There are a number of crises currently causing sleepless nights for Mr. President: the Niger Delta hostage takings, inter-religious killings, the third term controversy, bad economy and sundry matters. All these are worsened by politicians suspected of hijacking the crises to achieve certain hidden objectives.
[b]The Hostage Crisis in Niger Delta[/b]
At midnight on Friday 17 February, militant youths under the auspices of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the Martyrs Brigade staged a counter-attack on some house boats belonging to Wilbros, an American oil pipeline laying company which was being guarded by a platoon of soldiers from the Joint Military Task Force on the Niger Delta, code-named “Operation Restore Hope.” At the end of the attack, nine foreign workers were abducted, namely Cody Oswald (US), Russell Spell (US), Macon Hawkins (UK), John Hudspeth (UK). Also kidnapped were two Egyptians, Shavl Yaly and Saysal Mohomeo. The rest are Anthony Santos, a Philipino, Arak Suwana and Sonsak Mhadmno, both Thais.
Although abduction of expatriate oil workers is not new to the beleaguered Niger Delta zone, the domino effect of the latest crisis appears to have taken President Obasanjo and his paladins off-guard. In terms of men and machine, the cost has been enormous, both on the Nigerian state and some local Ijaw communities. At the last count, Shell Petroleum, the nation’s biggest oil company, has been forced to shut down its western operation, evacuating about 900 staff, leading to a halt of 450,000 barrels of daily crude oil production. The company has also recorded colossal damage to its manifold pipelines at its strategic Western Swamp, threatening export activities at the Forcados Oil Terminal. The situation was exacerbated last week. According to a statement by the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the crisis may disrupt the implementation of the 2006 federal budget, which is predicated on oil revenue from the Niger Delta.
So far, close to a platoon of soldiers has been consumed since January, while a refugee situation has been created in several Ijaw villages, which have been the theatre of battle.
Like an endless show of strength, the latest chapter began on the 11 January when MEND militants stormed an oil vessel belonging to Shell, off the Atlantic Ocean and took four foreigners on board hostage. In a Rambo-styled operation, the militants moved in on a security vessel named Liberty Services, operated by Tidex, an oil servicing company contracted by Shell at the E.A. Field where the company is producing crude from its massive Sea Eagle vessel. With little resistance coming from the JTF men on guard, the youths abducted Patrick Landry, USA; Niger Watson – Clark, Britain; Harry Ebanks, Honduras and Milko Nichev, a Bulgarian.
As ransom for their release, MEND made a three-point demand: the release of Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) leader, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is currently facing treason charges; freedom for the impeached Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who is on trial over money laundering allegations and payment of $1.5 billion approved by the Nigerian Senate as compensation from Shell to local communities affected by oil spills. The resolve of the MEND militants was stretched to its limit by the decision of Shell to commence repairs at its damaged manifold in Brass Creek, Benisede, while negotiation for the release of the hostages was in progress.
Incensed by this action, the militants attacked two houseboats belonging to Pyton Engineering, an oil servicing company working for Shell in Benisede in the wee hours of 15 January. TheNEWS gathered that the JTF men on location were unprepared for the well-coordinated attack of the militants who stormed their position in a convoy of five speedboats.
Drenched in monkey tail, a cocktail of Indian hemp and local gin, which they consumed all night, the soldiers were in no way prepared for the militants who made mince meat of them. A total of 14 soldiers were confirmed dead at the end of the attack, including a civilian driver of the houseboat who is an indigene of Anghalabri community in Opukushi and a certain Alexander Atte, campboss of the Pyton houseboat. The JTF commander on location was later rescued by some of his men after he had been tied and thrown over board by the militants.
A relative of the slain boat driver told [i]TheNEWS[/i] that while most of the slain soldiers drowned, others were felled by the superior firepower of the youths.
After the attack, Shell evacuated its entire staff in the Western Swamp. The helplessness of the Obasanjo government was evident during the burial of the slain soldiers at the Military Hospital Cemetery in Port Harcourt on 11 February. Attended by Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State; Chief of Defence Staff, General Alexander Ogomudia; the Minister of State of Defence, Dr. Rowland Oritsejafor, the speech by General Elias Zemani, Commander of the JTF brought the predicament to the fore. Zemani regretted that the lives of the 14 soldiers were brought down prematurely, not by enemies, but by their own brothers, who had chosen to pursue personal interest through violence.
But few days after MEND announced the release of the hostages on humanitarian grounds (on 30 January) after a protracted third-party negotiation with Federal Government, Zemani and his men moved in to restore their already battered military pride. Apart from employing the military tactics of the three Fs (find, fix and finish), the JTF also embarked on “cherry picking” of suspected militants across the Ijaw swamps.
