OIL WORKER HOSTAGE UPDATE SITREP #7

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000061 SIPDIS STATE PASS DOE FOR DAS JBRODMAN AND CGAY TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS AND SRENENDER COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR SLISER STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ STATE FOR DS/IP/AF, AF/EX, DS/IP/OPO, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/ITA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015 TAGS: EPET PGOV ASEC PTER KHLS PINR ETRD CASC NI SUBJECT: OIL WORKER HOSTAGE UPDATE SITREP #7 REF: A. ABUJA 76 ¶B. LAGOS 54 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Acting Consul General William H. Howe for Reasons 1.4 (D & E) -------------- -------------- Warri Crisis Management Team Says Negotiations are Ongoing -------------- -------------- ¶1. (C) Guy Colgate, Head of Shell's Crisis Management Team in Warri, said the GON was giving the kidnappers cigarettes, money, and alcohol as gestures of good will and to ensure they will not harm the captives. He said the GON describe daily interaction with the captors and an open line of communication. They were certain that the two-day deadline given on January 16 was not directed at the hostages. ¶2. (C) Barrister Dixon, the GON's current negotiator with the kidnappers, confirmed the GON was providing these items to the kidnappers in a private conversation with Legatt. Dixon said no contact, however, had been made with the hostages, and after a request from Legatt, he said he would ask the kidnappers for some direct communication with the hostages in reciprocation for good faith efforts. In the meantime, the GON has sent large numbers of military patrols to the Delta and Bayelsa creek areas to make it more difficult for the kidnappers to move around. -------------- -------------- Another Threat, Shell Releases Kidnappers E-mail Address -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Another e-mail threat, this time sent to Shell anonymously, claims that three American workers from the Warri, Delta State area will be kidnapped. Shell sent ConGen Lagos a copy through new security advisor Richard Garcia. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that there were problems with Shell's evacuation of their remaining staff from the Odidi flowstation. ¶4. (SBU) Shell Vice-President Ian McCredie released the following e-mail address from the kidnappers: ha izon@yahoo.com. He said they have been continuously changing e-mail addresses by randomly varrying the first two letters. McCredie is expected to come to Nigeria to raise Shell's commitment to getting the hostages released. -------------- -------------- Tidex and Ecodrill Will Send Letter to Kidnappers -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Based on advice from Scotland Yard and FBI negotiators, Tidex and Ecodrill representatives drafted a letter requesting information on the health of the hostages and permission to send them medical supplies. The letter recognizes the demands of the kidnappers and says they are being discussed. The letter will be sent to Reuters correspondent Tom Ashby as well as to the e-mail addresses provided by Shell and used in the first Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) communication. ¶6. (SBU) Ecodrill sent their Country Manager back to Warri, and the British Consul General Lagos will speak with the Bayelsa State Governor on January 20 to appeal for more urgency and transparency. The British mission has been in contact with the Bulgarian Ambassador in Abuja, and ConGen Lagos has contacted and updated Ivan Romero, the Honduran attache in London, who is handling the situation. HOWE