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There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but it came days after a court in Lagos ordered the arrest of former insurgent leader Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo. Tompolo was once a major player among the insurgents who demanded that ordinary Nigerians get a greater share of the wealth in the oil-producing region. The rebellion was more or less quelled in 2009 when the government started an amnesty program that paid off the militants and offered them training programs in exchange for peace.
Attack on oil pipeline in Andoni, Rivers State, Nigeria
Tompolo and nine others have been charged with money laundering and conspiracy related to a public-private partnership with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, according to Nigeria's anti-corruption agency. The announcement of the charges against Tompolo comes amid a wave of arrests and indictments of politicians and businessmen on corruption-related charges. Former military ruler Muhamadu Buhari was elected president last year on promises to reduce corruption. Graft is widely seen as one of the reasons that two-thirds of Nigeria's 177 million people live in poverty.
Pipeline Feeds Refineries
The attack in the Niger Delta targeted a gas pipeline that feeds into the critical Escravos Lagos Pipeline System. A crude oil pipeline was also damaged in the attack, forcing the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation to shut down two refineries. The attack jeopardizes another priority of the Buhari administration: getting the people of Africa’s largest producer of crude oil to start filling up their gas tanks with locally refined gasoline and diesel. While Nigeria has four refineries, the country mainly relies on imports of refined products to keep gas stations stocked. Since taking office, the Buhari administration has announced progress at getting the refineries running properly. But Dolapo Oni, head of energy research for Ecobank, says the importation of refined products won’t stop if the pipelines aren’t protected. “We haven’t resolved a major issue with the refinery segment in Nigeria which is … protecting the network of pipelines that supply them crude oil,” Oni said.
The attack comes at a bad time for Nigeria’s economy. The government is heavily dependent on crude oil for its revenues, but the price for a barrel of oil has dipped below $30. A return to conflict in the Niger Delta could harm Nigeria’s economy further. The insurgency reduced Nigeria's oil production significantly. In the Niger Delta town of Ughelli, journalist Atuyebe Oyebe says the new government has no choice but to go forward with its prosecution of Tompolo. “If the government does not take Tompolo in time, Tompolo will become the law. And when a man is the law, the state is in trouble,” he said.
Pipeline Blasts Raise Tension in Nigeria’s Oil-Rich Delta
A senior official with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation told VOA on Tuesday the government had reached a truce with the Niger Delta Avengers militant group. But the Avengers responded on Twitter saying that no such truce had been reached. The confusion surrounding the cease-fire shows the challenges President Muhammadu Buhari faces as his administration aims to quell a resurgent militancy in the oil producing Niger Delta region. “It might be some factionalism. It might be they want to see a credible hand or offer from President Buhari or his government,” said Mark Schroeder, vice president for Africa operations at intelligence firm Stratfor.
Militants are seen patrolling the creeks of the Niger delta region of Nigeria
Attacks by the Avengers have reduced the output of Africa’s largest producer of crude by as much half from its usual volume of approximately two million barrels per day. The government recently announced it would downscale its military presence in the region and negotiate with the group. The Avengers responded with posts on its blog calling for independent mediators, and vowing to reject any talks that don’t produce a plan for “the restoration of the essence of quality human life in the Niger Delta.”
Longstanding grievances
Militancy is nothing new in the southern swamp region, which is deeply impoverished despite being the source of most of Nigeria’s oil wealth. Insurgents claiming they wanted more development for the area staged a years-long campaign of kidnapping and pipeline bombings. That calmed in 2009 when the government started an amnesty program that paid ex-fighters a monthly stipend and offered job training in exchange for peace. The government is winding down the amnesty program, but the Avengers have called for its continuation.
The Niger Delta, in Nigeria
Schroeder said many of their other demands reflect longstanding grievances in the Niger Delta, and would be familiar to Buhari and his officials. The cease-fire may be simply a delay tactic for the government to figure out what to do, he said. “It could be to buy time while President Buhari has to, essentially, negotiate or calculate among his other political constituencies whether he can afford to increase revenue sharing with the Niger Delta,” Schroeder said.
Uncertainty Hangs Over Truce With Nigeria’s Avenger Oil Militants
It’s estimated that 240,000 barrels of crude oil are spilled into the Niger Delta every year. The environmental effects are clear to see – waterways running thick with the choking, black liquid; suffocated wildlife; dying mangroves. The effect on the people living in the delta is slowly coming to light. The study by scientists at Switzerland’s University of Saint Gallen is shocking: babies born in the delta are twice as likely to die in the first month of life if their mothers were living close to an oil spill before they became pregnant. Roland Hodler is lead researcher. “We looked at the birth histories of more than 2,500 Nigerian mothers," Hodler said. "And we compared siblings, some conceived before and some conceived after a nearby oil spill.”
Oil is seen on the creek water's surface near an illegal oil refinery in Ogoniland, outside Port Harcourt, in Nigeria's Delta region
The researchers compared geographical data on 6,600 recent oil spills, with results from the 2013 national demographic and health survey. Their results show that even spills that happened five years before conception doubled the chances of babies dying after birth. However, spills that happened during pregnancy appeared to have little effect. “We think the main reason is that some of the negative health effects are just building up over time," Hodler said. "So, if you think about these negative health effects, these are due to skin contact with crude oil, or to drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated fish or crops. And also inhaling smoke from fires.”
It’s thought unborn and newborn infants are more vulnerable as they haven’t built up natural defenses. The study suggests the effects of oil spills will be felt long into the future. In 2015 the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell agreed to share the costs of the clean-up – an operation that the United Nations says will likely take 30 years. Critics say only a fraction of the money has been paid. Shell blames oil thieves for causing many of the spills. The Nigerian government did not respond to requests for comment.
Nigeria Oil Spills Double Risk of Infant Mortality, Research Shows