On 15 February, Okerenkoko a community in Warri South West Local Government, perceived as a stronghold of Ijaw militants, came under the attack of JTF helicopter gunship. Also attacked were the adjoining communities of Ukpogbene and Perezuweikoregbene. Two days later, the attack was extended to Seitorubobor and Sengbene communities, all within the Gbaramatu Ijaw enclave, in a move, which JTF claimed, was meant to stamp out illegal oil bunkering. JTF deployed three more gunboats and two aircrafts, including M135 ground attack planes.
But MEND and Martyrs Brigade put a halt to the JTF air raid two days later with the kidnap of nine foreign oil workers. Unlike in the first instance where the ransom was well spelt out, the militants are insisting that the kidnappers would be used as human shield to prevent further attacks on Ijawland. In a terse message sent to this magazine and titled: Akuma fie te’ (the drums of war are sounding), the militants declared that this is not the time for talk because they are too angry to talk. “We have been pushed to the wall and the enemy must crawl,”… “We shall keep the hostages and there shall be no tea party anymore,” the militants declared in a letter signed by Cynthia Whyte. The group also stated that any negotiation that does not begin with the release of Dokubo-Asari is a waste of time.
The militants vowed that they would not release the hostages until the federal government meets their demands. Apart from total resource control, they demanded that military operation in the Ijaw communities be stopped. “We are continuing with our attacks on oil facilities and oil workers in the next few days. We will act without further warning.”
Aside the alleged corrupt practices of some officers and men of the JTF fuel the recent bombing of Okerenkoko, the anti-military sentiment in Ijawland is also immense.
At the popular Milla Waterside, some private craft operators who spoke with this magazine alleged that JTF officers have taken over the lucrative boat rental business to oil companies, which used to be the exclusive preserve of the operators. “Because of JTF, we are almost unemployed now. Officers go to the oil companies and supply them boats for security patrol. They charge between N25, 000 – N30, 000 per day and the oil companies prefer them, though we charge less, because of their military connection,” an operator alleged.
Before then, a group of placard-carrying women, under the auspices of the Gbaramatu/Egbema Women Forum staged a peaceful protest in Warri, calling on the Government to withdraw JTF from their communities. With inscriptions like “Army go before negotiation,” “Forty persons died in bomb blast”, “Let all armed forces evacuate the riverine communities,” the women expressed anti-government sentiments. Dr. Bello Oboko, President, Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), said the hostages are better described as ‘prisoners of war.’ “There is this feeling among our people that those you refer to as hostages are actually accomplices with government in a grand war against the Ijaws, so they are better described as prisoners of war,” Oboko said.
With the anti-military sentiments spreading across the swamps and mangrove of Ijawland, it may take a while to set the hostages free. However, Delta State Governor, James Ibori is optimistic that with the cessation of military operation, the kidnappers are favourably disposed to releasing the hostages. Those who should know insist that for the hostages to be free, Zemani and his men must covertly assure the leaders of the group who are big time illegal oil bunkerers that the military would, as usual, turn a blind eye to their “mutually beneficial” business. Until that happens, there will be no freedom for the hostages.
INTER RELIGIOUS KILLINGS
On 30 September 2005, all hell broke loose, following the publication of some cartoons of Prophet Muhammed by Jyllands – Posten, a Danish newspaper. Since then, the world has not known peace, as violent protests continue to rock the Muslim world and beyond. As at last week, no fewer than nine countries had recorded loss of lives and massive destruction of properties. The protest, which began in Beirut and Damascus where Islamic militants burnt two buildings housing the Norwegian and Danish embassies, is gradually spreading to other parts of the world. According to Agency reports, 12 Afghan youths lost their lives on the first day of the demonstration while many sustained minor injuries.
Similar demonstrations took place in Iraq and Saudi Arabia where youths burnt Norwegian and Danish flags. They also torched the mission of the European Union and demanded for the recall of their diplomats in Denmark. In Pakistan, Islamic militants are defying the entreaties of Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf who had warned them to stay off the streets. They have been destroying and looting properties in Karachi and Lahore, two of their major cities that have also recorded loss of lives.
Last week, Nigerian Moslems joined in the wave of the anti-cartoon protests. Reverend Father Michael Gajere, the slain Parish Priest of St. Rita Catholic Church, Bulunkutu, loved and savoured the peace in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Even when the Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten, published the cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed as a bomb-laden terrorist, he was the first priest to condemn it. He was reported to have had a cordial relationship with Moslems until Saturday 18 February 2006, when Moslem fundamentalists slaughtered him, poured petrol on him and burnt the Adamawa-born priest. His parish was also set ablaze. “Reverend Father Michael Gajere, a fine gentleman, was slaughtered in active service of God. The knife the Moslems used to kill him is with the military.
