ABDUCTION OF DUTCH NATIONALS….AND NIGHTMARE IN THE NIGER DELTA CREEKS
The voyage to the Dodo River communities in the Niger Delta, southern part of Nigeria, turned out to be an epic journey characterized by despair, neglect, poverty and manifestation of the militancy which has beset a Kingdom rich in crude oil yet the people live like paupers.
Initially, the journey seemed destined to be nothing more than a sweet river cruise for the three Dutch nationals, especially since it was their first time. But it turned out a nightmare. It was a bitter episode that again exposes the ruin in the delta and brought its dark side to the fore.
Indeed, the voyage to the Dodo River was clearly an experience which the three Dutch would have keen to repeat, but not for the ugly incident of May 4, 2014 which now plagues it, overshadowed the ecstasy and sent shivers down their nerves. The incident further reminds us that it is not yet uhuru for the Niger Delta communities, despite the subsistence of the 'arms for cash' deal between the Nigerian government and militia warlords, otherwise called Niger Delta militants.
It was one incident that, again among several other cases of kidnapping, reminds us that the 'core issues' of the delta are yet to be addressed, at least, fully. Perhaps, the incident has clearly showed us that 'amnesty for the boys' policy is not the end of the 'struggle' but may, in effect, be its beginning. The effects of the decades-long neglect by successive governments and the 'big oil firms' like Dutch- owned oil giants, Shell International and American oil major, Chevron's 'economic war' on the delta environment reechoes each time an ugly incident of this nature occurs. Kidnapping, militancy, piracy, illegal bunkering and other social vices are offsprings of bad leadership, protracted neglect by successive governments- because, as one of the captors told Jan Andre while in the jungle; 'we are doing it for the money, as a result of hunger, poverty and unemployment'.
A day before we set off on the voyage, one of the journalists in the Warri Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) where I had organized a press conference by virtue of my position as the Vice-Chairman of the local chapter of the union, asked if we were going with the army or navy personnel for security concerns in the creeks, but Berry Negerese, our host who briefed the press of the visit, answered in the negative, assuring that the Dodo River was peaceful, particularly as we were not oil workers who go with 'oil money' but people just doing charity work.
Dodo River host numerous oil wells, rigs and platforms
From the oil city of Warri in Delta state, the ferry conveying the crew comprising five Dutch nationals,( Ms. Marianne Hendriks-Vos and Messer Erhard Leffers, both into designing and publishing and helping to produce Holland-based Inside Niger Delta Magazine; Jan Andre Groenedijk, a documentary film maker; respected Niger Delta environmental activist, Comrade Sunny Ofehe, and Femi Soewu, a Creative Director at the Holland-based Africa WebTV -who, unfortunately, was visiting Nigeria after seven years- two Nigerian journalists and community people, began its voyage and entered the Ramos River, which flows into the sea 15 miles south of the entrance of the Forcados River in Delta state. The destination was Dodo River in Bayelsa, a neighbouring state to Delta, though the journey is nearer from Warri.
The Dodo River enters the sea 15 miles south of the mouth of Ramos River where lies the EA Oil Field which consists of numerous oil wells, rigs, riser pipes and platforms as well as the Sea Eagle Terminal consisting of a Floating Production Storage Off loading (FPSO) facility and an SPM situated within the EA Oil Field Development Area. The two biggest deep-sea offshore drilling rigs are owned by Shell, Chevron/Texaco/Elf and Total joint Ventures. The Bonga Oil Field, owned by Shell, which reportedly has the capacity to produce 202,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and the EA Oil Field, which reportedly produces 120,000 barrel of crude oil per day, are owned by the 'big oil' firms of which the Dodo River people are host.
It was an exciting experience but heartbreaking for Ms. Hendriks-Vos and Leffers, both of whom were visiting the delta for the first time as the dingy image depicted by the sludge of crude oil spill in the River and the sight of the thatch houses, makeshift fishing camps and the general wretch in the delta, made them wonder if life in the creeks were always like that as they had a bite on the snacks that we took along on the trip. Jan Andre, who had visited the area before alongside Ofehe gave a gloomy story of how they had filmed a well in 2009 which literally was a dwelling place for germs, swarming with legion small squat tailless amphibians but which, lamentably was a source of drinking and cooking water for the entire community. He, however, expressed optimism that, with the presence of Shell and Chevron in the area, the situation must have been addressed. But he was dead wrong. They reminisced with nostalgia the several crusades Ofehe had carried out against environmental injustice in the delta, from raising awareness to documenting acts of sabotage to pipelines by oil thieves to the visit to camp of outlawed Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
The beauty of the Niger Delta mangrove and the wretch in the lives of the people were captured on camera as the dinghy slow-down by Femi Soewu, who, unfortunately, lost one of the cameras to the creek (militia or sea pirate), that later attacked us. The mangrove was a unique sight. As we negotiated the waterways of Ramos River, near Forcados in Delta state, and on entering the Dodo River of Beyelsa state, we saw the wreckage of a ship which had ran aground at the mouth of Forcados River some years ago; Jan Andries said he could still remember the spot. Unfortunately, almost all the parts of the ship were gone.
