By Norm Dixon
Nigerian newspapers reported on February 1 that as many as 19 young people opposed to the operations of western oil companies in the Niger River delta, in Nigeria's south, were killed by federal troops in the preceding days.
Troops fired on youths near Royal Dutch Shell's Forcados oil export terminal on January 27. The militant youths were from the Ogulagha community and had come to the terminal to demand jobs and compensation for their community.
"About 19 people are feared dead while 10 others are said to be seriously injured", reported the National Concord. Other papers gave the same death toll.
A senior Shell official in Lagos claimed the youths had taken two foreign and three Nigerian oil workers hostage. The terminal, which usually loads 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day (bpd) onto tankers, has recently managed only 250,000 bpd because of protests and militant actions by Niger delta communities.
Over the past year, oil companies in the delta have been forced at times to reduce production by as much as a third of Nigeria's total output of more than 2 million bpd.
Meanwhile, Niger communities on February 2 reported oil spills, estimated at 5000 barrels, from facilities owned by the Shell Petroleum Development Company near the city of Warri.
Ebi Komiemefa, who was fishing along Blonblon River in one of the affected communities, fell from her boat and died instantly from hitting her head against a rock when she attempted to paddle her fishing boat, which became stuck in the thick oil.
Community leaders at Ogbe-Ijoh blamed Shell for the incident, and said that the spill has devastated their source of livelihood. Frank Omare and Lucky Iznoisumor said the oil leaked from "ancient" pipelines, laid decades ago.