Nigeria deploys troops in oil-rich Bayelsa

The deployment follows annulled election results and reports of a rise in pirate attacks in the Niger Delta region.

By Peter Smith

posted April 17, 2008 at 10:16 am EDT

Nigeria deployed troops in the southern state of Bayelsa on Tuesday after a court annulled the local election of its governor because of alleged irregularities. This comes as ongoing instability in the oil-rich region appears to be broadening to the waters around the Niger Delta, with a report this week citing the region as a hot spot for pirate activity. The reported rise of militant activity in recent years has cut the country's petroleum production by about 20 percent. That's helped send oil prices to all-time highs, analysts say.

Judge Saka Ibiyeye quashed the election of Bayelsa Gov. Timipre Sylva of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday, saying that Mr. Sylva failed to produce an authentic results sheet and could not prove an election for governor actually took place. After the court ruling, Reuters reports that soldiers were sent to the capital of Bayelsa state.

The streets of Bayelsa's capital city, Yenagoa, were largely empty as soldiers deployed in armoured personnel carriers after the court ruling. Pockets of opposition supporters celebrated in some parts of the town.

Bayelsa is the home-state of Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and the main base of militants fighting for greater control of the Niger Delta's oil wealth.

Violence flared after elections in 2003 and 2007. This week's revoked election results were the 10th in recent history, reports the BBC.

... [The] feud is linked to a power struggle between [deposed Gov.Timipre] Sylva, of the ruling People's Democratic Party, and Goodluck Jonathan, who was Bayelsa's governor before becoming vice-president....

A peace deal was struck in December – at the instigation of Mr Sylva who travelled to militant strongholds to urge reconciliation…

The deployment also followed reports of militant youths occupying a Royal Dutch Shell oil installation in Bayelsa last week, shutting down its production of 5,000 barrels a day. After the militants ended their occupation of the facility, Voice of America quoted a state government spokesman, who said that the protests were triggered by the company's "inability" to honor the terms of a memorandum of understanding for relations with the local community. Government officials said the raid was not an indication of widespread unrest.

"So if it is a community affair, it really isn't something the world press would want to start blowing up that something again is happening in Bayelsa. Companies have problems with people, normally."

Although Nigeria, which is the world's eighth-largest oil producer, moved toward democracy with civilian elections in 1999, corruption is widespread and rebels continue fighting in the south. The apparent aim of many of the rebel groups: That a greater share of oil revenues be spent on local services.

Oil companies there continue to ward off attacks on facilities and the kidnappings of oil workers. Gangs and militant groups appear to have become more organized in recent years and are often inextricably linked with politicians and ethnic leaders, reported The Economist in 2007:

"The militancy has changed from its roots," says Anyakwee Nsirimovu of the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Port Harcourt. "Where it was once wearing jackets, now it's wearing suits and ties."

News of the troops deployment in the region also followed a report this week on the rise of pirate attacks by the maritime watchdog organization, the ICC International Maritime Bureau, the Associated Press reports.

Nigeria ranked as the No. 1 hotspot amid a lack of effective law enforcement, with its 10 reported attacks – mostly off its main city of Lagos – accounting for one-fifth of the global total, the London-based bureau said.

Myriad armed groups roam the Niger Delta, where violence has slashed oil production and helped propel oil prices to new highs. Nigeria produces about 2.1 million barrels of oil a day, the largest output in Africa.

"Violence in the waters off Nigeria is spiraling out of control," the report said, adding that the true number of incidents could be even higher because many attacks in the oil sector are believed to go unreported.

A map of the attacks can be found here.

The Christian Science Monitor noted a series of pirate attacks in the Niger Delta coast in March this year:

Nigeria has seen a massive rise in pirate attacks in recent weeks, with officials linking the upsurge to a general decline in security throughout the country's oil-rich Niger Delta region. While piracy has long been a problem off the coast of Somalia in East Africa, the recent attacks here in West Africa mark a new trend that could further cripple the economy of one of the world's poorest regions.

There is little corroboration for past claims of an Al Qaeda presence or terrorist plot in the country, reports the BBC. But other militant groups showed indication in 2006 of increasing sophistication, reported The Christian Science Monitor. That includes the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

"The way [the MEND militiamen] have been able to engage [the Nigerian military] in the last one month or so, the sophistication of firepower, it's not child's play," says Kayode Komolafe, managing editor of Nigeria's This Day newspaper. "What we have in this place is something aching. If we are not careful it could explode into greater warfare."

Reuters adds:

Before MEND, kidnappings of foreigners had not been carried out to push for national political reforms, but rather were a means of extracting ransom payments or forcing oil companies to help a given local community.

For further information:
•	Witness: Spreading fear in Zimbabwe BBC
•	New Freedom, and Peril, in Online Criticism of China The Washington Post
•	Another mistrial for six terrorism defendants from 'Liberty City 7' case Los Angeles Times
Please Note: The Monitor does not endorse the sites behind these links. We offer them for your additional research. Following these links will open a new browser window.