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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 LAGOS 000076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS NSC FOR BOBBY PITTMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM EPET ECON KDEM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ISRAELI MILITARY TRAINS, EQUIPS JTF IN 
RIVERS 
 
Classified By: Consul General Donna M. Blair for Reasons 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Magnus Abe (protect throughout), Secretary to 
the State Government of Rivers State, told Pol-Econ Chief 
January 17 that Governor Amaechi had succeeded in pushing the 
military into buying helicopters, gunboats and other 
equipment for the Joint Task Force (JTF); as a result of 
military activity, life has returned almost to normal in Port 
Harcourt, Abe said.  The Israeli military is equipping and 
training the JTF, including with remote aerial surveillance 
systems, according to Abe.  Neither the Niger Delta Ministry 
nor the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been 
adequately funded in the federal government budget, resulting 
in a great deal of anger among Niger Deltans, Abe reported. 
In Abe's opinion, the President will not do anything for the 
Niger Delta, because to do so he would have to take money out 
of the hands of the other states, and stand up to Nigeria's 
"rapacious elites."  According to Abe, Rivers State 
recognizes the complicity of the JTF in illegal bunkering, 
and now orders the JTF to reduce by half amounts of illegally 
bunkered oil coming out of the creeks, as a way to reduce 
company losses. (Note: Abe's account neither explains how 
this mechanism helps the company from which the oil is stolen 
to reduce its losses, nor what happens to the other half of 
the stolen oil. End Note) The Rivers State Sustainable 
Development Program is being run by Shell, and has 
established microfinance programs, loan programs for bus and 
taxi service providers, health centers and subsidized health 
care in each local government area (LGA) as well as built 
roads.  Cancer rates are rising in the Niger Delta, Abe 
observed.  We are unable to confirm some of Abe's claims, 
particularly those related to the JTF's newly acquired 
security equipment.  However, both his prediction that the 
President will do nothing to resolve the crisis in the Niger 
Delta, and his observation that Niger Delta indigenes are 
increasingly angry at that failure, are echoed by many of our 
interlocutors.  End Summary. 
¶2. (C) Pol-Econ Chief met January 17 with Rivers State 
Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Magnus Abe. Abe 
stated that in October of 2007, when Governor Amaechi took 
office, the JTF had had no functioning helicopters, nor 
armored personnel carriers, and only two functioning 
gunboats.  Governor Amaechi provided the Joint Task force 
with 140 vehicles, and actively lobbied the Federal 
Government to provide additional equipment.  The JTF now has 
20-30 functioning gunboats, two helicopters and other 
equipment.  As a result, life in Port Harcourt, which had 
been overrun by criminals, is almost back to normal and crime 
has again become an unattractive proposition, Abe said. 
Business transactions in Nigeria are especially vulnerable to 
criminal activities, because the banks don't function the way 
they do in the developed world; in Nigeria, everyone moves 
large amounts of cash, and the criminals are after people who 
are connected to or have access to that money, he said. 
 
¶3.  (C)  With the improvement in security, there are 
currently over 700 British nationals in Port Harcourt, and 
the French "never left", Abe alleged.  British and French 
Consulate personnel "travel to Port Harcourt all the time". 
Air France is considering regular flights to Port Harcourt, 
according to Abe.  (Note:  Pol-Econ Chief spoke with French 
Consul General Jean Luc Bodin February 19.  Bodin confirmed 
that the Government of France never warned its citizens 
against travel to the Niger Delta, and noted that from 
500-600 French nationals continue to reside in Port Harcourt. 
 Air France flies into the Port Harcourt international 
airport from Paris four times per week, and hopes to increase 
the frequency of flights to one a day, Bodin said.  Bodin 
travels to the region "from time to time", but another 
Consulate staff person, a  French citizen, travels to Port 
Harcourt weekly on Consulate business.  In a January 20 
conversation, David Harries, Consul, British Deputy High 
Commission in Lagos, told Pol-Econ Chief that the U.K. 
continues to warn its citizens against travel to the Niger 
Delta.  He said that he had traveled twice in the last half 
year to the Niger Delta, once to Port Harcourt in September 
2008, and a second time in January.  He confirmed that the 
there are 676 registered British nationals living in Port 
Harcourt, 65 living in Warri, Delta State, and 2 in Yenagoa, 
Bayelsa State.  End Note) 
 
