Gang violence kills 15 people in Nigeria

World Affairs Talk
Friday, 01 June 2007
A fierce gun battle ensued between rival gangs in Nigeria's southern oil producing state of Rivers on 29 May. The violence that left 15 people dead so far, erupted after change of the state governor by the authority. A rebel group named ‘The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta’ is responsible for attacks on the oil industry and already cut output capacity by a quarter. Gang fighting is a continues facet of an 18-month upsurge in this anarchic delta region though President Umaru Yar'Adua in his inaugural speech pledged that he will tackle the situation urgently. ‘The Movement for the Emancipation’ immediately dismissed President’s pledge as “not enough” to stop the ongoing violence. “We will not suspend our attacks until we get more than words” said its leader. The rebel group said, they expected something in exchange such as the release of Niger Delta hostages. Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Port Harcourt. The inland part of Rivers state consists of tropical rainforest; towards the coast the typical river delta environment features many mangrove swamps. Rivers state was part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 till 1893, when it became part of the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900 the region was merged with the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company to form the colony of Southern Nigeria. The state was formed in 1967 with the split of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. It gained Ughelli from Bendel State, and Opobo from the Cross-River State in 1976. Until 1996 the state contained the area which is now in the Bayelsa State. In Rivers, gang leaders angry at politicians over what they consider insufficient payment for their role in intimidating opponents during April 2007’s state elections had planned to disrupt the inauguration of the new state governor by any means. Rival militiamen also in the pay of politicians, ambushed the gunmen near the riverine community of Tombia and attacked them with automatic weapons. Heavy fighting in the morning time on 29 May left 15 of them killed. The fighting occurred in the area of the Cawthorne Channel, where there are pipelines and oil-producing facilities that have been attacked and shut down several times since violence in the delta intensified 18 months ago. The police of Rivers said they heard reports of violence in the Tombia area but was unable to confirm any details as the area was not accessible by road and his men had been busy all day providing security for the inauguration. The crisis in these wetlands is rooted in communities' anger over decades of overlook by state governments that were enriched by petrodollars flowing from the delta region. Most villages have no electricity, no clean water, no roads and no access to schools. Militant groups now demand control over oil revenues and compensation from oil companies for pollution, but behind the fiery rhetoric, much of the violence is motivated only for and by money. Local and national Politicians pay unemployed youths to intimidate voters, smugglers make hefty profits from a dangerous trade in stolen crude while criminals frequently kidnap foreign workers for ransom; different armed groups currently holds about 24 foreigners across the region. On a nutshell, only the innocent civilians leaving in the area are suffering as rival militant groups fight for greater dominance. Share & Bookmark
Last Updated ( Friday, 01 June 2007 )

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