NIGER DELTA WAITS FOR MILITARY ACTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000941

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS PASS AFRICA WATCHERS
DIA/J2 PASS GHAYES
COMMERCE PASS PHUEPER
ENERGY PASS CGAY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2014
TAGS: EPET PINS ASEC MOPS PINR PGOV CASC PHUM NI
SUBJECT: NIGER DELTA WAITS FOR MILITARY ACTION

REF: A. LAGOS 869

B. LAGOS 871

C. ABUJA NI 760

Classified By: ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.4 (B),(D) AND (E)


1. (C) SUMMARY: We have no reports of military action over
the weekend in the Niger Delta swamps as residents and oil
companies anticipate a GON response to an attack on Friday,
April 23 that left seven dead, including two AmCits and three
Nigerian Navy security personnel (reftels). Press reports
over the weekend clarified that U.S. armed forces are not
being deployed to the region. Meanwhile, oil operations
appear normal in the Delta. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) We have no reports of significant military action over
the weekend in response to the attack on a
ChevronTexaco-contracted utility boat April 23 off the Benin
River in the troubled Niger Delta. Seven of nine occupants
of the boat were killed by gunfire, including two AmCit
contractors, three Nigerian Navy personnel onboard for
security, and two Nigerian contractors operating the vessel.
A fourth Navy personnel escaped unharmed, and a third AmCit,
an employee of ChevronTexaco, was shot but survived. A GON
security official was injured during the subsequent rescue of
the attack's survivors.


3. (C) Reports from a variety of sources last week indicated
the military was readying itself for operations against
villages in the area in an effort to capture the killers,
deter future incidents of this nature, and restore oil
company confidence that the region is safe to work in. There
were conflicting reports whether the military was targeting
Itsekiri or Ijaw villages, and whether it was focusing on an
area along the Benin River near the location of the
shootings, or on villages near the Escravos facility. It
appears high-level military personnel toured the Delta both
for reconnaissance and as a means to boost troop morale.
Press reports last week indicated that President Obasanjo
ordered Rear Admiral Antonio Bob-Manuel, the Flag Officer
Commanding (FOC) of the Western Naval Command based in Lagos,
to travel to Warri and oversee operations from there for at
least one week.


4. (C) On Saturday, May 1, a Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL)
security manager stationed at the Escravos crude oil terminal
and tank farm reported observing no military action to date.
He said, "we are not seeing and not anticipating any major
operations against Ijaw/Itsekiri villages in our area or
along the Benin River at the moment." He did note that
several senior Navy officials visited the facility on Friday,
April 30, and that he anticipated military action of some
kind in the future, but he suggested no time frame. He
offered no news of military movement in a separate
communication on Sunday, May 2.


5. (C) The CNL security manager described the Delta region as
"understandably quiet," and said Chevron continues to fly
personnel and equipment to offshore locations and across the
swamps. He said pilots have been tasked to report any
observed activity by community militants or by government
security forces (GSF). He also said CNL continues to use
boats to supply the GSF security teams in place at major
facilities. (Note: Oil companies in the Delta provide food,
water, shelter and sometimes transport for military and
police forces assigned to protect oil installations. End
Note.) We have seen no change in Shell's posture since last
week, when Managing Director Chris Finlayson told Consul
General that Shell operations were largely unaffected by the
April 23 attack, other than some heightened security.


6. (U) Over the weekend, Nigerian newspapers reported that
the United States was not sending troops to the Delta in
response to the attack. These stories clarified news stories
from last week that claimed teams of investigators were being
sent by the State Department to investigate the attack, and
that the Joint Task Force (JTF) commander in Warri welcomed
U.S. troops to the Delta to assist in ferreting out the
culprits and securing the region.
HINSON-JONES