Violence in Nigeria’s oil region left 1,000 people dead and cost $24bn (£16bn) last year, a report says, according to an official and activist.
Ledum Mitee, chairman of the Niger Delta Presidential Technical Committee, says the figures only cover the first nine months of 2008.
Militants and criminal gangs often attack oil installations, leading to reprisals from the military.
The unrest has cut Nigeria’s oil output by about 25% in recent years.
Last week, President Umaru Yar’Adua said his government was considering granting amnesty to violent groups if they disarm.
Hat Tip, Elle. Read the rest here.
And in a related story, regarding the Shell Oil connection:
A landmark human rights lawsuit, accusing Royal Dutch Shell of complicity in the execution of author and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa some 14 years ago, will proceed to trial in a New York courtroom.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and Earth Rights International, along with Mr. Wiwa’s son, allege the International oil company “financed, armed, and otherwise colluded with the Nigerian military forces that used deadly force and conducted massive, brutal raids against the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta.”
They claim Shell was complicit in the 1995 military executions of nine activist leaders, including Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Shell Oil. I think I’ve heard of them.
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It was just a couple of months ago that Shell officially abandoned all projects and pretenses connected to alternative energy. They appear to be concentrating on oil, now, to the exclusion of all else. I.e., they’re an Oil Company now, not an Energy Company. Like the others.
There’s probably an interesting story behind the announcement.