NIGERIA'S DELTA TENSE; ASARI IN COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001798

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2015
TAGS: PGOV EPET ASEC NI DELTAVIOLENCE
SUBJECT: NIGERIA'S DELTA TENSE; ASARI IN COURT

REF: A. ABUJA 1789


B. LAGOS 1463

Classified By: Political Counselor Russell J. Hanks for reasons 1.4 (B
& D)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) An uneasy calm has settled on Port Harcourt, but it
is overshadowed by the fear among Embassy contacts that this
incident could push the country into its most serious crisis
in years. Some of the militia members have returned to the
rivers even as Asari appeared before a court in Abuja. He
has yet to be charged and political efforts are underway to
secure his release and defuse the volatile situation. Oil
companies report interference with their operations in many
parts of the region, but some postponed the decision on
evacuations until tomorrow. No AmCits are reported at risk.
Asari's arrest, coupled with that of the Bayelsa Governor in
London, continues to raise the tensions in the perennially
tense Delta region.


SECURITY UPDATE
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2. (SBU) An uneasy calm has settled on Port Harcourt,
although it is being enforced by what is described as a huge,
visible police and military presence.


3. (C) The apparent calm in Port Harcourt appears to be the
result of the departure of large numbers of the militants.
Reports indicate that many of the militants decided to return
to the riverine areas to map out strategy in the event Asari
is charged in court. A large group is said to remain in the
D-Line area of the city but according to reports, others are
not evident. One of Asari's political allies contacted
PolCouns and in an obviously agitated state asked for USG
intervention in the matter "before the Delta blows up." He
worried that no one in the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF)
could step in to the leadership position and control the
various commanders. "There is no number two" to take charge,
he said. Rather, the various commanders will "likely respond
as they see fit," individually and capriciously.


4. (SBU) Mission sources report 3 or 4 Shell flow stations
and Chevron's Ebama-area platform in Rivers State have been
occupied by armed assailants, but no violence has broken out
so far. The Chevron platform was safely evacuated, but some
personnel chose to remain. Shell said none of its facilities
had been occupied, but confirmed they have been evacuating
non-essential personnel from flow stations and rigs into Port
Harcourt. Shell currently has no plans to evacuate employees
out of Port Harcourt. Rumors are spreading that takeovers
may soon spread to oil facilities in Bayelsa and Delta
States.

ENERGY SECTOR UPDATE
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5. (C) The major oil companies in Nigeria remain in a state
of alert. Chevron Health, Safety and Environment Manager
Cheryl Robnett reports all is quiet near Chevron's Port
Harcourt office, with all employees accounted for.
ConocoPhillips Managing Director Todd Creer noted they are
still restricting travel, with all employees are accounted
for. Seacor Managing Director Robert Clemons (now MD of a
newly merged Seabulk and Seacor corporation) reported
gunshots in the Transamadi area of Port Harcourt this
morning. Seacor offices remain closed, and all expatriate
and Nigerian employees are inside. Participants in the
disturbances in Port Harcourt yesterday smashed the windows
of two Seacor vehicles, but local staff in the vehicles
escaped unharmed.


6. (C) Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC)
reported tensions are high and increasing in Port Harcourt.
SPDC's Port Harcourt-based headquarters remained closed, with
several thousand primarily Nigerian employees remaining at
home. Shell production operations remain active, with
operational personnel locked down on location in the field.
Shell denied press reports their Eastern Area operations had
been shut down.


7. (C) ExxonMobil Managing Director John Chaplin told us the
Lagos Chamber of Commerce's Oil Producer's Trade Section
(OPTS),the main industry group, met yesterday to consider
the security situation. In Chaplin's view, the situation
since then has deteriorated, with at least one platform
takeover, and Asari arraigned in court. In Chaplin's
estimation, the oil companies might decided to begin to
evacuate their people from the area back to Lagos or other
safer points in Nigeria. ExxonMobil will make its decision
tomorrow. For now, ExxonMobil considers it safer for
employees to remain in Port Harcourt than to attempt an
evacuation. ExxonMobil would like evacuate employees via a
nearby naval air station, rather than risking the 45-minute
drive to the airport. In addition to employees at the main
ExxonMobil compound, there are employees at Onne Free Port
and the nearby Intels-managed port facilities. All
ExxonMobil employees and contractors are accounted for. Oil
service contractor Panalpina's country mana
ger Chris Axelson reported their office was open but that
many companies were beginning to move their personnel out of
Port Harcourt by air.

ASARI IN COURT
--------------


8. (C) NDVF leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari appeared before
Abuja High Court 19 about midday 22 September. The court,
located in the Gudu district, is an unfinished building with
little public access and no sign. In spite of this, PolSpec
and a few reporters were on hand for the 10 minute appearance
of Asari.


9. (C) Justice Adekunola Banjoko opened the session,
attended personally by Attorney General Chief Bayo Ojo.
Asari launched a tirade against the Obasanjo regime, saying
"this is not a court of justice. It is a kangaroo court."
"If this is what President Obasanjo calls democracy, it is a
charade worse than military dictatorship," he continued.


10. (C) Banjoko responded to Asari by saying that this was
not an arraignment, but rather a "court of cognizance." He
then asked Asari whether he was innocent of the charges.
Asari complained that his attorney had been arrested and said
he would not answer charges that had not been filed. Banjoko
remanded him to custody for two weeks and Asari was whisked
away to an undisclosed detention facility. Ojo told
journalists after the session that Asari would soon be
"officially charged to a Federal High Court for treason."


11. (C) According to contacts in the National Assembly,
efforts are underway to secure a meeting with President
Obasanjo to discuss the implications of Asari's arrest. The
Representatives expressed "extreme concern" to PolCouns that
Asari's continued detention could lead to "an explosion that
Abuja cannot control." They hoped that they could secure his
release before confrontations escalated.

PRESS REPORT
--------------


12. (U) Major Lagos-based dailies today reported on the
disturbance in the Delta touched off by Asari's arrest, as
well as GON intent to try the leader for treason. Business
Day, the sole publication to report the kidnapping of two
foreign nationals on September 21, provided no additional
information on the unconfirmed report. Mission sources also
indicate that local reporting in the Delta on the
disturbances has been censored, with at least one local
daily, the Port Harcourt Telegraph, being warned to stop
publishing about the Asari arrest.

ACS REPORT
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13. (U) We have no report of American citizens hurt or
missing.

COMMENT
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14. (C) The continued legal travails of Asari in Abuja and,
to a lesser degree, of the Bayelsa governor Alameiyesiegha in
London has stirred the pot. Tensions will remain high as long
as Asari's confederates and sympathizers feel he is in the
wrong hands - the GON legal system. The takeover of
facilities, disruption of operations and harm to oil company
employees unfortunately are all possibilities in such a
roiled environment as is the Delta right now.


15. (C) The fear that this incident could push the country
into its most serious crisis in years is evident among
Embassy contacts from throughout the country. The one
glimmer of hope in the process is that Asari has not yet been
charged. The efforts of politicians and NGOs to contain the
situation could lead to a peaceful resolution if the
militants do not provoke the situation through violence.


16. (U) This is a joint Lagos-Abuja cable.
CAMPBELL