Nigeria: Delta Violence a Fight Over Oil Money

(New York, December 17, 2003) - The violence that has engulfed parts of
Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta this year is driven by disputes
over both government resources and control of the theft of crude oil,
Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 29-page report, "The Warri Crisis: Fueling Violence," documents how
violence in Nigeria's southern Delta State this year, especially during
the state and federal elections in April and May, resulted in hundreds
of deaths, the displacement of thousands of people, and the destruction
of hundreds of homes. Among the dead were probably dozens killed by the
government security forces. At the height of the violence, 40 percent
of Nigeria's oil production was closed down.

"The people of the Niger Delta have suffered horribly from living amid
the source of Nigeria's wealth," said Bronwen Manby, deputy director of
the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch and the author of the report.
"And the perpetrators get away with these crimes without even the
faintest chance of being brought to justice."

The perpetrators of violence in Delta State are armed ethnic militias
belonging to the three major ethnic groups in the state-the Ijaw,
Itsekiri, and Urhobo-and also the state security forces. During the
first half of 2003, Ijaw militia members were particularly well
organized in attacking Itsekiri communities living in the creeks of the
mangrove forest, where much of the oil is found.

Since the report was finalized, renewed violence has broken out once
again in Delta State, with a score of civilians reportedly killed in
fighting during the first week of December.

In Nigeria, individuals in government office often have virtually
unchecked control over resources. Elections are therefore a focus for
violence and fraud. Delta State produces 40 percent of Nigeria's two
million barrels a day of crude oil and is supposed to receive 13
percent of the revenue from production in the state-so control of
government positions is a particularly large prize. In addition, the
warring factions are fighting for control of the theft of crude oil,
known as "illegal oil bunkering." Illegally bunkered oil accounts for
perhaps 10 percent of Nigeria's oil production, bringing profits that
are probably more than US$1 billion a year.

Both politicians and those who head the illegal bunkering
rackets-sometimes the same people-employ armed militia to ensure their
reelection or defend their operations. On November 24, three
journalists at Lagos-based Insider magazine were arrested by the
police, detained for two days and charged with sedition and defamation
of character, in connection with an article alleging that the vice
president of Nigeria and the national security adviser to the president
were involved in large-scale theft of crude oil.

"Although the violence has both ethnic and political dimensions, it is
essentially a fight over the oil money-both government revenue and the
profits of stolen crude," Manby said. "Efforts to halt the violence and
end the civilian suffering that has accompanied it must therefore
include steps both to improve government accountability and to end the
theft of oil."

Human Rights Watch suggested that one measure toward ending the
violence might be an effort to create a system for "certifying" crude
oil as coming from legitimate sources. The report urged that fresh
elections be held in Delta State, as in other Nigerian states where
national and international monitors found the level of fraud and
violence surrounding this year's elections to be so high that the
minimum international standards for democratic elections were not met.
A precondition for peace, Human Rights Watch said, is that those
responsible for crime be brought to justice.