Probe Bundu waterfront shootings Amnesty Int’l, SERAP urge FG, River

October 12, 2010

By Innocent Anaba & Wahab Abdulah,
Re-posted from Vanguard News

LAGOS—Amnesty International and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, yesterday, asked the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Rivers State Governor,  Mr Rotimi Amaechi to “urgently set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the excessive use of force and firearms by security forces, which  resulted in at least one death, and 12 serious injuries in Bundu Waterfront, Port Harcourt, last year.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, at the  launch the report, Port Harcourt Demolitions: Excessive Use of Force Against Demonstrators, SERAP’s Executive Director,  Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “we consider the events of 0ctober 12, 2009 to constitute violation of the human rights of the victims to protest, demonstrate and take part in political activities. We also consider the excessive use of force to be unlawful, resulting in violation of the right to life.”

The 18-page report is an eye witness account  from the victims of the Bundu shootings as well as from women, who were intimidated and beaten by security personnel.

Lucy Freeman of Amnesty said, “the excessive use of force seen in the Bundu shooting is just one of many examples of the brutality with which the police and army operate throughout Nigeria, yet, few officers are held accountable. In most cases there is no investigation. There must be an end to the impunity enjoyed by Nigeria’s security forces.”

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Over 700 families in Ogoniland are angry with the Rivers State government over what they allege was a forceful land acquisition by the state Ministry of Agriculture.

Consequently, the families, under the Ogoni Solidarity Forum and Ogoni Civil Society Platform have joined forces with two non-governmental organisations – the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and Social Action (SA) – to show their displeasure and concern over what they described as the “grave human rights and due process breaches” by the Rivers State government.

The said farmland of about 200 hectares is being acquired to enable a Mexican investor, Union De Iniciativa S.A De C.V, undertake a commercial banana plantation project. As a result of this, families in the Nyokhana, Tai and Babbe kingdoms of Ogoniland stand to be affected by the land acquisition.

According to some of the affected family members, heavily armed military men have been coming every week in vehicles to patrol the area and survey new lands since May 16, 2011. They force anyone in their way to lie on the ground and people report being afraid to challenge the military for fear of the consequences.

Although the farmers have been explicitly forbidden by the military to return to the land, some now sneak back onto the land to harvest the few crops that remain in order to feed their families.

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Reposted from Environmental Rights Action (Friends of the Earth Nigeria)

INTRODUCTION:

Four communities where Shell Petroleum Development Company [SPDC] operates in recently issued a 14 days ultimatum to the company, demanding for implementation of agreement reached with the communities in 1999. The communities include: Oruma, Otuasega, Elebele and Imiringi; all Ogbia speaking Ijaw communities in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, few kilometres to President Goodluck Jonathan’s community, Otueke.

Following the ultimatum to Shell, leaders of the community had appeared before the Joint Military Task Force [JTF] at the expiration of the time with a view to settle the matter amicably. Unfortunately, Shell could not convince the aggrieved communities that are demanding that the company honour the agreement it reached with them in 1999, and they decided to stage a peaceful protest to the heavily guarded Shell facility, the Kolo Creek Logistic Base.

ERA’s field monitor witnessed the protest that took place on the 7th of July 2011 and some of the protesters spoke with him.

TESTIMONIES:

We are here for a peaceful protest but if the JTF handles this matter in a violent way we shall only retreat and return in full force. Then it will be too bad for Shell because Shell has cheated us for too long. The Kolo Creek communities have been known to be very peaceful but if the soldiers and Shell take undue advantage of our peaceful disposition today to intimidate us, we shall not take it. If we hear any gun shot or if any of our members is injured here today by the soldiers, the rest of the state and the country will hear our action. All we are demanding for is that Shell should respect the agreement it reached long ago with our people; these four communities. They agreed to extend electricity to our communities but they are not doing so; while benefiting heavily from our oil wells. This is not a fresh demand, it is an agreement reached with us that we are trying to enforce.  — Amakiri Joseph, Vice-Chairman of the Community Development Committee [CDC] of Oruma

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Warri — THE people of Ogodobiri community in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State have fled the community seeking refuge in the forest and nearby communities following the manhunt for dreaded ex-militant leader, John Togo, suspected to be dead, by the Joint Task Force, JTF, on the Niger-Delta.

Niger Delta militants, photo credit: Vanguard

Ogodobiri, the maternal country home of Togo, who is an indigene of Ayakoromor in Burutu Local Government Area of the state, was razed in 2004 by the task force in their search for the militant leader.

In 2010, when Togo came up with the Niger-Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, the JTF, also traced him to Ogodobiri, but did not find him.

This time around, after NDLF fighters fought and wounded JTF soldiers who were on routine patrol, the task force, which maintained it was not aware of the news of the purported death of the militant leader has swooped on the community in search of Togo and his associates.

