [32] Doug Cameron, 23rd February 2005 'US stands alone on oil reserves rule' Financial Times, London. Bolajo Alabi, 22nd February 2005 'NNPC, DPR And Shell Reserves' This Day, Lagos. The definition of 'proven' reserves used by Shell appears in the 2003 annual report, p85. It requires not only 'reasonable certainty' from geological and engineering data that a resource is present, but also the expectation of recovery with existing equipment and operating methods and conditions allowing the resource to be 'economically developed and produced.' See: Royal Dutch, 22nd May 2004 'Annual Report and Accounts 2003' 'Supplementary information - Oil and Gas (unaudited)' '1. Reserves', Amsterdam, p85. US SEC rules state that 'proven' reserves are those where oil has been drilled; as-yet untapped oil and gas fields are only 'probable.' See: Rule 4-10(a) of RegulationS-X of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Definitions (2) Proved oil and gas reserves. (i) The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) classifies 'reasonable certainty' as at least 'a 90 percent probability that the actual quantities recovered will exceed the estimate.' See EIA, Estimation of Reserves and Resources: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/appg.pdf In principle, this same system of classification is in use in Nigeria, where Shell operates mainly as part of a Joint Venture with NNPC. 'Nigeria's oil reserves, accordingto the [NNPC] officials, are calculated based on what is known as P1 plus P2, where P1 is when the oil reserves in a well is 90% proven to be in place and P2, 50 % proven. "US regulations only accept P1 as the true reserve claims of oil companies."' See: This Day, 6th April 2004 'Nigeria and Shell disagree over oil reserve' Lagos.
[33] The investigation - under US's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced June 11, 2004 - is that bribes of about $180m (or roughly N24.3 billion) were paid by Halliburton subsidiary TSKJ between 1995 and 2002 to Nigerian officials in connection with this $4bn Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) plant through another company called Tristar, operated by a British lawyer, Jeffrey Tesler. Tesler is alleged to be connected with former government officials such as former Oil Minister Dan Etete and (the late) military Head of State late General Sani Abacha. It is alleged that Tesler managed a $176 million slush fund for a consortium including Halliburton's subsidiary, from a run down office in Tottenham, North London. Thomas Catan and Michael Peel, 13th October 2005 'SEC widens Nigeria bribery probe with Shell subpoena' Financial Times, London. Stephen Taub, 3rd March 2005 'Bribery Probes for Titan, Halliburton' CFO.com, New York.
Patrick Smith et al, 24th September 2004 'The Tesler Tapes' 'Vol 45 Number 19' Africa Confidential, London. Patrick Smith et al, 24th September 2004 'Swelling the Great Gas Balloon' 'Vol 45 Number 19' Africa Confidential, London. Gretchen Morgenson, 6th August 2004 'Ex-Halliburton workers claim accounting fraud' New York Times. George Stein & Gene Laverty, 3rd August 2004 'Halliburton Says SEC Subpoena Expands Nigeria Inquiry' Bloomberg, New York.
Halliburton Watch website, Nigeria Timeline http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/nigeria_timeline.html [34] BBC News Online, 20th September 2005 'Halliburton hit with Nigeria ban' London. HalliburtonWatch.org, 20th September 2004 'Nigeria bans Halliburton from new contracts on safety concerns' London.
[35] Amnesty International, 9th November 2004 'Are Human Rights in the Pipeline?' London.
[36] Michael Peel , 12th January 2005 '"Too dangerous for silence" in Nigeria' Financial Times, London. See also: BBC News Online, 15th November 2005 'Nigerian leader third-term boost' London. [37] Soni Daniel, 14th March 2005 'Conference: FG names MOSOP leader, Mitee, as delegate' The Punch, Port Harcourt. [38] Gangland violence continues between groups unconnected with more prominent groups like MEND and the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force. The gangs are not all tightly knit "tribal militias" – as they are often inaccurately portrayed – but more like roaming, quite fluid networks of loosely associated young men, involved in a variety of criminal activities. Fighting between political factions in Bodo, Ogoni commencing in July 2006 has involved "mercenaries" from outside the community and allied to national cult and criminal gangs being employed by both sides. Other evidence of the fractious nature of the gangs is given by the jailbreak of 176 inmates in June 2005, which has generally been viewed as an effort to release Soboma George, an alienated deputy of prominent militia leader Ateke Tom. See: Chucks Okocha and Okon Bassey, 17th November 2005 'Jail Break Kingpins Arrested' This Day, Port Harcourt. Kelvin Ebiri and Sunny Ogefere, 20th June 2005 'Five feared dead as suspected cult members free 176 inmates' The Guardian (Nigeria) Port Harcourt and Asaba.
