Government of Nigeria prepared to do anything for peace in the Niger Delta

After numerous military assaults on the militants and just a few days ago offering them Amnesty in which they declined. The Nigerian government has agreed to release the leader of MEND, Mr. Henry Okah.

 

The spokesman for the Nigerian President, Olusegun Adeniyi made this statement: "Henry Okah will be offered the amnesty after the president has sent the envoy to Angola, and if Angola accepts, he will be released." Even though the president has promised clemency to Mr. Okah, his release is dependent upon the Angolan government, where he was arrested in 2007. According to General Boyloaf, the leader of MEND, "If Mr Okah was released within a week, MEND would give up all its arms, and would not keep a bullet."

Afrik.com

Oil prices rise $71. a barrel after MEND shut down Shell in Nigeria

The sudden rise in the price of oil to $71. a barrel comes as a result of Nigerian militants known as MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) blowing up oil facilities operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

Mike Sander who is an investment adviser with Sander Capital in Seattle had this to add on the issue “Nigeria exports roughly 2 million barrels a day of crude oil, which is not a huge percent of global supply, but any disruption to global supplies will cause prices to go up,”

Bloomberg

Related stories: MEND declares "all out war" in the Niger Delta

CNN shows how to contact MEND

Shell suspends operations in Nigeria

Shell has decided to suspend operations in Nigeria. According to a Shell top official,  the reason for the suspension is due to five major militant attacks on Utorogu-UPS trunk line on January 7; the Amukpe-Rapele manifold attack of January 11; the Trans Escravos-Forcados River manifold attack of February 28; the Trans-Forcados pipeline (Chanomi Creek manifold) attack of June 12; and the militant attack on Trans Ramos pipeline on June 16.

The Shell official added "These (suspension of operations) will impact on contractors; it will impact on Federal Government revenues and it will impact on our revenues."

Here are parts of a confidential document from Shell pertaining to the suspension of operations in Nigeira:

"As always, the safety of our staff and contractors is our top priority. We are closely monitoring the situation and continue to take all necessary measures to ensure their safety. We have evacuated non-essential staff from key facilities in the western Niger Delta in order to ensure their safety, and regrettably, this means that our community development projects in the Western Niger Delta are slowing down.

"With increasing attacks in the field, it is very unsafe for staff and contractor personnel to maintain production and also implement community development projects. It is obvious that community development projects cannot continue in this atmosphere. This does not lessen our commitment to these projects, but we will not put our staff and contractors in unnecessary danger.

"We have made good progress in the recovery of production in the Western Niger Delta over the last one year but recent attacks by militants have resulted in substantial production losses and impacted progress on this project. The production from EA field (115,000barrels per day) remains shut since early 2006 and we have no firm date for resumption of operations. We are engaging the Delta State Government, contractors and communities. We remain committed to working with the government and local communities, but as always in everywhere we operate, the safety of our staff and contractors is the top priority of SPDC.

"We will continue to assess the security situation based on information at our disposal, and input from relevant authorities, law enforcement agencies, and local people. We will resume operations, only when careful considerations of security and safety of people indicate it is safe for us to do so."

AllAfrica

Related stories: Oil prices fall on Wallstreet after Amnesty offer to Nigerian militants

New source of oil found in the Nigeria Delta by Chinese and Nigerian firms

Video report on refugees from oil war in Niger Delta

R.Kelly plans to pay tribute to Michael Jackson during African tour

R. Kelly plans to pay a special tribute to the King of Pop on the THIS DAY Music Festival Tour. The R&B singer said the tragic circumstance of Jackson's untimely death "has coincided with my current tour and I want to use this opportunity to pay tribute to the mentor and remind people of his genius and influence on all our lives".

"As a result, I have re-focused my shows set-list to include a special tribute to my dear friend when I play tomorrow in Cape Town before hitting Lagos, Abuja and London. But I also hope to collaborate and return with other artists who also knew-and worked with - Michael, to perform an unforgettable showcase in the near future".

The tickets for the Abuja show on July 5, will be sold at THISDAY Dome, Central Business District, Abuja and THISDAY Office, Plot 1,Sector 'B', Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja.

AllAfrica

Nigerian Box Office from June12-14,2009

Terminator Salvation holds on to the number 1 spot in its second week running in Nigerian theatres with a total gross of $76,436. Although the new street fighter movie doesn’t have fan favourites like Ryu or Ken, nostalgia hit Nigerian gamers hard as they rushed to go see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li which opened in second place with a total gross of $7,264 in its first week on the Nigerian box office. Angels and Demons falls a spot to third in its fifth week on the box office with a total gross of $145,316. Duplicity takes the number four spot with a total gross of $8,102, and Brendan Fraser’s new movie Inkheart opens at fifth place with a total gross of $3,313.

Related story: Nigerian Box Office from June5-June7,2009