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10 years of Democracy-Niger Delta and the Powers of “Petrocracy”
“Oil is the dictators’ dream and their weapon, their means of escape from
accountability. Oil wealth comes to the rulers, they dispose of it, they distribute it to
cronies, they punish and overwhelm would be challengers at home, and they use it to
sustain adventures at home and abroad way beyond the limits of their societies”.
Fouad Ajami
May 1998 in Ondo state a densely populated riverine area in south west Nigeria, two
youths were killed on chevron oil company property by members of security forces
transported to the property by Chevron’s oil officials in a bid to remove about two-
hundred peaceful protesters. The protesters were demanding compensation for
environmental damage caused by canals cut for Chevron’s oil water ways to the sea.
1999 two communities in Delta State were attacked by soldiers, using helicopter and
boats commandeered from a facility operated by Chevron Oil, following an alleged
confrontation that took place at a nearby Chevron drilling rig. More than fifty people
were killed in that incident. Chevron Oil at that time asserted that it had no choice in
allowing its equipment to be used that way. The company did not issue any public
protest for the killings, nor stated steps it will take to avoid similar incident in the future.
June 1999 the community of Choba was attacked by soldiers, in order to disperse
protesters outside the gates of Willbros Nigeria Limited, the subsidiary of an American
pipeline construction company with administrative offices in Oklahoma. Due to crisis
between the communities of Choba and Willbros Ltd, there has been discontent
amongst them with Willbros being considered as an inconsiderate neighbor not
interested in promoting relations in the community. Choba youths decided to stage
several sit-ins to block the entrance to Willbros office site.
September 1999 a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Choba
community and Willbros Ltd. Choba community was represented by thirty-four elders,
in the presence of Rivers State government representative, in the memoranda Willbros
agreed to build a secondary school, employ Choba youths and repair damaged
infrastructures.
October 1999 8 youths dissatisfied with the speed of implementation of the agreement
once again blocked the company’s entrance preventing anyone from entering or leaving
the premises. The next day Rivers state swift operation squad a police successor unit
to the dreaded Para-military operation flush established by military regimes and based
in Port-Harcourt invited elders of Choba community, three elders were sent, at the
meeting Willbros Ltd manager J.B Brown signed an agreement to begin employing one
hundred persons from Choba community, and in return the community would remove
obstructions from the company’s premises, the agreement was signed in the presence
of the swift response commander, Goodwill Obielum.
The three Choba elders returned, and reported what had happened, they had not,
however, had the authority of other signatories to the September agreement to modify
its terms or to negotiate for the end of the demonstrations, thus the blockade and
peaceful demonstrations continued.
October 28 1999 soldiers and mobile policemen invaded Choba, dispersed the
demonstrators at the Willbros gates, killed four people, injured hundred more,
proceeded to the town demolished properties, over 65 women were raped with graphic
photographs of uniform men forcing women to bend over and physically assaulting
them were explicitly shown in many newspapers at that time.
November 1999 in response to the killing of twelve police officers by a gang of youths in
Odi-Bayelsa state, Former president Olusegun Obasanjo sent the combined troops of
the Nigerian Army and Mobile policemen to the area... The operation was undertaken
by military personnel from the second amphibious brigade based in Port-Harcourt, with
a battalion of over 1,000 soldiers transported to the region in more than twenty-vehicles
including several armored personal carriers (APC’S) mounted with machine guns, three
81mm mortars and four 105mm howitzers were used to shell the town. The troops upon
entering the town engaged the youths responsible for the deaths of the policemen to a
brief exchange of fire and proceeded to raze the town. Every single building in the town
was demolished except a bank and the local church. Several unarmed civilians were
killed. At the end of the mayhem graffiti in Odi written by soldiers suggests that the
exercise was a punitive expedition against people challenging government’s authority.
June 2001, Friday Nwiido a native of Yorla in the Ogoni area of the Niger-Delta was
fatally shot by members of the Nigerian Police Force at Baen in Khana Local
Government Area in Rivers State. Nwiido a member of the oil land owner’s family in
Yorla had been working for Shell Petroleum Company as a security guard, he was
posted to the site of the April 29, 2001 major oil spill from Shell well head that spread
oil fountain over a wide area damaging farmlands and rivers in the region.