As recently as May 2005 - and before his September 2005 arrest - prominent militia leader Asari held public demonstrations as a show of force to the government. See: Donald Andoor 2nd May 2005 'Police Stop Isaac Boro Celebrations' This Day, Lagos. Daniel Balint-Kurt, 17th May 2005 'Nigerian secessionists defy ban, hold rally' Associated Press, Lagos. Hector Igbikiowubo & John Ighodaro, 4th May 2005 'Asari-Dokubo dares govt, insists on Boro rally' Vanguard, Lagos.
Tony Ita Etim, 3rd May 2005 'Police Stop Dokubo-Asari' Daily Champion, Lagos. [39] Craig Timberg, 9th December 2004 'Nigeria's Oil Fuels Anger, Bloodshed' Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Michael Peel, 1st December 2004 'Shell probes Nigeria killings allegations' Financial Times, London. Emma Amaize, 1st December 2004 'Ijaw Youths Give Shell 7 Days to Shut Flow Station' Vanguard, Lagos. Dave Clark, 30th November 2004 'Villagers claim 7 shot in Shell protest' Agence France-Presse , Obojo, Nigeria.
Onwuka Nzeshi , 22nd November 2004 'Warri: Soldiers, Youths in Bloody Clash' This Day, Lagos. [40] Amnesty International, 8th March 2005 'Nigeria: Fears of human rights violations after troops deployed in Bayelsa State, Niger Delta' London.
Daniel Balint-Kurti, 2nd March 2005 'Interview: From his hide-out in troubled, oil-rich Delta, hunted Nigerian militia leader tells his story' Associated Press, Odiama. Reuters, 23rd February 2005 'Nigeria probes deaths in military raid in oil Delta' Abuja. [41] Shai Oster, 21st March 2005 'Seeking a Voice Ahead of 2007 Election, Protesters Target Pumps' Dow Jones, Port Harcourt. Kelvin Ebiri 7thDecember 2004 'Our grievances, by oil community, govt pacifies hostage takers' Guardian, Port Harcourt. Soni Daniel, 7th December 2004 'Rivers, oil firms negotiate with militants over flow stations' seizure' The Punch, Port Harcourt. Dave Clark, 6th December 2004 'Shell under siege in Nigeria' Agence France-Presse, Lagos. Yusuf Alli, Clara Nwachukwu and Soni Daniel, 6th December 2004 '75 oil workers held hostage, Four flow stations seized' The Punch, Port Harcourt. IRIN News, 6th December 2004 'Protesters occupy oil facilities in troubled Niger Delta' UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Geneva. [42] Onwuka Nzeshi, 21st March 2005 'Group Threatens to Sue ChevronTexaco' This Day, Lagos. Mike Oduniyi and Malachy Agbo, 5th February 2005 'Youths seize oil terminal in Delta' This Day, Lagos. Anna Borzello, 5th February 2005 'Man dies in Nigeria oil protest' BBC News Online, Lagos. Segun Owen, 4th February 2005 'Six protesters shot dead at Nigerian oil terminal' Reuters, Warri. Pius Utomi Ekpei, 4th February 'Insecurity continues to rule Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region' Agence France-Presse, Lagos. Leah McGrath Goodman, 4th February 2005 'New York Crude Climbs on Price Fears, Nigeria' Dow Jones Newswires, New York. Sola Adebayo, 3rd February 2005 'Community orders ChevronTexaco out of Escravos' The Punch, Warri. [43] Kelvin Ebiri, 8th March 2005 'Six feared dead in Rivers communal clash' Guardian, Port Harcourt. John Ighodaro, 8th March 2005 'Six feared dead in communal clash' Vanguard, Lagos. [44] UNPO, 13th March 2005 'Ogoni: The Demolition of the Agip Waterside' The Hague. [45] One example of gangs and militias being brought in as "mercenaries" to resolve local political disputes is the killings in Ataba, Andoni Local Government Area from July 2004. Numbers are disputed but it is believed more than 50 died in a series of clashes where militia boys were brought in to "resolve" a chieftancy dispute. It is rumoured that an aide of Rivers State Governor Peter Odili, Chief Njah, was involved in instigating the killings. See: Patrick Smith et al, 10th September 2004 'Guns, gangs and oil' 'Vol 45 No 18' Africa Confidential, London. For general context: Human Rights Watch, February 2005 'Rivers and Blood: Guns, Oil and Power in Nigeria's Rivers State' London.
