NIGERIA: CRIME A WAY OF LIFE IN THE NIGER DELTA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000508

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY
SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET PTER NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: CRIME A WAY OF LIFE IN THE NIGER DELTA

REF: LAGOS 323

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


1. (C) Summary: Simon Amadoubogha, an environmental activist
and lawyer based in Port Harcourt and Yenegoa, told PolOffs
on November 18 in Lagos that crime has become a way of life
in the Niger Delta as more and more people engage in illegal
bunkering or low-risk hostage taking. A boat to transport
stolen oil, which can be fitted with tanks or drums, costs
only 300-400,000 Naira (roughly USD 2,700); financing for a
boat can be obtained from commercial banks. Illegal bunkerers
have their own pumping stations, tank farms and simplified
refineries. Stolen oil is condensate, sold as far away as
Onitsha in Anambra State as fuel for generators and to
filling stations, which mix it with more refined gasoline.
The military Joint Task Force (JTF) only stops boats that
refuse to "settle," i.e. pay off the JTF; there is no
incentive for the JTF to resolve the conflict. Hostage
taking, especially of small children, is low risk and the
police take no action. Governor Rotimi Amaechi (Peoples'
Democratic Party) of Rivers State is attacking only the camps
controlled by Ateke Tom, not those of his rivals. End
Summary.


2. (C) Environmental activist Simon Amadoubogha, from
Community Defense Law Foundation and an attorney with the
Dougam Law Firm which specializes in environmental law,
described illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta as an economic
activity which has become a way of life for many people in
the Niger Delta. Amadoubogha claims that it costs only
300-400,000 Naira (roughly USD 2700) to buy a boat suitable
for transporting stolen oil in specially made tanks or drums.
Amadoubogha said he knew of cases where individuals took out
bank loans to finance the purchase or charter of a boat for
the purpose of transporting stolen oil. He said further that
the illegal bunkerers have their own pumping stations, tank
farms and simplified refineries.


3. (C) According to Amadoubogha, most stolen crude oil is
"condensate," (Note: Condensate is produced by boiling crude
oil and skimming off the top layer; this primitive refining
is wasteful and disposal of the sludge in the waterways is a
major source of pollution. End Note.),which is sold either
as fuel for generators or to filling stations which mix it
with gasoline. Amadoubogha says that much of the stolen oil
is sold for these purposes within Nigeria itself, sometimes
traveling by boat along the Niger River as far as Onitsha in
Anambra State. Amadoubogha said that the JTF only stops those
boats carrying stolen oil for which they have not been
"settled," an allegation PolOffs have heard repeatedly. (See
Reftel) He argued that as a result of these payments,
illegal bunkering is very lucrative for the JTF. Thus
although the JTF undertakes operations to interdict illegal
bunkering now and again, these are only to justify its
existence, Amadoubogha claimed; the JTF has no real interest
in ending the conflict from which it and others profit
enormously.

Hostage Taking Low Risk; No Police Intervention
-------------- --


4. (C) Amadoubogha also claimed that hostage taking was
becoming more common because it is very low risk. It did not
require many resources or much courage to snatch a child on
the way home from school, for example, and then demand a
ransom payment, Amadoubogha said. Ransoms could be as little
as 50,000 Naira (USD 425),a huge burden for a poor family,
but sufficient incentive for a criminal. Amadoubogha claimed
that after the payment of the ransom the police take no
action, so kidnappers operate with impunity.

Amaechi Pursuing Ateke Tom
--------------


5. (C) Amadoubogha claimed that the higher incidence of
violence in Rivers State resulted from the fact that there
are several militant camps, all of which are used for
political purposes. Amadoubogha said that Governor Rotimi

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Amaechi was attacking only the camp of one militant, Ateke
Tom, but not that of his rivals. Amadoubogha therefore
dismisses the claims made by the Rivers State government and
JTF that Amaechi's offensive against the militants is
effective. Amadoubogha believes the violence will continue in
Rivers State indefinitely as long as the various camps have
political godfathers. In Delta and Bayelsa states, in
contrast, the governors had managed to buy a degree of peace
by paying off the leaders of the major camps, Amadoubogha
said.


6. (C) Comment: Amadoubogha adds nothing new to past
discussions of the complicity of many JTF members in illegal
bunkering activities in the Delta. However, his pessimistic
view of the effectiveness of the national police at
responding to security issues such as kidnapping adds to the
continued worrisome environment in the Niger Delta. End
Comment.


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