US embassy cable - 03ABUJA1411

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001411 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2013 
TAGS: EPET, PINS, ASEC, PGOV, PHUM, NI 
SUBJECT: WARRI CRISIS UPDATE 20AUG03 
 
REF: ABUJA 1409 AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
1.(U) Classified by Charge' d'Affaires, a.i. Rick Roberts for 
reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
 
2.(C) SUMMARY:  In what may be a lull before the storm, 
fighting in Warri town susided August 20 as additional police 
and army troops appeared preparing for what many expect will 
 soon be a large-scale military operation against the warring 
militants.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
3.(SBU) Fighting in Warri town apppears to have subsided 
August 20.  In separate conversations with CRO, FNDIC leader 
Dan Ekpedibe and a Warri-based worker of U.S. NGO "IFESH" 
reported that the situation in the port area of Warri town 
had calmed, with no new attacks by Itsekiri militants.  The 
latter saw three large trucks transporting troops towards the 
port area; Ekpedibe saw three large "trailers" discharging 
over 100 soldiers  in the area around 1200 local.  The Ijaw 
militant leader claimed that the Ijaw continue a defensive 
posture, and would not fight unless attacked.  Both sources 
report that residents of the port area are evacuating with 
whatever they can carry amidst rumors of imminent military 
action.  No new deaths were reported overnight. 
 
 
4.(SBU) Ijaw youth leader Dimieri Von Kemedi told CRO August 
20 that he cancelled plans to travel to Warri after hearing 
of the intense fighting and rumors of the imminent military 
operation.  He stated that he supported military action at 
this point; "it is needed" to stop the bloodshed. 
 
 
5.(SBU) Acting Deputy Inspector General of Police for 
Operations Lawrence Alobi August 20 confirmed to CRO that 
nine 100-men units of Mobile Police (MOPOL) have been 
transfered  from various parts of the country for deployment 
in Warri town to augment the Joint Task Force.  The 900 MOPOL 
are arriving now and will be under the joint command of the 
Assistant Inspector General of Police for Zone 5 (covering 
Delta State) Gazali Lawal and Army BGen Zamani.  Alobi 
refuted an August 20 press report that 20 policemen have died 
in the Warri fighting; only one police officer has been 
killed he asserted. 
 
 
6.(C) ChevronTexaco (CTX) offices in Warri remain open; 
Shell's remains closed.  CTX's Security Advisor Hamish 
MacDonald believes military action is imminent and he is 
attempting to coordinate a joint position on the military's 
action with counterparts in Shell, but Shell has remained 
"tight-lipped" on its dealings with the Nigerian military, he 
disclosed. 
 
 
7.(SBU) In an August 20 phone conversation with CRO, Chief 
(Mrs.) Mercy Almonsa-Isei, chairperson of the House Committee 
on Petroleum and Gas confirmed that the House Speaker, Aminu 
Masari, in the coming days would be leading a House 
delegation (including Almonsa-Isei) to inspect the Warri 
areas affected by the recent violence and to encourage peace 
negotations among the warring parties. 
 
 
8.(SBU) Governor James Ibori is back in Warri and as of 1630 
local was chairing an emergency meeting with ethnic leaders 
and security forces chiefs, according to his personal 
assistant. 
 
 
YORUBAS AIDING THE ITSEKIRI? 
--------------------------- 
 
 
9.(C)   He disclosed that other Ijaw leaders have been 
talking to the militant Yoruba "Odua Peoples Congress (OPC)" 
about the OPC's alleged support for the Itsekiri militants. 
(Note:  Itsekiris are ethnicly affiliated with the Yoruba. 
End Note) According to Von Kemedi, an OPC leader told the 
Ijaw in recent days that the OPC is not officially supporting 
the Itsekiri militants, but he allowed for the possibility 
that some OPC cadre are fighting alongside their Itsekiri 
brethren. Von Kemedi hopes to meet with OPC leaders in Lagos 
this weekend to solicit their help in obtaining a cessation 
of Itsekiri attacks. 
 
 
10.(C) CORRECTION: Yesterday's update (reftel) incorrectly 
cited the Director of Operations in Warri as the DATT's 
source of the confirmation of the four soldiers' death and 
the plans for an attack "soon" (vice over the August 22-24 
weekend).  The source was Minister of Defense Kwankwaso.  The 
correct spelling of the Director of Operations is: Pkwember 
(pronounced "Kwambay"). 
 
 
11.(C) COMMENT:  Public attention to the Warri crisis has 
reached a new height, with the Presidency and National 
Assembly leaders joining the public chorus for immediate 
federal government action to save lives.  The military seems 
to have its green light. 
 
 
ROBERTS