We sailed into myriad channels thereafter and, as the boat made a negotiation, the mangrove trees responded to the impact of the wind, literally bowing as if paying homage to an invisible deity. While in most places near an oil company flow station or areas prone to illegal crude oil bunkering, everything around was withered and appeared as dry as bone; only the mangrove trees at the edge of the river were green and lush.
Royal welcome at Amatu I
We got a tumultuous welcome from the poverty-stricken indigenous people. Young and old, they came and waited at the community jetty where we anchored. Marianne, being the only woman among the foreign visitors on the trip, was treated like a 'bride' being escorted to her heartthrob after a flamboyant wedding ceremony as the women folk sandwiched her between their arms and swayed with excitement and enthusiasm all through the visit. But the happiness among the people at seeing us was a pitiable departure from the copious effects of the protracted neglect of their area for what appears aeons.
The impact of the neglect which enveloped the entire community was visibly etched on the faces of children and others who merely stood akimbo wearing forlorn faces even as some gazed longingly at her as if it was their first time of seeing a white woman. It was an amazing experience for the folks as they posed for photograph with Marianne who appeared to be enjoying the euphoria. Some of the children also ran to Marianne, touching her skin; many were bare-footed, while others wore wobbly slippers. I saw her touch their head with empathy, a gesture and emotion many of them may not have seen or be accorded for years.
With a welcoming ambience, we were escorted to the palace of the paramount ruler of Amatu I, King Joel E Ibane (Ogiobe IX), the grand Pere of Iduwini Kingdom, where the Dutch, led by Ofehe and Negerese, paid obeisance to the monarch according to the culture of the people. They shared native kola nuts after saying a blessing in their native Izon language, and, thereafter, took drinks. It is typical for the delta people to receive their guests warmly amidst fanfare, before the business of the day.
Before we were taken to the monarch's palace, Ofehe had directed the cameras to be tilted toward an 88- year old man, who sat forlornly in a mosquito- infested make-shift building with a walking stick in his hand. He was in a worn-out attire. From his appearance the man was wondering what could be amiss in the community with the large number of people that sun-drenched Sunday. The house, built with planks, has a bed literally infected with bed bugs and a loosely- placed mosquito net. Though, he had no formal education, the octogenarian could speak the British English with a blend of 'Pidgin', a Nigerian populace slang, and Izon language. The man wore a picturesque posture of many indigent people in the delta who don't have access to formal education; have been without electricity for year and have no access to health care and pipe- borne, water even when they live around water- they drink from bacteria -infected wells, streams and spill-polluted rivers where they also pass faeces. In their backyards, they have a 'gold mine' full of crude oil resources that have brought more pain than relief to their lives. They have resources from which they never benefit-mangrove trees that are yet to be exploited dot the delta waterways.
The creek town of Amatu I in Ekeremor Local Government Area is the administrative and ancestral headquarters of the Dodo River people. The grand Pere controls a Kingdom that spans parts of Delta and Bayelsa states and is the royal custodian of the numerous communities that play host to Shell and Chevron facilities in the area. The palace of the monarch is like a 'classroom hall; incongruous of any befitting status. There were no striking designs that show it as a kingly turret beside the 'decorated stage' which had the royal stool encircled by white plastic chairs for guests, and a red carpet. Thatch houses, shanties are strewn across Amatu I, the ancestral home, and other Dodo River communities. Only a few houses and a dilapidated primary school building were the government- owned structures in the villages which had zinc roofs, which, unfortunately, though have been corroded from the effects of hydrocarbon activities of oil companies in the area. This explains why Ofehe has been involved in human rights advocacy and 'fighting' for the vulnerable and under- privileged who bear the brunt of oil and gas activities in the delta.
