15 May 2007
Posted to the web 15 May 2007
Chukwudi Obi
Lagos
The incessant abduction of expatriate oil workers in the volatile Niger-Delta region and the huge ransom allegedly demanded for and paid to secure their release have turned hostage-taking to a money-spinner to those involved.
The hostages will be released unconditionally on May 10, 2007. This will only be possible if the oil government make no attempts to secure the release of these hostages by offering ransom. Any such offers will be viewed as a slight and will compound the situation of these hostages.
The last has not been heard of the Niger Delta militants. At least for now and until they get what they are looking for. Already, cracks have been noticed in their group. They have started fighting themselves and having factions. In a recent e-mail to our correspondents, a man who identified himself as Akpos Nobena and the authentic leader of Movement for the emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND accused Henry Okah (Gbomo Jomo) spokesperson of a faction of MEND of sabotaging the efforts of the Niger-Deltans through hostage taking, bank robbery and planning up oil installations.
"The accused (Henry Okah-Gbomo Jomo) on his own insisted that for the struggle to go on unimpeded with enough funds and arms ammunitions, we should resort to bank robbery, hostage taking and extortion from people in government or multi-national companies.
He has even extended his activities beyond the Niger Delta by recruiting Asari's people to go and over throw the government of Equatorial Guinea.
This is no little way has brought to the fore how the hostage-taking saga all began and the real motive behind it.
However the kidnapping is yet to stop as just recently, from expatriate oil workers were taken hostage. The workers all United States citizens were working at a barge of the coast near Chevron's Escravos crude export terminal in Warri, Delta State.
The abduction care on the heels of the release of 11 workers of Daewoo Engineering by the militants. They are eight Filipinos and three Koreans.
This is not extract from an action movie or a terrorist-related movie. It is an extract from the creeks. Yes, from Gbomo spokesperson, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, (MEND).
Precisely on May 1, 2007, the group began what has now become their favourite past time, kidnapping. Reports had it that the militant youths abducted four Italians, one American and a Croatian at the Pennington Terminal of the Chevron Texaco oil company, in Ogbobiri local government off the coast of Bayelsa State.
The militants, reportedly overpowered the Joint Task Force security personnel, and by shooting sporadically into the air held all the workers hostage, then took the expatriate oil workers away after some hours.
In an e-mail to various media correspondents, the spokesperson for MEND stated that the attack apart from disclaiming its endorsement of the incoming administration will also serve as a warning to Shell Petroleum Development Commission (SPDC), concerning its return to oil fields it had attacked earlier.
However, Wednesday's kidnap coincided with the kidnap of River State governor-elect's 70 year-old mother, Mrs Nwahia Omehio Ubima in her hometown in Ikwere local government area.
However, she has since been released unhurt. Just like a harvest of kidnaps, Sunday, armed youths in the Niger Delta abducted a British oil worker offshore Brass, Bayelsa State.
According to reports, the Briton was whisked away form an indigenous oil firm, Conoil.
The identity of the Briton is yet to be ascertained while no group has claimed responsibility for such kidnapping goes hand in gloves with ransom. The motive for the act will determine the nature of the ransom. While some come in cash others come in form of agreement to change the state of affairs.
In a country like Columbia, it is cash while any terrorist-related kidnap does not want cash but to press for something.
In the Niger Delta region, it is combination of both. The militant youths kidnap and blow up oil installations to press for development while other militant youths also in that region kidnap for monetary gain.
In past three years, over one billion naira is said to have been doled out to effect the release of some of the expatriate oil workers kidnapped by militants. It is even said that hostage-taking in the Niger Delta has now become big business even prominent people mobilise the youths to carry out such acts for their own nefarious and pecuniary gains.
This can only be confirmed by two alleged militants arrested by the Rivers State Police Command recently and paraded before journalists. The first, Nnamdi Eme, a Mass Communication graduate of Rivers State University told journalists that he was recruited by one prince who had earlier contested in the state's gubernatorial primary elections and flopped.
According to Eme, his appointment took effect on February and his job description include buying the militants food drinks and other things they need, like an office boy.