LAGOS 00000076  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
Israeli Military Training, Equipping JTF 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) The JTF has been collaborating with the Israeli 
military, which has been providing equipment and training, 
according to Abe.  The equipment provided includes a 
surveillance device that Abe called "a camera on a balloon," 
which allows the JTF remotely to scan the area with a certain 
radius.  This is particularly important when threats have 
been received by telephone, Abe noted.  It would be fine if 
kidnappers or other criminals could be easily captured and 
arrested, but when they start shooting, the JTF shoots back. 
The killing that takes place sounds wanton, callous, he said, 
unless the person kidnapped is your own child. 
¶5.  (C) Fara Dagogo and Ateke Tom are not putting their own 
lives at risk, he said.  Their networks sell oil and get 
police protection.  Students used to go to the camps for 
three months during their vacations so that they could earn 
money.  They would earn 50,000 naira (USD 357 at the current 
rate of exchange 140 naira/USD 1.00), for a total of 150,000 
naira (USD 1,071) for a three month period.  Now, however, 
with the JTF pressing them, the job is no longer glamorous 
but dangerous, and society is mobilized to call them 
criminals, Abe stated.  The Elem Tombia community that was 
razed is now being developed, Abe alleged.  The JTF has taken 
up a position there, people are returning and the schools and 
churches are open and functioning.  (Note:  We have been 
unable to obtain independent information with which to verify 
this claim.  End Note) The criminals themselves have moved 
away from the area, Abe said. 
 
Anger at Failure to Fund New Ministry, NDDC 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) While the Governor may have been able to push the 
military into buying new equipment, he has not been able to 
influence the federal government to allocate more funds to 
the Niger Delta, Abe said.  Neither the Niger Delta Ministry 
nor the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been 
adequately funded in the federal budget, and there is a great 
deal of anger among the people of the region; Nigeria's 
leaders are extremely insensitive to the equity issue, Abe 
said.  Unfortunately, the people's anger has led to violence 
that has boomeranged and impacted on the people themselves, 
according to Abe.  Abe said he doubted that the President 
will do anything for the Niger Delta; to do so, he would have 
to take funds out of the hands of the other states. 
 
¶7. (C) The country is in the hands of a "rapacious elite," 
Abe said, and it would be legitimate for the masses to rise. 
Of the 500 people he sees every Tuesday and Thursday in his 
office, they all want the same thing: inflated contracts.  He 
asks them:  do you want me to steal, and the response is 
invariably "yes."  Abe said he tells them:  Think about the 
person whose child has malaria, whose wife needs a caesarian; 
that is what the money will be spent for.  To make change, 
Abe said, a leader must confront the ruling class.  In a few 
cases, such as that of Governor Amaechi, who fell out with 
his godfather, or Adams Oshiomhole, who managed to get by 
without one, they will be able to make some progress, but 
will have to watch their backs, he said.  There are no 
constituents in Nigeria, only godfathers, Abe stressed. 
 
 
Rivers Tells JTF How Much It Can Illegally Bunker 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8. (C) Illegal bunkering involves tremendous amounts of 
money, and the operations of international criminal groups, 
Abe said.  Rivers State has been able to gain a modicum of 
control over the illegal bunkering, Abe noted, by recognizing 
the connivance between the criminals and the military.  As a 
result, when Shell calls to say that the company has lost 
10,000 barrels of oil, Rivers State now calls the JTF 
officers in charge of that portion of the territory, and 
orders that the amount of oil coming out of the creeks be 
reduced by half.  In this fashion, the State is trying to 
control international oil company losses sector by sector, 
Abe contended. (Comment: Abe's account neither explains how 
 
LAGOS 00000076  003 OF 004 
 
 
this mechanism helps the company from which the oil is stolen 
to reduce its losses, nor what happens to the other half of 
the stolen oil. End Note) 
 
RSSDP Guided By Board of International Partners 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶9. (C) The Rivers State Sustainable Development Program 
(RSSDP) is being run by Shell and guided by a board composed 
of international development partners, including the World 
Bank.  More than 300 youths have been sent abroad to study. 
The State has constructed 250 schools pursuant to the 
program, Abe said. 
 