When King Ibane spoke, it was all lamentations
The monarch spoke of their frustration since the advent of oil exploration and exploitation in the land. He said that there was no government presence in the entire Kingdom, despite their huge contribution to the nation's oil wealth. According to him, despite their peaceful nature, the government was not developing the area. He accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) of failing in their corporate social responsibility to the locals. Though the area now has a Chevron- funded hospital built under a Global Memoranda of Understanding (GMoU) agreement, the hospital lacks a resident doctor, nurses and drugs, he said. 'This hospital in our community was built by Chevron GMoU, but it lacks many things. We have only one doctor in this entire hospital and he stays two weeks in and two weeks out because of the terrain. We don't have nurses and other health workers.
'We want our community hospital to be like the ones you have over there in Holland,' he told the Dutch nationals, adding 'the effect of the gas flaring is 'killing' my people. If you see a young man of 30 years, he looks like 50 years old; so, we need you to help us attract international help to this hospital.' According to him, 'we are deprived, our people are dying from the effects of gas flare and Shell is our worst 'enemy' for that. Shell has so many oil wells, rigs and platforms in my Kingdom compared to Chevron, but they are our 'worst cheats'. They kill us each day, deny our people jobs and the only jobs for which we are considered are menial jobs. We have hundreds of graduates who can handle the jobs they hire foreigners to do, but our people are not considered. They gave one person from among the hundreds a pipeline surveillance job and say it is part of their corporate social responsibility.
'Shell never honours their agreements, but Chevron does, to a large extent. Our agreement with Chevron, which has little facilities in our land, fetched us a hospital. That hospital is a life- saving, despite the challenges it is facing. Before the hospital was built our people were dying of malaria, fever because we have mosquito here. I was told you people (referring to the Dutch nationals) don't have malaria because there are no mosquitoes in your place; so, help us tell the world that your Dutch- owned Shell is our problem. Tell them their representatives here in Nigeria are fraudulent and are economical with the truth. They are not telling you the true situation of the Niger Delta.
'The worst part is that they 'corner' contract jobs meant for our people to themselves and their cronies. We are left with nothing; yet, we are the goose that lays the gold eggs. The Bonga Oil spill has destroyed our communities and the river from which we feed. Our communities are yet to be cleaned by Shell. Their representatives in Nigeria are doing nothing. They misinform the headquarters in Holland. The EA Oil Field is another problem to us.' The monarch who couldn't hide his feelings added; 'they can't force our youths again to take up arms; we are for peace and they, too, should be peaceful to us. Must we become militants before we can get something from Shell?
It would be recalled that in 2012, Shell was, for the first time, summoned by the Dutch Parliament to give account of its activities in the Niger Delta, after the visit of the Member of Parliament, Sharon Gesthuizen, to the creek communities of the region. The visit by Sharon was reportedly facilitated by Ofehe who also gave testimonies at the hearing.
Negerese speaks on the purpose of the trip
The monarch's speech was followed with the inspection of the hospital facility-the primary reason the Dutch were in the tropics where life, literally, is hell. The hospital was built through a local contractor facilitated by the Negerese- led Dodo River Regional Development Association funded by Chevron as part of its GMoU programme with- host communities in the Niger Delta. The three Dutch, Ofehe and Soewu who, by virtue of their naturalization, are Dutch citizens, were to produce a documentary on the 45-bed medical facility. Negerese explained that the initiative became necessary after it was agreed by the Dodo River Regional Development Association that there was need to secure grants overseas from donor agencies for the administration and expansion of the hospital. He told the visitors that he had made a presentation in Holland concerning the decades-long neglect of the Dodo River people, despite their huge contribution to oil wealth of the nation.
'It is a 45-bed hospital built by Chevron and located between two communities. After it was completed, we (Dodo River Regional Development Association) approached Chevron to let us manage it and they agreed. Chevron pays into a dedicated account which is managed by the Bayelsa State government on behalf of the people. Our community is a major oil- producer in the state. So, anytime we have a project to do, we discuss it before withdrawing from the account. There are medical doctors posted to the hospital but they don't stay long because of the terrain. When we decided to look for donor agencies, because we know that there are agencies abroad that would be interested in such community facility like ours, we discussed with Sunny Ofehe and he was able to connect the Dutch team from the Africa WebTV to come and produce a documentary of our community hospital. We wanted the documentary so we can show it to a foreign audience. It was to prove that our community is safe that we invited them to come over to see things for themselves'.
The hospital has a furnished staff quarters, a giant electricity generator set which appears to be faulty; a water tank that holds water that is not suitable for consumption; a drug store that holds some few drugs for sick people and empty bed space. Before the hospital projects, residents who are sick are taken to Warri, about 3 hours by boat from Dodo River communities. A resident doctor on duty who happened to be a youth corps member doing a volunteer work as part of his primary assignment after completion of a university degree, said most common ailments treated in the hospital are malaria, yellow fever and typhoid, among others.