For this, he said, he was as paid N2.5 million.
It's Prince Igodo himself that introduced me to this business (of kidnapping). He comes to my community Ogbakiri in Emohua local government area, to see some friends and he was once a gubernatorial aspirant in People's Democratic Party, in Rivers State when he declared his intention to contest for the governorship post last year.
"I was given N2.5 million and that was the only one I was directly involved in," he said.
Nnamdi Eme's story might not be as convincing as that of Ekene Ibebuka for Ekene played an active role in the kidnap game. Ekene who hails from Nwangele local government area of Imo State and belongs to the Degbam cult in Port Harcourt said that a friend of his China introduced him into kidnapping early this year. "I saw one of my friends, China. When he saw my state, he told me there's a business coming, which he was planning with one of his friends, Alhaji Isa. So, when that business came up, China called me, saying I should not tell anybody, that I should come. When I came, I saw some other people there. After discussing the business (kidnap) he invited me to a Ogbogboco village. After some days, because I was not financially committed to the business they were the ones arranging it.
They would just call me whenever it was time for operation and I would join them to get some from them. So after they finished their arrangement on that day, China now called me that I should come that they wanted to go for business. That was how I got involved.
He told me specifically that there were two white men to catch (kidnap) at Rumuolumeni, Iwof Road in Port Harcourt.
I was not armed but the Prince and his boys were armed. There were five boys armed on that day and we were 15 in number for this business that day," he narrated.
For this business Ibebuka said, he was paid N2.4 million which helped him pay for a land his parents had been itching to buy and a 190 Mercedez Benz.
This is just one angle to the reasons behind Niger-Delta big business. A school of thought argues that militancy in the region came about when desperate politicians in the wake of 2003 recruited unemployed youths and equipped them with arms to effect their second terms in office.
On achieving the aim, the politicians abandoned them. The youths now took to illegal oil bunkering and when their only source of making quick and big money was cut short following state government's decisive action to stop oil bunkerings the youths took to the creeks. Necessity, it is said is the mother of invention. When after a while the youths had run short of money, they devised another means of making big and quick money as usual.
They only way they could think of was kidnapping expatriates. Lending credence to the use of these youths to achieve political victory an anonymous source linked Mrs Omeiha's kidnap toa group, K12 one of Sir Celestines Omehia's political groups. Omehia, the source stressed was the target but he escaped. According to the source, Omeiha gave the group N12 million through a middleman and the money disappeared into thin air.
Another N5 million was also said to have been paid to the group through the middleman also disappeared again. This angered the group and they came for him (Celestin Omehia). When he escaped, they settled for his 70 year-old mother.
An estimated 100 persons especially expatriate workers have been kidnapped since inception of kidnap while an estimated N1 billion has been paid to armed militants to secure the release of some of the expatriate oil workers.
To further stress the big deal in kidnap these days, a story has it of a 200 level student in one of the Universities who abandoned schooling for kidnapping.
Now, the boy has a new Prado Jeep, two new Chevrolet brand of cars and boasts of two, two-story buildings worth over N30 million each.
The success story of kidnapping goes on and on and most of these scrupulous youths have capitalized on the vulnerability of the oil companies and their expatriate staff to perpetrate their sin.
Another group of people who have benefited from the "Niger Delta big deal" are the elders and kinsmen of these militants.
Their duty is to serve as link between the militants and either the oil companies or the state governments. They are the first people to be given the money to effect the release of hostages.
It is said that immediately there is a kidnap most of them jostle to be the middleman for whichever company
Also in the Niger Delta region, as a result of the high level of kidnap so many non-governmental organization are sprouting preaching peace and milking whoever supports peace in that region especially from government quarters.
The after effect of these keen watchers say, is that though there is more money in circulation for few people, the environmentalists, are on their own still pursuing their age-long requests from the government.
Public Affairs analysts still argue that though kidnapping is not the best way to fight for a right, the militants have ended devising a means of livelihood for a few people who would have hitherto fought for their collective rights.
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