Since March 13, 2003, clashes between the Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic groups in the Niger delta have claimed scores of lives. Human Rights Watch has received reports of government security forces firing indiscriminately on Ijaw villages, resulting in dozens of deaths. The personnel of oil companies operating around Warri have also been victims of the violence and some companies have helped evacuate community members from the area.
Human Rights Watch appealed to the main companies operating in the area - ChevronTexaco, Royal Dutch/Shell and TotalFinalElf - to publicly urge the Nigerian government to restore security in a manner that respects due process and fundamental human rights, and that is not disproportionate to the threat.
"The Nigerian government is responsible for public order in the Delta, but the oil companies have a role to play here too," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "If they make public statements in favor of respecting human rights, the oil companies can help save lives in this very tense situation."
All three companies had shut down their operations, saying they would not resume until the situation was more secure. Royal Dutch/Shell and ChevronTexaco resumed limited operations recently.
In the latest violence, the majority of the victims are reported to be Itsekiris. In addition, dozens of civilians - principally Ijaws - are reported to have been killed in a combined operation of Nigerian army, navy and police, who were deployed in large numbers after armed Ijaw youths allegedly killed four soldiers.
Similar military operations have led to hundreds of extrajudicial killings in the past, for example in Odi, Bayelsa State in 1999 and in Benue State in 2001. No one has yet been brought to justice for these killings.