Micro-Finance Programs Operating 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) A law establishing micro-finance systems has been 
passed, and 600 million naira (USD 4.28 million) has been 
distributed to individuals through the Ministry of Women's 
Affairs, Abe noted.  The program must be self-sustaining, Abe 
said; if the loans are not repaid, the State will not 
replenish the funds.  To assure that the people who get the 
loans use them well, the RSSDP is also conducting 
entrepreneurship training via the local government areas 
(LGAs).  The State has also given two billion naira (USD 14.3 
million) to the Rivers State microfinance institution in 
partnership with First City Monument Bank.  Three or four 
microfinance banks have already been prequalified.  Before 
granting loans, they will provide training in elementary 
bookkeeping and other skills.  That will assure that they 
will be able to pay back and keep the fund self-sustaining, 
Abe stated. 
 
¶11. (C) To improve safety, Port Harcourt has banned okadas 
(motorcycle taxis) in the city.  To assure that there is 
sufficient low-cost transportation available, the RSSDP has 
entered into a partnership with Skye Bank to arrange loans 
for the purchase of taxis and busses.  The cost is 
approximately 300,000 naira (2,000 USD) for which the new 
owners pay 15,000 naira (USD 100) per week until the vehicle 
is paid for.  Not enough new busses have as yet been 
purchased to serve all the people, he said, but there are 
plenty of other vehicles on the road to take up the slack. 
(Comment:  Other interlocutors, Port Harcourt indigenes who 
actually rely upon okadas and busses for transport, say that 
the majority of the vehicles purchased with the loans have 
been placed in service, not as taxis, but as private 
vehicles.  They also report that there is widespread 
suspicion that the loans were available only to cronies of 
politicians.  End Comment.) 
 
Health Centers Established 
-------------------------- 
 
¶12. (C) The RSSDP has established 160 health centers, five in 
each LGA, Abe claimed.  In the past, clinics were not more 
than rooms, without equipment or medicines.  Now each health 
center is not only staffed by a doctor and two nurses, it is 
equipped with an operating theater and an ambulance.  Flats 
have been provided so that the doctor and nurses can live 
close to the clinic, said Abe.  Treatment is free only for 
children under six and for adults over 60, but the state 
provides a subsidy of almost 30 billion naira (USD 214 
million) to assure that the quality of care provided is high. 
 
 
Roads Under Construction 
------------------------ 
 
¶13. (C) The Federal Government has not funded one road in the 
key Niger Delta States in the last ten years, Abe alleged. 
The Bayelsa to Bonny road was promised by Federal Government 
but never funded.  Rivers State has begun construction of the 
Port Harcourt Ring Road, which will cost one billion naira 
(USD 7.14 million).  The Chinese will build the six lane 
highway, as well as the three bridges needed to link parts of 
the city, which will reduce the need for boat transportation 
by approximately 90 percent, Abe said. 
 
 
LAGOS 00000076  004 OF 004 
 
 
Cancer Rates On the Rise 
------------------------ 
 
¶14.  (C) Abe expressed concern that cancer rates in the Niger 
Delta are on the rise.  Based on the number of people he 
knows who have cancer, the incidence of cancer has increased 
dramatically in the last several years.  Abe said he had just 
heard that Presidential Advisor Oronto Douglas was suffering 
from stomach cancer (Note:  A story about Douglas' battle 
with cancer, appeared that day in the Vanguard.  Dr. Edit 
Ikpi, Commissioner for Health of Cross River State, has also 
told Pol-Econ Chief of his concern about the rising rates of 
cancer he saw while in private practice.  End Note) 
 
¶5.  (C)  Comment:  We are unable to confirm some of Abe's 
claims, particularly those that relate to the security 
equipment acquired by the JTF.  However, both his prediction 
that the President will do nothing to resolve the crisis in 
the Niger Delta, and his observation that Niger Delta 
indigenes are increasingly angry at that failure, are echoed 
by many of our interlocutors. 
 
BLAIR