Michael Hammer et al, 13th September 2004 'The security situation in Rivers State: an open letter from Amnesty International to Peter Odili, State Governor of Rivers State' Amnesty International, London. [46] See: Dudley Althaus, 17th December 2004 'An African tale of looted oil money, vanished ship' Houston Chronicle, Port Harcourt.
[47] Editorial, 24th March 2005 'Politicians and armed militias' The Punch, Port Harcourt. [48] "Shell depends on Nigeria. The company gets 9% of its oil and gas from the country's Niger Delta, a maze of creeks and mangrove swamps the size of Scotland. Nigeria is one of the most difficult operating environments in the world for oil companies [...] Shell has been operating in the Niger Delta for 60 years, through thick and thin,' [chief executive of Shell exploration and production in Africa] Finlayson said. 'It remains a challenging place to operate, but we are committed to playing our part as a business in contributing to the economic and social development of Nigeria.' Local leaders were more downbeat. Ledum Mittee, president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, the Delta group led by author Ken Saro-Wiwa until his execution by Nigeria's then-military regime in 1995, said: 'Much of last year the situation deteriorated, and all the problems that led to the deterioration are still there. It just needs a spark.'" Christian Purefoy and Peter Koenig, 6th February 2005 'Nigeria looms as wild card in Shell recovery' The Times, London.
[49] David Teather , 10th November 2005 'Republicans turn on the oil industry as petrol prices soar' Guardian, London.
Mark Milner, 28th October 2005 'Shell cheered by record profits and swift hurricane recovery' Guardian, London. BBC News Online, 28th October 2004 'Profits rise as Shell unites board' London.
[50] Alison Rowat, 30th September 2004 'Oil Rebels Hold the World to Ransom' The Herald, Glasgow.
[51] See for example: Patrick Naagbanton et al, September 2005 'The Big Disarmament Gamble; The Comeback of The Small Arms and Light Weapons' Niger Delta Project for Environment, Human Rights and Development (NDPEHRD), Port Harcourt.
Patrick Naagbanton et al, August 2004 'A Harvest of Guns' Niger Delta Project for Environment, Human Rights and Development (NDPEHRD), Port Harcourt.
Patrick Naagbanton et al, October 2004 'Guns Everywhere; No One is Safe' Niger Delta Project for Environment, Human Rights and Development (NDPEHRD), Port Harcourt.
WAC Global Services, December 2003 'Peace and Security in the Niger Delta: Conflict Expert Group Baseline Report. Working Paper for SPDC' 'Weapons availability and use' p5 & p48, Lagos. [52] Examples of similar small arms decommissioning programmes can be found at: UN Institute for Disarmament Research website, selected publications and activities focusing on small arms http://www.unidir.ch/bdd/focus-search.php?onglet=5 [53] See: Human Rights Watch, February 2005 'Rivers and Blood: Guns, Oil and Power in Nigeria's Rivers State' '(5) Widespread availability of small arms and other weapons' London.
Ewen MacAskill, 15th March 2005 'Straw outlines treaty to regulate arms trade' Guardian, London.
Oxfam et al, June 2004 'Guns or Growth? Assessing the impact of arms sales on sustainable development' Oxford. United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects website: Alex Vines, March 2005 'Combating Light Weapons Proliferation in West Africa' International Affairs, 'Volume 81, Number 2' Royal Institute of International Affairs, London pp341-360.
See also: http://www.controlarms.org [54] Since 2001, the USA energy plan has envisioned ending "a condition of increased dependency on foreign powers that do not always have American interests at heart" by creating "deep water offshore exploration and production in the Atlantic Basin, stretching from offshore Canada to the Caribbean, Brazil and West Africa." It is generally cited that the Bush administration is planning for the USA to source up to a quarter of its oil and gas supplies from the Gulf of Guinea region by 2015. See: National Energy Policy Development Group, 17th May 2001 'Reliable, Affordable and Environmentally Sound Energy for America's Future' US Energy Department, Washington, D.C.
