NIGERIA: PRESIDENT OF IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL SAYS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000493

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA
STATE PASS NSC FOR BOBBY PITTMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM KCRM KCOR NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: PRESIDENT OF IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL SAYS
STATE SECURITY ALLOCATIONS PROLONG CONFLICT

Classified By: Consul General Donna M. Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Summary: Dr. Chris Ekiyor, President of the Ijaw Youth
Council, (protect throughout) condemned the tactics of the
military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, alleging
that the JTF is so closely linked to illegal bunkering
activities that it seeks to prolong the conflict rather than
end it. JTF forces frequently attack not militant camps but
the home villages from which militants come or which they
have recently visited, killing women and children; recent
attacks include Agge, Eleme Tombia and St. Michael's
Christian Camp. Federal funding for security prolongs the
conflict; the states only receive security funds if they can
show that they suffer from a high degree of insecurity,
Ekiyor said. Rivers State alone receives 1 billion Naira
(approximatesly USD 8.5 million) per month for which there is
no requirement for accounting. End Summary.


2. (C) On November 4, the President of the Ijaw Youth
Council, Dr. Chris Ekiyor, told PolOffs that key figures in
the JTF have allied themselves with criminal elements among
the militants in order to profit from the lucrative trade in
stolen oil. In consequence, the JTF has no interest in
ending the violence in the Niger Delta, but rather seeks to
prolong the insecurity in the region by provoking violence,
while at the same time protecting those criminal elements
with which it is in league. (Note: this is equally true of
many elements involved in militancy, who also exploit the
current lawlessness in the region for personal gain.)

JTF Attacks, with Impunity, Three Villages
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3. (C) Ekiyor said that the JTF had replaced both the police
and the judiciary in the areas in which it operates, ensuring
that no one attacked by the JTF had recourse to due process.
The real criminals, those who profit most from the illegal
bunkering, are not exposed or attacked, but many innocent
people have been the victim of excessive force by the JTF
when it retaliates against the militants. Ekiyor listed three
examples where entire villages had been attacked by the JTF:
St. Michael's Christian Camp in Edo State in May, Tombia in
Rivers State in June, and Agge in Ekeremor local government
area in Bayelsa State in early August. In all three cases,
Ekiyor said that the JTF alleged that militants had passed
through or had family ties to the communities attacked.
Ekiyor stressed, however, that these were not militant camps.

No Accountability for Security Funds
--------------


4. (C) Ekiyor said that the Federal Government pays large
sums to the states for security and stressed that money
earmarked for security does not have to be accounted for.
One billion naira (roughly 8.5 million USD) is paid each
month to Rivers State alone for security, according to
Ekiyor. (Note: Poloffs have heard similar allegations from
other sources. End Note.) State and local governments only
receive these funds, however, if they can show a high level
of insecurity in their jurisdiction. As a result, Ekiyor
argued, government officials are not interested in achieving
a solution to the situation in the Niger Delta.

MEND's September Ceasefire Holds; Attacks Criminal
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Ekiyor claimed that all attacks on persons, oil
installations and vessels sincethe declaration of a
unilateral ceasefire by the Movement for the Emancipation of
the Niger Delta (MEND) on September 21 have been criminal.
However, Ekiyor insisted that criminals, particularly those
operating in Port Harcourt and those involved in the
kidnapping of individuals, should be arrested and brought to
trial, not merely killed, as is the JTF mandate. He
emphasized that many people in the Niger Delta view the
officials of the state government as "bigger criminals" than
the militants. As long as government leaders are allowed to
retain their ill-gotten gains, he said, it will be hard to
convince the militants and others in the Niger Delta that

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crime is wrong.


6. (C) In response to a question, Ekiyor said that, in the
absence of effective government, militant leaders had taken
over many of the functions of government. He cited as an
example a hospital in Delta State that had been funded by the
militant leader Government Ekpompolo, also known as "Tom
Polo."


7. (U) This cable was cleared by Embassy Abuja.
BLAIR