Nwiido and his fellow security guards on several occasions pleaded with officials of
Shell petroleum to provide additional guards to protect oil facility and equipments from
armed vandals that have terrorized the area, after all efforts failed they allegedly had a
dispute with Shell over the matter and in the process seized a Shell vehicle in order to
present their case.
The oil company invited police officials to the community, they harassed villagers, shot
tear gas canisters and demanded that Nwiido be produced, he was shot as he gave
himself up, and villagers in frantic effort to save his life rushed him to a nearby clinic
where he died.
January 2002 is a month villagers of Liama, in Bayelsa state would never forget in a
hurry. Members of the Nigerian Navy personnel undertook a reprisal raid following the
seizure of boats and nine oil company employees, razing the village, killing four people
and destroying over thirty buildings. It started in August 2001 the Brass Local
Government area officials convened a meeting between representatives of Egwema and
Liama villages and officials of the Chinese national petroleum corporation, CNPC, to
inform them of the seismic exploration that would be carried out by CNPC in their
communities.
Further meetings were held both in Liama and Egwema between community leaders
and officials of CNPC with representatives of government security forces at which a
memorandum of understanding was reached and the benefits to the communities were
outlined.
CNPC commenced work in October 2001 without fulfilling any part of the memorandum
of understanding, after series of failed attempts to get them to
+
Adhere to the agreements, in December persons from Egwema community seized
several boats belonging to CNPC, as a result of which CNPC officials implemented
some form of the agreement, including the employment of Egwema youths and
provision of a clinic.
Accordingly Liama community resolved to seize company property as a bargaining
ploy in a manner similar to the community of Egwema
Early in the morning of January 21,2002 after a community meeting at which a decision
was collectively decided upon, fifteen youths from Liama seized four boats and
abducted nine Nigerian employees of CNPC that were working inside water by the
community. As they were in the process of bringing the CNPC personnel and boats
back to the village, naval marine commandos attached to the Italian oil giant Agip fired
shots at the boat killing two of the youths and injuring three others, the navy pursued
the youths to the village with automatic weapons, but did not land.
Shortly after the abductions, the secretary to the Brass local government went to the
naval base and pleaded with the naval authorities to refrain from entering the village, he
assured them of securing the release of the CNPC crew and boats.
The secretary therefore went to the village and secured the release of the crew men,
and once they were released he took them to the naval base, and promised to return
the boats the next day, January 22nd which he did. On January 23rd the navy sent for
the community leaders in a view to address all remaining issues. Five elders were sent
namely Elder Atmidigi Dokubo, Chief Francis Benjamin, Mr. Moses Brown, Chief
Joseph Iba and Chief Oyafiakumo on arrival at the naval base at the Agip oil terminal,
they were detained and transferred to the Ahoada prisons and charged with armed
robbery.
January 24, the navy came to the community in four boats, firing indiscriminately with
automatic weapons; two people were killed on the river shore with fifteen people
sustaining gun shot injuries.
August 2002, several hundred women from various tribes in Delta state protested
peacefully outside shell petroleum premises claiming pollution to their rivers and
aquatic lives. During the protest Shell officials invited soldiers from the 7th amphibious
battalion based in Warri, during this process the women were badly wounded and at
least two women were shot.
April 2003, during the electoral process to the legislative house in Cross-River state
policemen opened fire on a congregation of catholic faithful during the Good-Friday
procession, because the church showed support for a candidate from a rival party,
more disturbing was the presence of the secretary to the Local Government in
company of the irate police officers.
June 2004, over 15 persons were killed by troops of Joint Task Force (Operation
Restore Hope) in Delta state. The attack was carried out at Ogodobri a riverside
settlement area. The task force led by Brig.Gen Elias Zamani a week earlier carried out
a similar attack on Pere-Otugbene in Warri-South West area killing about 25 people in
one swoop. Those killed were given a mass burial at the Warri cemetery
May 2009 Joint Task Force, JTF team attacked Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta state
shooting sporadically killing several people. Buildings and properties were destroyed
with over a thousand people displaced. The operation by JTF was so intense that pets
and animals were not left out.
