US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1789

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001789 
 
SIPDIS 
 
ENERGY FOR DAS JBRODMAN AND CGAY 
TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS AND SRENENDER 
COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS 
STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD 
STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART 
STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT 
STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER 
STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR SLISER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, EPET, ASEC, NI, DELTAVIOLENCE 
SUBJECT: ARRESTS SPARK RENEWED UNREST IN DELTA 
 
REF: LAGOS 1463 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Thomas Furey for reasons 1.4 (B 
& D) 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  (C) Simmering tensions in the Niger Delta took a dramatic 
upturn with the arrest of Ijaw militia leader Asari Dukubo 
late on September 20.  With passions already enflamed by the 
arrest in London last week of Bayelsa Governor 
Alamieyeseigha, reportedly a major financier to Ijaw 
militias, Asari's arrest was met with sporadic gunfire and a 
Wednesday morning standoff between police and Asari's Niger 
Delta People's Volunteer Force (NGPVF) in Port Harcourt.  The 
standoff continues and one hour after the "24-hour ultimatum" 
expired another gun battle erupted.  The arrest of Dokubo 
Asari at this time could be a critical miscalculation on the 
part of the GON in its efforts to restore calm to the Niger 
Delta region.  End summary. 
 
RIVERS STATE UNREST 
------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Tensions in the Niger Delta mounted following the 
detention of Asari on September 20.  Sporadic gunfire was 
reported after word of Asari's arrest Tuesday evening.  This 
morning opened to renewed gunfire and a standoff in the 
Garrison Junction area of Port Harcourt between police and 
members of Asari's NDPVF, reportedly armed with anything from 
machetes to dynamite and rocket propelled grenades.  By early 
afternoon a strong police and military presence was visible 
in the area, but according to residents, the standoff 
continues.  Some sources report that at least two 
"explosions" occurred late on the 20th or early on the 21st 
in the Port Harcourt area. 
 
3.  (U) Elsewhere in Rivers State, protestors took to the 
streets in Asari's hometown of Buguma, a small community 
outside of Port Harcourt.  Civil society groups reported an 
estimated 300 youths gathered peacefully, with no reported 
injuries.  Civil leaders scheduled a meeting with the youth 
leaders at 1400, the NDPVF ultimatum's deadline for the 
release of Asari, in an attempt to headoff any escalation to 
violence. 
 
4.  (C) Governor Odili announced that he will intervene and 
seek Asari's release.  Another prominent Ijaw leader, Chief 
Sara Igbe, pleaded for calm on state radio and assured the 
youths that Asari would be released today.  However, in a 
phone call to PolCouns, he expressed anxiety and said that 
the "volatile" situation could worsen without Asari's 
release.  An anxious calm has descended on the state since 
these assurances, as people await word on the Ijaw leader's 
freedom.  At 1500, Mission received word that Asari had been 
freed, but sources in the security services and Asari's own 
lieutenants assert that he remains in detention.  According 
to residents of Port Harcourt, many shops and schools are 
expected to remain closed tomorrow as a precaution. 
 
5.  (U) So far there have been no reports of involvement in 
today's protests by the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), another 
Delta militia group which kicked off the current round of 
threats directed at British interests in response to the 
arrest of Governor Alamieyeseigha in London last week. 
However, militia groups from throughout the region have 
reportedly converged on Port Harcourt, with sightings of 
militants from Warri and other areas in the city. 
 
ENERGY SECTOR UPDATE 
-------------------- 
 
6.  (C) Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigeria's 
largest oil producer, is the only major oil company 
headquarted in Port Harcourt.  Public Affairs General Manger 
Don Boham told us Shell has released its non-essential staff 
to go home early; approximately 4000 employees and 
contractors, about 95 percent of whom are Nigerian, work at 
the SPDC headquarters.  Operational personnel working on rigs 
and flowstations are being held indoors on location. Boham 
reports the incidents in Port Harcourt have not affected 
Shell operations.  The major U.S.-based oil companies are 
headquartered in Lagos, and have only small offices in Port 
Harcourt.  In line with mission advice, they have gone 
largely into a lock-down status, in particular with reference 
to expatriate personnel.  Chevron General Manager for Asset 
Management Chuck Taylor advised us their small Chevron office 
in Port Harcourt is closed, and all personnel are staying in 
their quarters.  The Chevron Security Operations Manager has 
issued a security advisory, in which it suspended all 
business travel to Port Harcourt, and strongly advised 
employees in Port Harcourt to exercise caution when going 
out.  They will make a decision late today whether to open 
their Port Harcourt office tomorrow.  ExxonMobil Managing 
Director John Chaplin told us they have implemented travel 
restrictions to and within Port Harcourt.  They have an 
unspecified number of people on site at the nearby Onne Free 
Port.  They will keep them at this location until it is safe 
to remove them.   ConocoPhillips Managing Director Todd 
Creeger is also keeping personnel in Port Harcourt indoors. 
He reports the Italian School, a major school for the 
expatriate community in Port Harcourt, has been closed. 
 
PRESS REPORT 
------------ 
 
7.  (U) All the major Lagos-based dailies today reported 
continued protests in the Delta region over the reported 
arrest of the Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha 
in London.  The Lagos-based daily business and financial 
publication Business Day exclusively reported the kidnapping 
of two foreign nationals believed to be oil workers in the 
region.  Mission has not been able to confirm this report. 
The dailies also reported that the police in Port Harcourt 
have arrested Asari in connection to the threat of violence 
by Ijaw youths.  He was reported flown to Abuja where some 
reports said he might face charges of sedition.  According to 
the reports, the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force has 
responded by giving the Nigerian Government a 24 hour 
ultimatum to release their leader failing which they will 
attack foreign nationals and disrupt oil exploration 
activities in the Delta region. 
 
ACS REPORT 
---------- 
 
8.  (U) Consulate Lagos released a warden message urging all 
AmCits to limit travel to and within the Delta region and to 
avoid crowds and public places.  There are approximately 500 
AmCits registered in Port Harcourt. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
9.  (C)  Comment:  Tensions in the Delta region have been 
building over the past year.  The militias, including the 
NDPVF and IYC, have been lying in wait since the cease fire 
last December, and a dustup was bound to happen sooner or 
later.  The arrest of Asari may have pushed the region to a 
critical point.  Asari, no friend of the Bayelsa Governor, is 
influential among a different segment of the Ijaw ethnic 
group and has the reputation among many in the region as a 
modern-day "Robin Hood."  Inciting this group, in addition to 
the Bayelsa faction, could turn out to be a critical 
miscalculation rather than a part of the GON's efforts to 
restore calm to the Niger Delta region.  End comment. 
 
10.  (U)  This is a joint Lagos-Abuja cable. 
CAMPBELL