Shell spends $383m on security in Nigeria in two years – Platform

 Oil company Shell has spent $383 million on security in Nigeria in two years, watchdog organisation Platform has said.According to Platform, a London based non-profit, citing leaked financial data from Shell, the expenditure made between 2007 and 2009 is 40 per cent of Shell’s total expenditure on security globally which it says stood at $1 billion.

In a publication titled ‘Dirty Work’ detailing Shell’s global security expenditure between 2007 and 2009, which Platform says is based on internal financial data from Shell’s security department leaked to it, the data reveals for the first time how much Shell has spent on security, who benefitted and who bore the risks.

“In particular, the data shows the extent of Shell’s funding for government forces and other armed groups in Nigeria during a period of intense conflict in the oil producing Niger Delta,” it says.Platform also says the $383 million Shell spent in Nigeria is an underestimate.  “It does not include expenditure on the Shell operated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Bonny. Nor does it include an estimated annual $200 million of ‘community development’ funds, which are frequently distributed to groups that threaten Shell’s operations, sparking serious violent conflicts.

 The leaked data covers all four Shell companies in Nigeria,” it says.The Niger Delta in Nigeria where Shell and other oil companies operate has been plagued by tension and violence as local people demand a fair share of money made from exploiting oil from their land. The area is heavily polluted and the people are poor with very little or no infrastructure and jobs.

A study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)  released in 2011 made a call for the setting up of a $1 billion fund to clean-up the over 50 years of pollution of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta by the operations of oil companies.

According to UNEP however, full environmental restoration of Ogoniland may take up to 30 years.UNEP, indicated that the assessment which has been unprecedented, was carried over a 14-month period and more than 200 locations were examined, 122 kilometres of pipeline rights of way were surveyed, more than 5,000 medical records were reviewed and over 23,000 people were engaged at local community meetings.

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Army hands over 5,000 guns to civil defence corps

The Nigerian army has handed over 5,000 G3 guns and 25,000 7.2mm live   ammunition to the  Nigerian Civil Defense Corps to enhance security, check  terrorism and put an end to the Boko Haram menace.

The  Nigerian Civil Defense Corps was founded in 1967 as a voluntary corps providing   complimentary service to the Nigerian citizens and was inaugurated in 2003 as paramilitary yet with no arms, right to arrest or conduct  house search.

Speaking during the handing over ceremony at the I Division HQ of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna,the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, said “I want to use this medium to let conflicts perpetrators, especially the Sect    known as Boko Haram to know that if they think that killing innocent people  is the only way to make a statement and press their demands, well I am happy  to inform them that no amount of war, bomb blast, suicide bombing would solve the problem as the Federal Government would continue to do all it can to  enhance security.”

The Nigerian Army offered to train the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps staff  to enable them meet up with the challenges of terrorism as some of its  personnel are retired military or police officers.

The Minister of Interior further dismissed the claim of Boko Haram   that the Federal Government was insincere and could not be trusted. “Time has changed and things have changed with time. The Federal Government has always opened the door for dialogue with Boko Haram, yet we hear of reports stating that the government is insincere, whereas Boko Haram never spoke with the Federal   Government. But if they choose to press their demands with violence, then, the government would do everything to improve security and bring an end to  terrorism.”

Moro stated that the Nigerian Air Force and    Navy would soon be armed to enable them meet up with the challenges of terrorism.
The General Officer Commanding 1 Division Army, who represented the Chief of  Army Staff, Major General Garba Wahab, said that the exercise of arming the Civil Defense was in line with the directives of the Federal Government in order to enhance security and fight “Modern Terrorism”.

“We are going to share intelligence with the Civil Defense Corps and we all know that terrorism is on the increase in Nigeria and the military and police alone cannot handle the situation,  that is why we have decided to   bring in the civil defense.No excuses would be accepted for the misuse of weapons as we    have reports of that, disciplinary action would be taken on such ground,” he said.

In his remarks,the Commandant General of Civil Defence Corps, Dr Olu Aboderin  assured that the arms handed over to them would be used according to international and local laws.

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North East elders appeal to Boko Haram to accept talks offer

 Elder statesmen from the North East geo-political zone yesterday appealed to the Boko Haram sect to embrace dialogue offered by the Federal Government in order to find an amicable way of resolving the crisis. 

The elders, who met in Bauchi under the aegis of the North-East Forum of Concerned Leaders, said the call became necessary in view of the precarious security situation in the region brought about by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Former minister of establishment during the Obasanjo-led administration, Alhaji Muhammadu Bello Kirfi convened the meeting presided over by former finance minister Adamu Ciroma at Faria Suits, GRA Bauchi.

Kirfi said, “our region has been engulfed in warfare, more complex and sophisticated than the Nigerian Civil War. Whereas in the civil war the battle line was drawn as the enemy was known, in this very one the enemy is known but remains hidden and thus the battle front covers all nooks and crannies of the six states of the region.

“We plead with our brothers and sisters in the Jama’atu Ahlussunnati Liddaawati wal Jihad to sheath their swords in the spirit of  peace.Also in attendance were  Alhaji Aliko Mohammed (Dan Iyan Misau),former Deputy Speaker Bayero Nafada, former Secretary to the Federal Government Yayale Ahmed, former FCT Minister Aliyu Modibbo and Senator Usman Albishir.

There were also former Women Affairs Minister Hajiya Inna Maryam Ciroma, Hajiya Fati Mu’azu, Ambassador Adamu Bulkachuwa, former deputy governors of Bauchi, Abdulmalik Mahmud and Garba Gadi, former Minister of Police Affairs Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, among other renowned politicians.

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