Kidnappings in the Nigerian Oil Sector
A Push for Stronger Action Against the Abduction of Oil Workers
Mar 3, 2009
Nigeria, a leading global crude oil producer, has been in the spotlight over the last few years owing to incessant militant attacks on the oil industry. The Nigerian and international media is peppered with accounts of attacks on oil facilities, kidnapping of migrant and Nigerian oil workers and oil bunkering. In 2008, over 100 oil workers were kidnapped by militant groups.
A Fresh Wave of Discontent
Although vocal condemnation from the international community and global oil corporations has been absent, the internal discontent with the situation has become palpable. Kidnappings in the oil rich Niger Delta have become routine and the militant groups that commit these crimes are often populated by disenfranchised youth. However, as Leon Usigbe of the Vanguard reported, “N-Delta youths seek end to kidnapping “ 16th February 2009, that the Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) fired its National President, owing to his inability to put a halt to the kidnapping in the region.
Oil workers have joined the bandwagon and have threatened strike. Ejiofor Alike’s 9th February 2009 This Day article, “Nigeria: FG in Last-Ditch Efforts to Halt Oil Workers' Strike”, looked at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) threat to shut down crude oil production unless the issue of kidnappings in the Niger Delta was addressed by the government. The Federal government appears to have taken the threat to heart and have met with the unions. On 3 March 2009, the Guardian (“Govt probes PPPRA, oil workers threaten strike” ) reported that the tensions have since heightened and oil workers have “threatened to embark on a national strike after 21 days to press for their demands’.
According to the report, NUPENG does not believe that the government is taking the security situation seriously enough. The unions have demanded that the security situation be improved as well as “aerial surveillance, good intelligence network and proactive measures to stem the tide of violence in the region, massive and rapid infrastructural and human capital development of the Niger Delta region through Federal Government direct intervention and sincere engagement of the various stakeholders to ensure a peaceful environment to guarantee security.”
Federal Government’s Change of Direction?
On the 21st February 2009 This Day, “UN Raises Rights Issues Against Govt” , reported that Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua signed the instruments on the international conventions to protect all migrants workers and their families and all persons from disappearances.
Whether the Nigerian Federal government allocates adequate resources, and develops strategies, to ensure the proper implementation of any of these instruments remains to be seen. The fact is people working and living in the region are hungry for change - the ‘business as usual’ approach would no longer be accepted.
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