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Traditional Rulers from the Oil Mineral Producing Communities of the Niger Delta region (TROMPCON) have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to re-examine the activities of the Joint Task Force (JTF) operating in the Niger Delta region.

JTF of the Nigerian Military Photo credit: Tribune.com.ng

The call was the outcome of a two-day meeting in Port Harcourt and contained in a communiqué jointly signed by Eze Young Ogbonna and Pere Stanley Perediegha Luke, National President and National Secretary respectively

The group also urged the Federal Government to overhaul the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) programme considering the recent post election violence in some parts of the North, which resulted in the death of at least ten corps members of southern origin.

The traditional rulers pleaded with Jonathan to grant audience to the association before the May 29 swearing-in, while calling for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and an urgent review of the Land Use Act.

Meanwhile, the Joint Task Force (JTF) has warned the public to be wary of the ‘’intricate web of lies’’ being spurned by wanted militant leader, John Togo, as he is still alive.

The task force stated that the claim that Togo had surrendered and that he was later killed in confrontation were all tissues of lies aimed at deceiving the public, attract sympathy and escapes justice.

Media Coordinator, Lt. Col. Timothy Antigha, stated that Togo has neither been killed in a combat or surrendered as being portrayed in the media and urged the media to be circumspect on new ploy by the kingpin.

Antigha, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, wondered why the public was so susceptible to Togo’s antics, stating that task force as a professional military outfit would not fall victim to this ‘’elaborate deception plan’’.

But Togo’s lawyer, Carsley Omon-Irabo, said the militant leader has been flown abroad for medical treatment as he sustained serious injuries in a combat with the task force.

He confirmed that the sea piracy kingpin was alive, thus dousing insinuations in some quarters that he was killed and buried in a secret grave.

Dec 2010 damage from JTF attack in Ayakoromo village

Devastated Ayakoromo community in Delta State has asked the Federal Government to call the military Joint Task Force (JTF) to order even as no fewer than seven persons were feared dead in a renewed hostility between John Togo-led militants and the security outfit.

Sunday Sun investigation revealed that the community, which is recuperating from the devastation caused a few months ago as the JTF raid, has again been affected by the fresh conflict. Consequently, the town has been deserted.
An elderly man, Pa Timi, who spoke to Sunday Sun at the refugee camp at Ogbe-Ijoh, expressed shock over the renewed attack and pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to call the soldiers to order so that permanent peace could return to the area.

According to him, people who fled the area during the skirmish sometime last year, had started returning home until Thursday’s shoot-out between John Togo’s men and the JTF. Efforts to speak to the community’s national chairman, Chief Anthony Bamuza, failed but a legal adviser and member of the Ayakoromo Relocation Council, Mr Tare Suowari, expressed disgust over the renewed attack and pleaded with the military authorities to call their men to order.

While calling for restraint on the side of the military, Suowari maintained that John Togo does not reside in Ayakoromo and pleaded that soldiers should stop killing innocent persons and destroying of property.
He disclosed that the indigenes were fleeing the community in hundreds while some were at the refugee camp at Ogbe-Ijoh and other areas.

While commending the Federal Government for fulfilling its promises to rebuild the destroyed community, Suowari said: “Until this recent crisis, most of the rehabilitated buildings were at advance stages because over 50 houses were affected. But we are surprised at the recent attack, which has affected some of the buildings.”
The Ijaw Peoples Assembly, in a strong-worded statement issued yesterday by its president, Elder Asu Beks, called for the resignation of the Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Azubuike Ihejirika, and disbandment of the JTF.
According to the group, the outfit had outlived its usefulness following the amnesty deal and the disarming of former militants in the Niger Delta.

It noted that an aspect of the amnesty deal was an agreement that the Federal Government would disband the JTF.
“This is yet to be acted upon. Sadly, this same JTF displayed its notorious character with another coordinated invasion of Ayakoromo community on Thursday, May 12, 2011 under the guise of searching for the renegade John Togo. As in previous raids, the JTF displayed unprovoked recklessness and used maximum force on the peaceful and defenceless people of the community, displacing all of them from their homes.

“We are alarmed that this JTF, which is not accountable to nor takes command from the President, is being routinely deployed to inflict so much pain on peaceful communities in the Niger Delta. “We therefore demand the immediate disbanding of the JTF in line with the terms and spirit of the amnesty programme and the agreement reached with former Niger Delta militants; prosecution of the commanders of the JTF, who authorised and supervised the invasion of Ayakoromor and sacking of the inhabitants; and the resignation of the Chief of Army Staff for wilfully superintending the retention of the illegal unit known as JTF,” Beks stated.