While making our way to the hospital, the monarch drew the attraction of the team to a 'stream' where, as one of the locals put it; 'this is where we struggle to get water with amphibians'. It was a 'stagnant' ochre- colour stream just behind an abandoned water scheme embarked upon by one of the interventionist agencies of the federal government. The King fetched water from it and tasted it; then, one of the Dutchmen who had visited the area before, Jan Andre, apparently in a bid to show to the locals that he was at home with them, also took a sip after which other villagers took after him.
At about 3:30 hours, local time, we left there for Bilabiri, a neighbouring village within the Dodo River communities. On arrival, we headed for the palace of the Amananawei of Bilabiri II who, by tradition, is addressed as Ateri. We didn't spend much time at the palace after Negerese had informed the monarch the reason for the trip, saying it was important the visitors also visited his palace to pay homage before departing the jungle.
Entry into Letugene Waterfront
It was around 4: 00 hours, local time, that we entered Letugbene, an enclave of Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa state. From here, the story changed. The atmosphere inherently became unpredictable. If we had had the premonition of what would happen at Letugbene on our way home, we would have probably begged the Kings to allow us sleep over at his palace and 'get protected' since the armed men wouldn't have invaded the palace to kidnap the 'white people' who, as one of the locals said, were their targets (since, according to one source, they have more 'kidnap value' than a 'black man' in the circumstances). If we had know the Letugbene would turn our 'golgotha', we would have mobilized a truck load of soldiers and artillery to combat the 'gorilla' who, a local source said, had been terrorizing the area, despite the amnesty programme put in place to end such vices in the creeks.
Suddenly, from 'nowhere', a boat carrying a number of 'boys' (sea pirates or militias) who knows- some wearing mask and others not covering their faces- emerged, shooting sporadically at the Letugbene waterfront. The shooting was so intense that we all knew it was not a 'gun salute' to bid us farewell, or, as we earlier thought, the activities of 'vigilante group members' who are helping to police the communities. It was a dangerous spot close to their stronghold in Southern Ijaw but we never knew that fact. Negerese, an oil and gas magnate and Managing Director of a Maritime firm, MEBECO Nigeria Limited based in Port-Harcourt, who took us on the trip couldn't do anything as he ducked for cover ostensibly because he has no 'influence' over the group of 'boys' . Had it been that he threw cash at the 'boys' in the community as we bid them farewell, signals would have gone to those who waylaid us to give peace a chance. As one
source put it; 'the 'boys' were angry that Berry brought 'maye' (a slang they use while referring to a white person that they want to 'corner' money from illegally) to their river and wanted to go away with them without 'dropping' something'.
We all ducked and kept as still as possible from the intense shooting. Amid confusion, everyone was panic-stricken. I, for one, laid supine amid the tension; in response, they were quick to rob me of my two smart phones and picked my handbag containing my Ipad, ATM card, a press card and a few other valuables. The other journalist with me, Theophilus Onojeghen, laid, burying his work tools beneath his belly as well as Sunny's handbag which he wore diagonally across the shoulder.
They shot at our boat, firing the engine propeller to a halt. The guns were booming like it was a war front. Two of the armed men jumped into our boat, yelling 'where are the Oyibos' ('where are the white men'). Like a predator its prey, they seized Marianne, threw her into their ferry and dragged out Erhard and Jan Andre, and sped off, chanting local war songs.
Out of the blues, another boat came just when we were about recovering from the rude shock, and its occupants yelled; 'who carry the Oyibo come?' (who brought the white people), pointing their guns at us. They were frenziedly wild like people possessed of demon or acting under the influence of hard drugs or alcohol or all of them put together. We were at the point of expelling urine on our body at that point-the fear rapidly growing in us as they thundered again 'where dem' in pidgin slang. Uncertainty filled the boat and, stylishly, fingers were pointed toward Sunny and Femi in an instant, they grabbed the duo who were already up their sleeves. We thought they were going to slay the rest of us since we didn't, in their view, have 'kidnap value' and are not 'maye'; rather, they picked two others who were community people into the dinghy and sped off. Their motives were not clear and the rest of us don't know what next.
