US embassy cable - 04LAGOS1131

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001131 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/OSAC, DS/IP/ITA 
PARIS AND LONDON PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS 
DIA/J2 PASS TO GHAYES 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, ASEC, EPET, EWWT, PINR, PINS, EINV, ETRD, NI, CACS 
SUBJECT: GANG WARFARE IN PORT HARCOURT 
 
REF: ABUJA NI 885 
 
Classified By: JOSEPH GREGOIRE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B), (D), AND (E) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY. Gang-style fighting near the city Port 
Harcourt in Rivers State over the last several days has 
resulted in numerous deaths. Two rival gangs associated with 
politically-connected "godfathers" are fighting over control 
of villages approximately 10-20 kilometers west of Port 
Harcourt on the edges of the Niger Delta riverine area. If 
the fighting escalates in the next 48 hours, it may threaten 
movement on the waterways leading in and out of Port 
Harcourt, which could affect both oil and gas services as 
well as imports through the ports at Port Harcourt and Onne. 
The fighting in Port Harcourt is unique in Nigeria because, 
unlike the ongoing clashes in the Warri area or up north, the 
conflict in this part of Rivers State is generally not 
ethnically or religiously driven, but stems from disputes 
between political rivals over power and money.  Government 
security forces may be at a loss to deal with this particular 
pocket of violence, because the gangs are known to be 
well-armed and have fairly high-level political backing, and 
because federal forces may be stretched too thin to react. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) On Wednesday, May 26, RSO received information from an 
American-based construction company operating in the Niger 
Delta region that rival gangs had clashed over the last 
weekend and into this week, causing as many as 100 deaths. 
ECONOFF received corroboration from an oil company security 
manager with roots in a village that is at the center of the 
fightinge, and from an executive of a gas production company 
in the region.  We are told two rival gangs associated with 
politically-connected "godfathers" are fighting over control 
of the towns of Buguma and Degema, located approximately 
10-20 km. west of Port Harcourt (the villages are visible on 
some Nigerian maps). 
 
3. (C) One concern is that if the fighting escalates, it 
could force the closure shipping lanes along the Bonny River 
channel that are used by oil services companies and 
international oil companies.  Many companies shifted 
operations from Warri to Port Harcourt last year, and most 
offshore development and deep offshore exploration work 
originates from Port Harcourt or the nearby port at Onne. 
Both Port Harcourt and Onne are also home to port complexes 
under the authority of the Nigerian Ports Authority, and are 
used for the landing of Nigerian imports, especially those 
involving the oil and gas industry. 
 
4. (C) An executive of Ocean Energy, an American independent 
offshore oil exploration and development company with 
facility operations based in Onne, told ECONOFF that company 
staff at Onne and Port Harcourt had not noticed any trouble 
in the area, however.  The executive, said he also checked 
with Port Harcourt port management, who reported no 
disruptions. Salem Sallam, a logistics manager with the 
Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company, which runs the 
Bonny Island LNG plant, confirmed that inter-communal clashes 
took place in Degema and Buguma, but said he expected no 
disruption to Bonny's LNG production. 
 
5. (C) Americans live in Port Harcourt, but do not appear 
directly threatened at this time.  Nonetheless, at least one 
jetty in the general area that might be used by oil workers 
was reportedly the scene of a firefight, and the waterways 
could become volaltile.  Also, Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg 
Brown and Root (through a joint venture called TSKJ) 
maintains 60 - 80 Americans (including families) on Bonny 
Island working on the expansion of the Bonny LNG plant. 
Bonny lies just over an hour south of Port Harcourt by fast 
boat, but TSKJ supply lines could be severed if river traffic 
were interrupted. (There are no roads to Bonny, and no fixed 
airstrips on the island other than helipads.)  RSO has 
visited the area and has been briefed on TSKJ contingency 
plans, including evacuation, and RSO, ACS and ECON maintain 
contact with TSKJ on-site managers.  (At the time of this 
writing, the Mission is considering issuing a Warden Message 
regarding the violence around Port Harcourt.) 
 
6. (C) The background to the violence at Port Harcourt is 
different from that elsewhere in the Delta, other than that 
illicit activity often lies at the heart of individual 
conflicts.  In the Warri region, simmering inter-ethnic 
rivalries, along with criminal activity, help sustain a 
general level of instability and lawlessness.  In contrast, 
there is generally law and order in Port Harcourt, but young 
men in the area have formed into gangs to protect a number of 
well-connected individuals including former and current 
Rivers State and national politicians.  The gangs give 
themselves or are given monikers like the "Ateke Boys," the 
"Bush Boys," the "German Boys," and the "Italian Boys" to 
identify allegiance to a particular "godfather."  Power plays 
by the central figures are executed by attacks conducted by 
their militias.  Usually the attacks are launched solely 
against rival gangs in their respective territories, but this 
weekend the violence spilled onto jetties and waterways that 
are used for commerce and general transportation. 
 
7. (C) COMMENT: It is unclear how state and federal security 
forces will react to the escalation in violence in Port 
Harcourt.   Two sources with knowledge of the Rivers State 
security forces said the State government is at a loss to 
deal with this situation.  Dennis Amachree, the security 
manager for Halliburton, is from the village of Buguma, which 
is at the center of this round of fighting and one earlier in 
the year that also resulted in many deaths.  Amachree told 
ECONOFF that government security forces are anxious because 
they know the gangs have been well-armed by politicians and 
state government officials who previously sponsored some of 
the gangs for their own purposes.  While Embassy staff have 
been told the situation is under control, as we previously 
reported, the military may be stretched too thin to handle 
any new outbreak of violence (reftel). END COMMENT. 
HINSON-JONES