SITREP 24: 4 AMCITS REMAIN HOSTAGES, WOMEN &

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 000412 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, DS/IP/AF, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC, CA/OCS/ACS/AF FOR MESARITI ZAGREB FOR AMBASSADOR BRADTKE WARSAW FOR LISA PIASCIK CIUDAD JUAREZ FOR DONNA BLAIR OSLO FOR HELENA SCHRADER ISTANBUL FOR TASHAWNA SMITH SAO PAULO FOR ANDREW WITHERSPOON DOE FOR GPERSON, CAROLYN GAY TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS, SRENENDER, DFIELDS COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR FLISER STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017 TAGS: ASEC CASC EPET KDEM NI PGOV PREL SUBJECT: SITREP 24: 4 AMCITS REMAIN HOSTAGES, WOMEN & CHILDREN KIDNAPPED IN PORT HARCOURT REF: A. LAGOS 403 ¶B. LAGOS 322 ¶C. LAGOS 367 LAGOS 00000412 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Consul Alan B. C. Latimer for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Three American citizens, four British nationals, one South African, one Filipino and one Nigerian employed by TransCoastal and kidnapped on May 25 remain hostages. Six Chevron employees, including American citizen John Stapleton, begin their second month in captivity. On May 31, released American citizens Kevin Faller, Christopher Gay, Michael Rousell and Larry Plake described their experience as hostages at the Niger Delta Freedom Fighter (NDFF) and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) camps. Ten Indian nationals, including two women and two children, were kidnapped June 1 from their residences in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. End Summary. -------------- TransCoastal/Bayelsa: 3 Amcits Remain Hostage -------------- ¶2. (C) On June 1, three American citizens, Bobbie Tyner, Shane McMorris, and Richard Moore, four British nationals, one South African, one Filipino, and one Nigerian begin their seventh day as hostages. A British Deputy High Commission (BDHC) interlocutor said on May 31 that TransCoastal (TCO) representatives met President Yar'Adua in Abuja, who said negotiations were ongoing. TCO told BDHC they expected the ten hostages to be released June 2 or 3. However, when we spoke with TCO on June 1, they said they had no updates to report. -------------- Bayelsa/Chevron: 1 Amcit Remains Hostage; Decreased Government Contact -------------- ¶3. (C) American citizen John Stapleton, four Italians and one Croatian remain hostages after being kidnapped on May 1. Dr. Godknows Igali, who was negotiating the hostages' release on behalf of Bayelsa State government, did not return Chevron's May 31 telephone calls to him. Company representatives said they will travel to Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on June 2 if they do not hear from Igali by the evening of June 1. (Note: Igali was the former Secretary to Bayelsa State Government; he has been replaced by Ms. Bolere Ketebu-Nwokafor. End Note.) An Italian media entity, not one of the Italian hostage's families as reported Reftel, purportedly received a message from the kidnappers stating the hostages' release would be delayed past May 30 due to "weather conditions." -------------- LAGOS 00000412 002.2 OF 003 Delta/GI: Hostage Debrief -------------- ¶4. (SBU) American GI employees, Kevin Faller, Christopher Gay, Michael Rousell and Larry Plake, were greeted by Conoff from Amembassy London on June 1. The four Amcits will receive medical exams and visit with their families in London for a few days before departing for Houston. ¶5. (C) In a May 31 debrief, the Amcits said they were not aware of any other hostages being held at the Niger Delta Freedom Fighters (NDFF) camp, which they said was controlled by an individual called Egbema One. This camp was located approximately three to three and half hours by boat from where the hostages were kidnapped offshore Bayelsa State (Ref B). Approximately 30 to 40 militants were at this camp and all wore red, white and black bandanas. The Amcits report seeing AK 47s and two belt-fed machine guns. There was one "explosives guy" who made bombs at the camp and had 15 pounds of explosives. The Amcits overheard the militants talking about attacking the "main trunk lines" on oil pipelines as well as the Cheyenne vessel if it returned (Ref B). The Amcits were most worried by the disorganization of the camp; many militants were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, and often beating one another with bamboo sticks. They were never abused but were often roughly handled and threatened. During phone conversations with their families, the hostages were often told by their captors to request a ransom, ranging from naira 100-400 million (approximately USD 780,000-3,000,000). The hostages believe the range of amounts demanded reflects the level of disorganization at the camp. ¶6. (C) The four Amcits reported that during their third day in captivity, three government officials visited the camp. The kidnappers allowed three separate visitors to the camp, including one Nigerian reporter, one BBC reporter, and one Russian photographer, who spent the night. The Amcits said the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) arrived in boats one night and the NDFF fired shots into the air. MEND did not return fire but captured Egbema One and five other militants. MEND later returned and exchanged Egbema One for the four Amcits. In contrast to the NDFF camp, MEND's camp was very well organized, according to the Amcits, and appeared to be free of alcohol and drugs. -------------- -------------- Rivers/Eleme: 12 Indians Hostage, 2 Women and 2 Children -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Six men, two women, and two children, all Indian nationals, were kidnapped on June 1 around 6:30 AM. The group was abducted from the Akpajo Housing Estate of Indorama Limited, which is a majority Indonesian-owned company that LAGOS 00000412 003.2 OF 003 runs Eleme Petrochemical in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. (Note: The kidnapping of women and children is a departure from previous kidnapping incidents. End Note.) Two Indian nationals employed by Eleme Petrochemicals, abducted May 19 from their residences in Port Harcourt, also remain hostages (Ref C). LATIMER