Friday, July 18, 2008

NIGERIAN 'BLOOD OIL' CREW PARADED !

Stealing crude oil requires government cover, activists say. The Filipino crew of a boat laden with suspected stolen oil seized in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region has been shown to journalists.
The military "paraded" them in front of local media in Warri, but they denied stealing crude oil.
This comes as the government shelved plans for a peace summit to address the Niger Delta conflict.
Nigeria's president has called for a crackdown on oil smuggling rings that steal at least $5bn (£2.5bn) yearly.
President Umaru Yar'Adua says the trade is behind the unrest in the Niger Delta, which has cut Nigeria's oil production by a quarter.
Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has said the government has decided not to hold a planned giant summit involving thousands of delegates.
"People feel when you say 'summit', people will come from everywhere, different memos, sentiments, and they will say it is a jamboree. We are not using the word summit," he said.
He said the government would instead have "dialogue" to try and bring peace to the Delta but did not give any details.

The Filipino crew were arrested by the military last week in the inshore waters of Bayelsa state.
They were on board a vessel that was loaded with tens of thousands of tons of crude which they could not account for, the military said.
Ship's captain Rev Chavez said they were the victims of piracy, and had been locked up in the bridge of the ship by youths who boarded the boat.

The crew will be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when the military's investigations are complete, a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the military has arrested 11 suspects in the Bonny Island area thought to be behind an attack on a navy houseboat in which five people were killed.
Military spokesman Lt Col Sagir Musa said they were involved in oil theft and militancy in the area.
President Yar'Adua is completing a trip to the UK, where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged military training to help Nigeria crack down on the trade in stolen oil.
But activists say that oil theft, known as "bunkering", is run by well connected people in Nigeria and abroad and it usually goes on unimpeded by law enforcement agencies.
Estimates of how much crude is stolen range between 100,000 and 500,000 barrels every day.
In the past, bunkering ships that have been seized have disappeared from naval dockyards.
In 2005 Rear Admirals Francis Agbiti and Samuel Kolawole were court-marshalled and sacked for allowing the tanker African Pride to escape the navy port in Lagos.
"Parading" of criminal suspects is common in Nigeria.
Police and other security services call a group of journalists to see an accused suspect after a few days of imprisonment, but before they have been charged.
The accused usually confess while the journalists take pictures.
But Col Chris Musa of the Joint Task Force denied the arrest was a publicity stunt.
"In the year that I have been in command, this is the fist ship that has come into the waters around the coast. No ship can come here without us knowing," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

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