February 22, 2008: The government has
extradited a MEND leader, Henry Okah, who had been arrested, five months ago, for trying to illegally buy weapons in Angola.
The government was not eager to take
custody of Okah, because his followers like to kidnap people, often kin of
politicians, and demand that MEND prisoners be released. But MEND is not winning its war in the Niger
Delta. The violence is there, with dozens of casualties a week, but the
government has managed to secure the oil facilities. And the growth in oil gang
violence has spilled over into everyday life, making the "rebels" unpopular
with most residents of the delta. That doesn't make the corrupt government officials
any more popular, however. It's still a mess.
February 10, 2008: In the north,
Islamic radicals have instigated mobs to attack Christians (who are accused of mocking
the prophet Mohammed, or trying to marry Moslems, or just being there). Several
churches were destroyed and dozens of Christians killed or injured. Over a
thousand Christians have fled their homes. The Moslems always insist they are
defending Islam from attack, but it's almost always the Moslems who are doing
the attacking.
February 7, 2008: The rebel groups in
the Niger Delta have split. Many of the Ijaw (the majority group) tribal
leaders want to negotiate. But several factions of MEND (a coalition of local criminal
gangs seeking political and economic benefits) want to continue attacks on oil
facilities.
