US embassy cable - 04LAGOS941

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000941 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON AND PARIS PASS AFRICA WATCHERS 
DIA/J2 PASS GHAYES 
COMMERCE PASS PHUEPER 
ENERGY PASS CGAY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2014 
TAGS: EPET, PINS, ASEC, MOPS, PINR, PGOV, CASC, PHUM, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGER DELTA WAITS FOR MILITARY ACTION 
 
REF: A. LAGOS 869 
     B. LAGOS 871 
     C. ABUJA NI 760 
 
Classified By: ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.4 (B), (D) AND (E) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: We have no reports of military action over 
the weekend in the Niger Delta swamps as residents and oil 
companies anticipate a GON response to an attack on Friday, 
April 23 that left seven dead, including two AmCits and three 
Nigerian Navy security personnel (reftels). Press reports 
over the weekend clarified that U.S. armed forces are not 
being deployed to the region.  Meanwhile, oil operations 
appear normal in the Delta.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) We have no reports of significant military action over 
the weekend in response to the attack on a 
ChevronTexaco-contracted utility boat April 23 off the Benin 
River in the troubled Niger Delta.  Seven of nine occupants 
of the boat were killed by gunfire, including two AmCit 
contractors, three Nigerian Navy personnel onboard for 
security, and two Nigerian contractors operating the vessel. 
A fourth Navy personnel escaped unharmed, and a third AmCit, 
an employee of ChevronTexaco, was shot but survived.  A GON 
security official was injured during the subsequent rescue of 
the attack's survivors. 
 
3. (C) Reports from a variety of sources last week indicated 
the military was readying itself for operations against 
villages in the area in an effort to capture the killers, 
deter future incidents of this nature, and restore oil 
company confidence that the region is safe to work in.  There 
were conflicting reports whether the military was targeting 
Itsekiri or Ijaw villages, and whether it was focusing on an 
area along the Benin River near the location of the 
shootings, or on villages near the Escravos facility.  It 
appears high-level military personnel toured the Delta both 
for reconnaissance and as a means to boost troop morale. 
Press reports last week indicated that President Obasanjo 
ordered Rear Admiral Antonio Bob-Manuel, the Flag Officer 
Commanding (FOC) of the Western Naval Command based in Lagos, 
to travel to Warri and oversee operations from there for at 
least one week. 
 
4. (C) On Saturday, May 1, a Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) 
security manager stationed at the Escravos crude oil terminal 
and tank farm reported observing no military action to date. 
He said, "we are not seeing and not anticipating any major 
operations against Ijaw/Itsekiri villages in our area or 
along the Benin River at the moment."  He did note that 
several senior Navy officials visited the facility on Friday, 
April 30, and that he anticipated military action of some 
kind in the future, but he suggested no time frame.  He 
offered no news of military movement in a separate 
communication on Sunday, May 2. 
 
5. (C) The CNL security manager described the Delta region as 
"understandably quiet," and said Chevron continues to fly 
personnel and equipment to offshore locations and across the 
swamps. He said pilots have been tasked to report any 
observed activity by community militants or by government 
security forces (GSF).  He also said CNL continues to use 
boats to supply the GSF security teams in place at major 
facilities.  (Note: Oil companies in the Delta provide food, 
water, shelter and sometimes transport for military and 
police forces assigned to protect oil installations.  End 
Note.)  We have seen no change in Shell's posture since last 
week, when Managing Director Chris Finlayson told Consul 
General that Shell operations were largely unaffected by the 
April 23 attack, other than some heightened security. 
 
6. (U) Over the weekend, Nigerian newspapers reported that 
the United States was not sending troops to the Delta in 
response to the attack.  These stories clarified news stories 
from last week that claimed teams of investigators were being 
sent by the State Department to investigate the attack, and 
that the Joint Task Force (JTF) commander in Warri welcomed 
U.S. troops to the Delta to assist in ferreting out the 
culprits and securing the region. 
HINSON-JONES