Spokesperson of the Ijaw Republican Assembly (IRA), Ms Annkio Briggs, in a telephone interview, said the JTF had become an “army of occupation” in the Niger Delta that takes delight in carrying unprovoked attack on Ijaw communities. “This must stop except they want to kill all of us. It is even more annoying as information available to us show that even the President who is from the Niger Delta is not aware of such a raid as well as the National Security Adviser. So who order the attacked Ayakoromo again?” she fumed.

We have received reports from several sources that the Nigerian Military’s joint task force has the community of Ayakoromo under attack again as it engages militant John Togo in battle in Bobougbene Creek of Delta State.

The community of Ayakoromo had been previously bombed by the Nigerian Military in December 2010. More information on the December attack can be found here and some of the damage from the December bombing can be seen below.

Photo is from the December 2010 JTF attack on Ayakoromo. Photo credit: www.ayakoromo.org

The Nigerian military must not use excessive force to quell riots and demonstrations taking place around the imminent announcement of presidential election results, Amnesty International said today.

“We are extremely concerned about the escalation of violence in northern and central Nigeria by protestors and urge the Nigerian authorities to ensure that excessive force is not used against protesters,” said Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Africa.

“Political leaders on all sides must act responsibly and tell their supporters to stop all acts of violence and human rights abuses.”

Rioting and violent attacks have been reported in the north and centre of the country, including Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Plateau states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The security forces’ response to this unrest must not lead to further human rights violations. The police and military must respect human life and use proportionate means to police demonstrations,” said Tawanda Hondora.

Presidential poll results show incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan is set to win.

Amnesty International issued a report last month highlighting how hundreds of people have been killed in politically-motivated, communal and sectarian violence across Nigeria ahead of presidential and parliamentary polls.

ODIGBO, Nigeria (Reuters) – A Nigerian soldier opens fire into drums of gasoline stacked among the mangroves, then runs back to a safe distance.

His colleagues set light to rags on the end of a stick and fling them into the liquid seeping from the bullet holes. The heat forces them to look away as orange flames roar into the air, billowing thick, black smoke.

Smoke rises from an illegal crude oil refinery site in an Ogoni community in Nigeria's Niger Delta July 7, 2010. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye

Destroying illegal oil refineries dotted among the creeks of the Niger Delta is almost as dangerous for these soldiers as working here was for the young men who turned stolen crude oil into home-made gasoline.

Crude oil thieves — known locally as “bunkerers” — have been a fact of life for years in Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry, puncturing pipelines and costing Nigeria and foreign oil firms millions of dollars in lost revenues each year.

A government amnesty two years ago for gunmen in the Niger Delta, where
dirt-poor thatch-roofed villages sit among some of Africa’s biggest industry installations, brought some respite.

But rising world oil prices have pushed the cost of gasoline in Nigeria up by a third to 150 naira a litre over the past three months, increasing demand on the black market and making the illegal refineries as profitable as ever.

“The local communities raised the alarm because of the devastating effects on their waterways and farms, and complaints have also started coming from the oil majors,” said Timothy Antigha, military spokesman in the Niger Delta.

“We are winning the battle. The situation would have been worse if we were not around,” he said.

A hundred soldiers backed up by gunboats and two helicopters were involved in Saturday’s operation, which targeted three illegal refineries around Odigbo, a village near the border between Bayelsa and Rivers states.

By the time the soldiers arrived, abandoned barrels of gasoline, blackened earth pits and scorched foliage were all that remained — these are close-knit communities and the bunkerers knew the military were coming.

The army seized equipment including home-made pumps and welding machines, but no arrests were made.

SCORES KILLED

Scores of people have been killed by explosions in illegal refineries like these in recent years.

The stolen crude is heated in a home-made tank over a fire in a pit in the ground. The aim is to boil off the gasoline, which condenses in a water-cooled pipe and runs off into barrels stored dangerously close to the naked flames.

“Gasoline explosions are traceable to these illegal refineries, and it’s in the interests of the Niger Delta to put them to a halt,” Antigha said.

The vast wetlands region on the Gulf of Guinea is arguably Africa’s most heinous example of the “resource curse”, where multi-billion dollar oil facilities run by firms including Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and Agip sit among some of its least developed communities.

The illegal refiners risk their lives to eke out a living in a region where most people survive on $2 a day or less.

Industry executives estimate that as many as 100,000 barrels of oil a day were being stolen at the peak of unrest in the Niger Delta a few years ago — worth more than $10 million a day at today’s prices — although much of it was taken by forging shipping manifests rather than tapping pipelines.

President Goodluck Jonathan, the first head of state from the Niger Delta, has pledged to develop the region if he wins April’s election. But similar promises have been made before.

The oil minister said last month that communities in the region would receive an estimated $600 million in annual dividends as part of efforts to improve security and development under reforms currently before parliament.

But security experts say that only sustainable employment for tens of thousands of unemployed youths will prevent the illegal refineries springing up again once the army’s back is turned. For now, that prospect remains a pipe dream.