Minutes after the gunmen had gone, the rest of us remained in the boat, frozen in, and by, terror. We were confused and didn't know what to do. We were urged to disembark from the boat for safety purpose by the locals who had fled the waterfront but resurfaced after the coast had cleared. The others who were on the second boat that accompanied us on the trip later joined us in a make-shift house by the waterfront jetty. They were soaked with water as all occupants of the boat jumped into the river to save their dear lives while we were being attacked. Their boat was far behind ours. One person, Paul, was said to have died in that boat. I saw the water-drenched women leader of the community who had clung to Marianne all through the visit shivering literally like a feverish bird before the master predator. Around 7:00 hours local time, a boat came and took us through a different path from where we came. The journey was longer this time and we passed through several channels before landing in a town called Ojobo, near Bomadi in Delta state.
Freedom for the hostages
Freedom came the way of the Dutch nationals on Saturday, May 10 2014, almost a week after they were abducted. Ofehe and Soewu were released earlier-on the night of Monday, May 5 2014 to be precise- by their captors who, reports say, dropped them at an unknown location in the creek before they were ferried to a town near Bomadi in Delta state.
Without a doubt, the meeting with the hostages again at the Government House, Yenagoa, where they were taken to by the State Police Commissioner, Hilary Opara, to be handed over to the state Deputy Governor, Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), who officially handed them over to the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, was the highlight of the trip to Dodo River. One of the Dutchmen, Jan Andre briefly told me they ' passed through hell' literally but hold no anger against the kidnappers whom he described as 'kids' struggling to 'survive'. He said that the 'boys' told him they were doing the 'what they were doing' for the 'money' because they were jobless, poor and hungry. According to him, they were fed all through their stay on noodles, saying the last 'good meal' they took was the snacks on the boat before the ugly incident. Despite the trauma at the hands of the kidnappers whose activities were vehemently condemned by stakeholders in the Niger Delta, including foremost Ijaw Youth Organization, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the victims, from their mien, could be described as 'men of valour' who had only braved the odd in the delta, despite the 'travel advice' that the delta was volatile.
Long after the hostages had returned to Holland.
Few weeks after the hostages were released and returned to Holland; reports of 'extortion' and 'sponsoring' kidnap saga had continued to fill the cyber space. Even 'sponsor' press conference and 'write up' to discredit the dramatic personae in the trip to the Dodo River have find their way to foreign media even our host, Berry had painted a picture exonerating the police from 'collecting no dime' to pursue the captors of the hostages but as local source put it; it was just an attempt to wriggle the police out of the mess which the incident had created. Ofehe and Soewu were not arrested or detained but were only kept in 'custody' because they (police) needed to debrief them, according to the police chief but Ofehe and Soewu find this strange saying; if they were not arrested and detained why were they 'taken' on bail? Why were surety needed to release them? MEND, which had wanted to use the episode to discredit the amnesty programme also added it voice to the ignominious role of the police when they alleged the police 'took bribe'. The police commissioner had blamed Ofehe and Negerese for venturing into the jungle without police escorts, understandably, he knew the creek was not safe but same police couldn't explain how despite her armory and weaponry, they could have fall preys to the 'creek predators' in April 2013, when eleven officers who had ventured into the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area which supposedly is the stronghold of reneged militia groups in the state were ambushed and killed in cold blood. The police were on escort duty, authorized by CP Hilary Okpara, to provide cover for 'ex-militant warlord', Kile Selky Torughedi, (a.k.a Young Shall Grow), who is now a government security advisor when the aggrieved ex-militants descended on the 'innocent' policemen, killing them, and as if that was not enough, they burnt their corpses over a prolong-disagreement between the former 'warlord' and his colleague-in-arms in the disbursement of amnesty funds of which the latter had accused Young Shall Grow of short-changing them.
No doubt, the kidnap of the Dutch nationals had not only exposed the nightmare in the delta creeks, it has further exposes the 'security racket' in the state, this according to source better explain why the report on how the kidnap of the Dutch nationals had exposes 'security racket' in Bayelsa state was said to have jostled the police hierarchy in the state because since then kidnapping had continued unabated in the state, thus giving the conviction that the abduction of the Dutch nationals was not an isolated case after all. Two high- profile kidnapping incidents have taken place in the state since the May 4 abduction of the Dutch nationals. The 'same set of boys' terrorizing the waterways struck again in the separate incidents. This time, they took the 90- year old mother in-law of the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Madam Ogboro Dark, and the mother in-law of a serving commissioner in the state. Patimi Akene, a 78- year old mother in-law of the Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Furuebi was seized at Fonibiri community, Southern Ijaw local government area of the state. The abduction appeared to be 'political' as the captors demanded the resignation of the commissioner from the cabinet of Governor Seriake Dickson. Police authority in the state led by Okpara said they were going after the kidnappers, just as they assured during the abduction of the Dutch nationals.
Written By Joe Ogbodu
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