Maya Rockeymoore, Ph.D. ed., July 2005 'Breaking the Oil Syndrome: Responsible Hydrocarbon Development in West Africa' Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc., Washington, D.C.
See: Senator Chuck Hagel et al, 20th July 2005 'A Strategic U.S. Approach to Governance and Security in the Gulf of Guinea' Centre For Strategic & International Studies, Washington, D.C.
In June 2005, the closure of the US Embassy following a terrorist threat - in other words the suggestion of violence, though in this case unrelated to the Delta directly - was sufficient to push oil over a then-record of $59. See: 21st June 2005 'Oil hits new high of just under $60' Daily Telegraph, London.
[55] See: The Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group 28th April 2003 'National Assembly and Presidential Elections in Nigeria 12 and 19 April 2003' London, p35.
European Election Observation Mission, May 2003 'Nigeria: Final Report' Brussels, p32.
Human Rights Watch, June 2004 'Nigeria's 2003 Elections: The Unacknowledged Violence' London. [56] See: Human Rights Watch, February 2005 'Rivers and Blood: Guns, Oil and Power in Nigeria's Rivers State' '(1) The manipulation of youth groups by local politicians' London.
Human Rights Watch, April 2003 'Nigeria: Testing Democracy. Political Violence in Nigeria' 'II: Political Violence' London.
[57] BBC News Online, 27th December 2004 'Yushchenko "leads Ukraine poll"' London.
[58] See: CIA World fact Book https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/up.html [59] See: CIA World fact Book https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ni.html [60] See: Africa Policy E-Journal, 13th May 2003 'Nigeria: Civil Society on Elections' 'Nigerian Civil Society Statement on the General Elections of April 12th and 19th 2003' Africa Action, Washington, D.C.
[61] In the 2003 auditors report on Shell Nigeria's CSR work recently published on the Shell website KPMG and others remark: "We are unable to form a conclusion on SPDC's CD [Community Development] project activity reported. The auditors point to the CDMIS [Community Development Management Information System] used as the basis for compiling project activity included in this report has significant control weaknesses that impact on data integrity." SPDC, June 2004 'People & Environment Report 2003' Port Harcourt, Nigeria, p28.
Shell has launched the Shell Foundation and a number of Sustainable Development Units (SDU's.) See also: Dudley Althaus, 17th December 2004 'Oil's legacy in the Delta may be pollution' Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas.
Christian Aid, 21st January 2004 'Behind the Mask: the real face of corporate social responsibility' London, pp25-26.
12th May 2001, 'Nigeria and Shell: helping, but not developing' The Economist, London. Jedrzej George Frynas, May 2005 'The false developmental promise of Corporate Social Responsibility: evidence from multinational oil companies' International Affairs, 'Volume 81, Number 3' Royal Institute of International Affairs, London pp581-598.
Jedrzej George Frynas and Michael Blowfield, May 2005 'Setting new agendas: critical perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in the developing world' International Affairs, 'Volume 81, Number 3' Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, pp499-513.
Jedrzej George Frynas, 2003 'Global monitor: Royal Dutch/Shell' New Political Economy 'Volume 8, Number 2' Sheffield pp275-85. Jedrzej George Frynas, 1998 'Political instability and business: focus on Shell in Nigeria' Third World Quarterly 'Volume 19, Number 3' pp457-79, Jakarta. Bronwen Manby et al, January 1999 'The Price of Oil' Human Rights Watch, Chapter 9, London.
Michael Peel, 9th June 2004 'Deep Well of Troubles in Nigeria' Financial Times, London. For a specific analysis of voluntary principles in relation to energy companies' security, see: Anna Zalik, 2004 'The Peace of the Graveyard: The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in the Niger Delta' in Assassi, van der Pijl and Wigan 'Global Regulation: Managing Crises after the Imperial Turn,' Cornell University, Palgrave, London, p1. [62] Instead of naming individual villages as hosts, awarding contracts through community leaders and paying unemployed youths as ghost workers, Chevron has announced it will now concentrate on regional development councils in consultation with the State. Tom Ashby, 24th May 2005 'Poverty Grinds Against Oil Wealth in Nigerian Delta' Reuters, Fishtown, Nigeria. Hector Igbikiowubo, 10th May 2005 'Chevron admits aid policy fuels violence in the Niger Delta' Vanguard, Lagos. Ends |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 September 2006 ) |