Niger Delta: the Gathering Storm of War

Up till last weekend, many could still not fathom the reality that another batch of foreign oil workers have been kidnapped by militant youths, operating under the aegis of the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) in Delta State barely three weeks after the four expatriate oil workers who were taken hostage in Bayelsa state, last month, were released

The latest victims: Makon Howkins, Coyday Oswalt and Rospel Spell (Americans); John Hudspith and Shadety Senary (Britons); Feisal Mohammed and Semsak Mhadmhe (Egyptians), Anthony Santos (Filipino) and Arab Suwama (Thai) were employees of an American oil servicing company, Wilbros, working for the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). They were reportedly laying flow lines from a sea barge, number 318, above the 200 nautical miles mark when the militants stormed the barge and seized them.

It was not just that the nation has another case of hostage-taking in its hands but that the Forcados Crude Oil Loading Platform, which is the export manifold for crude oil from the SPDC, Western Division, located 20 kilometres offshore was set ablaze and a trunk line in the Chanomi creek blown with dynamites. It is feared that the recent development would affect export of crude oil from the Forcados Terminal. But the fire, according to available reports was put off later, while the damage done to the facility was being assessed as at press time.

Not a few Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief when the hostage takers released the four “Bayelsa” hostages, last month. The question many are asking is why was a similar incident allowed to occur again? The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger-Delta, headed by Brigadier General Elias Zamani believes that it is the insatiable taste of the Ijaw militants for violence, while the militants lay the blame squarely on the doorstep of the JTF.

Lagos Vanguard