Nigeria: Threats of violence
2004-10-07 12:52
Lagos - A militia leader who has become a hero to many in Nigeria's oil-rich south backtracked from earlier pledges to disarm, saying he doubted the government would satisfy his demands.
Moujahid Dokubo-Asari's threats last week to unleash a "full-scale war" and target international oil firms in the region helped send global oil prices to historic highs.
Dokubo-Asari is calling for greater local control over resources in the southern Niger Delta, where most of Nigeria's over 2.5 million barrels of crude a day are pumped from.
He agreed last Friday to disarm his fighters and end weeks of battles against troops and a rival militia. He said the government had also agreed to observe a ceasefire, which "is still holding." The human rights group Amnesty International said about 500 people have died in the fighting.
Crucial talks
Back in the capital Abuja for peace talks due to start on Friday, Dokubo-Asari said on Wednesday he did not "think the government is very sincere about the issue."
Asked whether this meant he would now refuse to disarm, Dokubo-Asari said: "The outcome of these talks will decide whatever action we will take."
"There is always a possibility, every possibility" that disarmament will not go ahead, he added.
Government officials were not available for comment. The government considers Dokubo-Asari little more than a gangster, fighting to control smuggling routes in Nigeria's south.
Nigeria is the world's seventh largest oil exporter, and the fifth major source of United States oil imports. Niger Delta residents are among the poorest in Nigeria, despite the riches pumped from their soil.
Dokubo-Asari is also calling for the holding of a "sovereign national conference," at which representatives of Nigeria's more than 250 ethnic groups could agree on how to solve endemic unrest.
"We have been hearing confusing signals from the government," he said. "The government should hold a national sovereign conference, and agree fundamental issues of resource control."
Asked whether he was calling for an independent nation for his 8-million strong Ijaw people, Dokubo-Asari said: "There is already an Ijaw nation. We don't need to form it."
"We don't even believe in the existence of any country called Nigeria," he added.
'We will align'
He said that peace had now been made between his Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force and the militia of rival warlord Ateke Tom.
"If there is another fight, we will align and fight the government and the enemies of our people," he said.
Violence in the south often results in severe disruptions to oil operations.
In March 2003, ethnic clashes near the port city of Warri - which also drew in government troops - forced oil companies to shut down 40% of Nigeria's oil exports for weeks.
- AP