Although the young man who killed him called him an infidel, I can assure you that it is his killer that is an infidel. Mike is already in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Reverend Father Chris Mayi, Parish Priest of St. Paul Catholic Church Potiskum and Spiritual Adviser Night of St. John International, said at the burial of Gajere at the St. Patrick Cathedral, Maiduguri.
Trouble started shortly after Moslem Ulamah, under the umbrella of Borno Moslem Forum, addressed a public rally on the personality of Prophet Mohammed at the Ramat Square Maiduguri. The rally, which was in protest of the cartoons, soon turned violent, turning Maiduguri, into a large pool of blood. The arsonists chanted war songs from the venue of the rally and took on any Christian they saw, burnt over 40 churches and destroyed properties belonging to Christians in the Maiduguri metropolis.
Though police report put the number of deaths at 25, TheNEWS checks show that over 40 Christians were burnt beyond recognition. Aside the gruesome murder of Gajere, a family of nine and four respectively were burnt in their separate family houses. The mother of the family of nine was reportedly set on fire while breast-feeding her baby in her Bolori family home. Joseph Garba Tukwa, the father of the slain children, narrated his ordeal. “I was not at home when the killings started. I came home to see my house burnt down and my children burnt. I could not recognize them because they were burnt beyond recognition,” he said.
If the other victims were set ablaze, Miss Salome Joseph was killed in instalments. This magazine learnt that Salome was the only person at home when the hoodlums came calling. They raped her, cut her limbs before burning her. “They forced Salome out of the house, raped her, cut her legs and burnt her alive. After that, the Ulamah razed her father’s house. It was after this episode that the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), Gamboru, was razed,” recalled an eye witness. Some of the churches burnt included: COCIN in Gwange; St. Augustine Catholic Church in Gwange; Deeper Life, Bulunkutu; Living Faith, Bulunkutu; Amazing Grace Chapel, Bolori, National Evangelical Commission, Ruwan Zafi; St. Rita Catholic Church, Bulunkutu; ECWA, Bulunkutu, Baptist Church, Railway and EYN Farm Center. Others are Good News Church, Riverside; Assembly of God Church, Ruwan Zafi; Holiness Evangelical Mission, Bama Road and others.
Reverend Joshua Adamu, Pastor of COCIN in Gamboru, and Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) put the burning of churches in perspective. “I was holding a meeting with elders of my branch in Gamboru COCIN LCC on Saturday. And suddenly we heard Moslems chanting “God is great” and at the same time brandishing dangerous weapons such as swords, and guns. Some had jerry cans of petrol and machetes. We came out to stop them from burning the church. But the Moslems overpowered us, beat us and set it ablaze. The police saw them but ran away. Some of the elders were killed, but I managed to jump over the parameter fence and hid in the neighbourhood. That was how I escaped being lynched,” he noted.
Those who were lucky to survive the carnage either sustained fatal injuries or were rendered homeless. Already, a refugee camp has been opened for them at the Brigadier Maimalari barracks, Baga Road. When The NEWS visited the camp, gory tales were told in the camp bursting at the seams by over 900 refugees desperate for water to drink and food to eat. Even some of the gravely injured victims have not been given medical attention. “I beg make una help us talk to President Obasanjo to bring food and medicine to us. We are dying of hunger,” Solomon Garba, an indigene of Chibok in Borno State and refugee lamented. But Secretary to Borno State Government, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda and Chairman of the Administrative Committee of Inquiry into the crisis, told newsmen that the state would collaborate with the National Emergency Relief Agency to bring succour to the refugees.
Besides the burnt churches, over 80 choice properties, which comprise shops, business centres, pharmaceutical stores and hotels owned by Christians, were torched. This magazine gathered that Chris Pharmacy, located at Baga Ward, lost about N70m worth of drugs. The rioters were said to have carted away the sum of N7 million before burning the pharmacy. “The money was for wholesale of supply of drugs we made to our customers the day before the riot,” recalled the cashier of the pharmacy. In Palladium Hotel, Baga Road, the rioters looted everything and drank alcohol and thereafter burnt the hotel down,” recalled Reverend Father Chris Mayi.
It was, therefore, not surprising that economic activities were grounded in Maiduguri. Many shops that survived the rage of the rioters were shut with many traders from the southeast fleeing to their states of origin for fear of being killed. But it backfired. Moslem fanatics in neighbouring states of Yobe, Bauchi and Gombe attacked the fleeing traders in transit. In one particular instance, the traders were ordered out of a bus owned byYoung Shall Grow Motors in Potiskum and beaten before being allowed to continue their journey. But the overall outcome was grislier, as over 50 Christians were reportedly killed in Bauchi, Potiskum, Gombe.
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