Sent in by Femi Shoneye
“Oil is the dictators’ dream and their weapon, their means of escape from
accountability. Oil wealth comes to the rulers, they dispose of it, they distribute it to
cronies, they punish and overwhelm would be challengers at home, and they use it to
sustain adventures at home and abroad way beyond the limits of their societies”.
Fouad Ajami
May 1998 in Ondo state a densely populated riverine area in south west Nigeria, two
youths were killed on chevron oil company property by members of security forces
transported to the property by Chevron’s oil officials in a bid to remove about two-
hundred peaceful protesters. The protesters were demanding compensation for
environmental damage caused by canals cut for Chevron’s oil water ways to the sea.
1999 two communities in Delta State were attacked by soldiers, using helicopter and
boats commandeered from a facility operated by Chevron Oil, following an alleged
confrontation that took place at a nearby Chevron drilling rig. More than fifty people
were killed in that incident. Chevron Oil at that time asserted that it had no choice in
allowing its equipment to be used that way. The company did not issue any public
protest for the killings, nor stated steps it will take to avoid similar incident in the future.
June 1999 the community of Choba was attacked by soldiers, in order to disperse
protesters outside the gates of Willbros Nigeria Limited, the subsidiary of an American
pipeline construction company with administrative offices in Oklahoma. Due to crisis
between the communities of Choba and Willbros Ltd, there has been discontent
amongst them with Willbros being considered as an inconsiderate neighbor not
interested in promoting relations in the community. Choba youths decided to stage
several sit-ins to block the entrance to Willbros office site.
September 1999 a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Choba
community and Willbros Ltd. Choba community was represented by thirty-four elders,
in the presence of Rivers State government representative, in the memoranda Willbros
agreed to build a secondary school, employ Choba youths and repair damaged
infrastructures.
October 1999 8 youths dissatisfied with the speed of implementation of the agreement
once again blocked the company’s entrance preventing anyone from entering or leaving
the premises. The next day Rivers state swift operation squad a police successor unit
to the dreaded Para-military operation flush established by military regimes and based
in Port-Harcourt invited elders of Choba community, three elders were sent, at the
meeting Willbros Ltd manager J.B Brown signed an agreement to begin employing one
hundred persons from Choba community, and in return the community would remove
obstructions from the company’s premises, the agreement was signed in the presence
of the swift response commander, Goodwill Obielum.
The three Choba elders returned, and reported what had happened, they had not,
however, had the authority of other signatories to the September agreement to modify
its terms or to negotiate for the end of the demonstrations, thus the blockade and
peaceful demonstrations continued.
October 28 1999 soldiers and mobile policemen invaded Choba, dispersed the
demonstrators at the Willbros gates, killed four people, injured hundred more,
proceeded to the town demolished properties, over 65 women were raped with graphic
photographs of uniform men forcing women to bend over and physically assaulting
them were explicitly shown in many newspapers at that time.
November 1999 in response to the killing of twelve police officers by a gang of youths in
Odi-Bayelsa state, Former president Olusegun Obasanjo sent the combined troops of
the Nigerian Army and Mobile policemen to the area... The operation was undertaken
by military personnel from the second amphibious brigade based in Port-Harcourt, with
a battalion of over 1,000 soldiers transported to the region in more than twenty-vehicles
including several armored personal carriers (APC’S) mounted with machine guns, three
81mm mortars and four 105mm howitzers were used to shell the town. The troops upon
entering the town engaged the youths responsible for the deaths of the policemen to a
brief exchange of fire and proceeded to raze the town. Every single building in the town
was demolished except a bank and the local church. Several unarmed civilians were
killed. At the end of the mayhem graffiti in Odi written by soldiers suggests that the
exercise was a punitive expedition against people challenging government’s authority.
June 2001, Friday Nwiido a native of Yorla in the Ogoni area of the Niger-Delta was
fatally shot by members of the Nigerian Police Force at Baen in Khana Local
Government Area in Rivers State. Nwiido a member of the oil land owner’s family in
Yorla had been working for Shell Petroleum Company as a security guard, he was
posted to the site of the April 29, 2001 major oil spill from Shell well head that spread
oil fountain over a wide area damaging farmlands and rivers in the region.
