GANG WARFARE IN PORT HARCOURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001131

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/OSAC, DS/IP/ITA
PARIS AND LONDON PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS
DIA/J2 PASS TO GHAYES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2014
TAGS: PGOV ASEC EPET EWWT PINR PINS EINV ETRD NI CACS
SUBJECT: GANG WARFARE IN PORT HARCOURT

REF: ABUJA NI 885

Classified By: JOSEPH GREGOIRE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B),(D),AND (E)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Gang-style fighting near the city Port
Harcourt in Rivers State over the last several days has
resulted in numerous deaths. Two rival gangs associated with
politically-connected "godfathers" are fighting over control
of villages approximately 10-20 kilometers west of Port
Harcourt on the edges of the Niger Delta riverine area. If
the fighting escalates in the next 48 hours, it may threaten
movement on the waterways leading in and out of Port
Harcourt, which could affect both oil and gas services as
well as imports through the ports at Port Harcourt and Onne.
The fighting in Port Harcourt is unique in Nigeria because,
unlike the ongoing clashes in the Warri area or up north, the
conflict in this part of Rivers State is generally not
ethnically or religiously driven, but stems from disputes
between political rivals over power and money. Government
security forces may be at a loss to deal with this particular
pocket of violence, because the gangs are known to be
well-armed and have fairly high-level political backing, and
because federal forces may be stretched too thin to react.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On Wednesday, May 26, RSO received information from an
American-based construction company operating in the Niger
Delta region that rival gangs had clashed over the last
weekend and into this week, causing as many as 100 deaths.
ECONOFF received corroboration from an oil company security
manager with roots in a village that is at the center of the
fightinge, and from an executive of a gas production company
in the region. We are told two rival gangs associated with
politically-connected "godfathers" are fighting over control
of the towns of Buguma and Degema, located approximately
10-20 km. west of Port Harcourt (the villages are visible on
some Nigerian maps).


3. (C) One concern is that if the fighting escalates, it
could force the closure shipping lanes along the Bonny River
channel that are used by oil services companies and
international oil companies. Many companies shifted
operations from Warri to Port Harcourt last year, and most
offshore development and deep offshore exploration work
originates from Port Harcourt or the nearby port at Onne.
Both Port Harcourt and Onne are also home to port complexes
under the authority of the Nigerian Ports Authority, and are
used for the landing of Nigerian imports, especially those
involving the oil and gas industry.


4. (C) An executive of Ocean Energy, an American independent
offshore oil exploration and development company with
facility operations based in Onne, told ECONOFF that company
staff at Onne and Port Harcourt had not noticed any trouble
in the area, however. The executive, said he also checked
with Port Harcourt port management, who reported no
disruptions. Salem Sallam, a logistics manager with the
Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company, which runs the
Bonny Island LNG plant, confirmed that inter-communal clashes
took place in Degema and Buguma, but said he expected no
disruption to Bonny's LNG production.


5. (C) Americans live in Port Harcourt, but do not appear
directly threatened at this time. Nonetheless, at least one
jetty in the general area that might be used by oil workers
was reportedly the scene of a firefight, and the waterways
could become volaltile. Also, Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg
Brown and Root (through a joint venture called TSKJ)
maintains 60 - 80 Americans (including families) on Bonny
Island working on the expansion of the Bonny LNG plant.
Bonny lies just over an hour south of Port Harcourt by fast
boat, but TSKJ supply lines could be severed if river traffic
were interrupted. (There are no roads to Bonny, and no fixed
airstrips on the island other than helipads.) RSO has
visited the area and has been briefed on TSKJ contingency
plans, including evacuation, and RSO, ACS and ECON maintain
contact with TSKJ on-site managers. (At the time of this
writing, the Mission is considering issuing a Warden Message
regarding the violence around Port Harcourt.)


6. (C) The background to the violence at Port Harcourt is
different from that elsewhere in the Delta, other than that
illicit activity often lies at the heart of individual
conflicts. In the Warri region, simmering inter-ethnic
rivalries, along with criminal activity, help sustain a
general level of instability and lawlessness. In contrast,
there is generally law and order in Port Harcourt, but young
men in the area have formed into gangs to protect a number of
well-connected individuals including former and current
Rivers State and national politicians. The gangs give
themselves or are given monikers like the "Ateke Boys," the
"Bush Boys," the "German Boys," and the "Italian Boys" to
identify allegiance to a particular "godfather." Power plays
by the central figures are executed by attacks conducted by
their militias. Usually the attacks are launched solely
against rival gangs in their respective territories, but this
weekend the violence spilled onto jetties and waterways that
are used for commerce and general transportation.


7. (C) COMMENT: It is unclear how state and federal security
forces will react to the escalation in violence in Port
Harcourt. Two sources with knowledge of the Rivers State
security forces said the State government is at a loss to
deal with this situation. Dennis Amachree, the security
manager for Halliburton, is from the village of Buguma, which
is at the center of this round of fighting and one earlier in
the year that also resulted in many deaths. Amachree told
ECONOFF that government security forces are anxious because
they know the gangs have been well-armed by politicians and
state government officials who previously sponsored some of
the gangs for their own purposes. While Embassy staff have
been told the situation is under control, as we previously
reported, the military may be stretched too thin to handle
any new outbreak of violence (reftel). END COMMENT.
HINSON-JONES