Nwiido and his fellow security guards on several occasions pleaded with officials of
Shell petroleum to provide additional guards to protect oil facility and equipments from
armed vandals that have terrorized the area, after all efforts failed they allegedly had a
dispute with Shell over the matter and in the process seized a Shell vehicle in order to
present their case.
The oil company invited police officials to the community, they harassed villagers, shot
tear gas canisters and demanded that Nwiido be produced, he was shot as he gave
himself up, and villagers in frantic effort to save his life rushed him to a nearby clinic
where he died.
January 2002 is a month villagers of Liama, in Bayelsa state would never forget in a
hurry. Members of the Nigerian Navy personnel undertook a reprisal raid following the
seizure of boats and nine oil company employees, razing the village, killing four people
and destroying over thirty buildings. It started in August 2001 the Brass Local
Government area officials convened a meeting between representatives of Egwema and
Liama villages and officials of the Chinese national petroleum corporation, CNPC, to
inform them of the seismic exploration that would be carried out by CNPC in their
communities.
Further meetings were held both in Liama and Egwema between community leaders
and officials of CNPC with representatives of government security forces at which a
memorandum of understanding was reached and the benefits to the communities were
outlined.
CNPC commenced work in October 2001 without fulfilling any part of the memorandum
of understanding, after series of failed attempts to get them to
+
Adhere to the agreements, in December persons from Egwema community seized
several boats belonging to CNPC, as a result of which CNPC officials implemented
some form of the agreement, including the employment of Egwema youths and
provision of a clinic.
Accordingly Liama community resolved to seize company property as a bargaining
ploy in a manner similar to the community of Egwema
Early in the morning of January 21,2002 after a community meeting at which a decision
was collectively decided upon, fifteen youths from Liama seized four boats and
abducted nine Nigerian employees of CNPC that were working inside water by the
community. As they were in the process of bringing the CNPC personnel and boats
back to the village, naval marine commandos attached to the Italian oil giant Agip fired
shots at the boat killing two of the youths and injuring three others, the navy pursued
the youths to the village with automatic weapons, but did not land.
Shortly after the abductions, the secretary to the Brass local government went to the
naval base and pleaded with the naval authorities to refrain from entering the village, he
assured them of securing the release of the CNPC crew and boats.
The secretary therefore went to the village and secured the release of the crew men,
and once they were released he took them to the naval base, and promised to return
the boats the next day, January 22nd which he did. On January 23rd the navy sent for
the community leaders in a view to address all remaining issues. Five elders were sent
namely Elder Atmidigi Dokubo, Chief Francis Benjamin, Mr. Moses Brown, Chief
Joseph Iba and Chief Oyafiakumo on arrival at the naval base at the Agip oil terminal,
they were detained and transferred to the Ahoada prisons and charged with armed
robbery.
January 24, the navy came to the community in four boats, firing indiscriminately with
automatic weapons; two people were killed on the river shore with fifteen people
sustaining gun shot injuries.
August 2002, several hundred women from various tribes in Delta state protested
peacefully outside shell petroleum premises claiming pollution to their rivers and
aquatic lives. During the protest Shell officials invited soldiers from the 7th amphibious
battalion based in Warri, during this process the women were badly wounded and at
least two women were shot.
April 2003, during the electoral process to the legislative house in Cross-River state
policemen opened fire on a congregation of catholic faithful during the Good-Friday
procession, because the church showed support for a candidate from a rival party,
more disturbing was the presence of the secretary to the Local Government in
company of the irate police officers.
June 2004, over 15 persons were killed by troops of Joint Task Force (Operation
Restore Hope) in Delta state. The attack was carried out at Ogodobri a riverside
settlement area. The task force led by Brig.Gen Elias Zamani a week earlier carried out
a similar attack on Pere-Otugbene in Warri-South West area killing about 25 people in
one swoop. Those killed were given a mass burial at the Warri cemetery
May 2009 Joint Task Force, JTF team attacked Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta state
shooting sporadically killing several people. Buildings and properties were destroyed
with over a thousand people displaced. The operation by JTF was so intense that pets
and animals were not left out.
Sent in by Femi Shoneye