20110512
Reuters
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - The Nigerian army clashed with militants in the creeks of the Niger Delta on Wednesday, the first such skirmish for months in the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.



Soldiers patrolling near the Ayakoromo community in Delta state fought a gun battle with fighters believed to be loyal to John Togo, a militant leader still at large following raids on his camps last year, military spokesman Timothy Antigha said.

"There was a skirmish between members of the joint military taskforce (JTF) who were on routine patrol and renegade militants suspected to be associates of the wanted John Togo," Antigha told Reuters.

Some sources said several people were killed but there was no independent confirmation of this.

Armed gangs in the Niger Delta shut as much as a quarter of Nigeria's oil output during years of attacks on industry infrastructure until an amnesty brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2009 brought relative peace.

The militants claimed they were fighting for a fairer share of the oil wealth for local communities, although many were involved in a lucrative trade in stolen oil and in kidnapping oil workers and wealthy Nigerians for ransom.

Most of the major field commanders of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main militant group, accepted the amnesty offer and have disarmed, but some criminal gang leaders remain, including Togo.

POLITICS NOT OIL

The latest unrest appears linked to local politics rather than any renewed campaign of violence against the oil industry.
The military went on the offensive after a statement issued by a group calling itself the "Coalition of Niger Delta Freedom Fighters" last week warned of attacks following the victory of Delta state governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in elections last month.

The Delta state vote, part of a cycle of presidential, parliamentary and state elections across Africa's most populous nation, was marred by reports of ballot box snatching, voter intimidation and fraud.

The army warned on Sunday that nobody had the right to take up arms in the name of an election dispute and that it would deal decisively with any group which tried to do so.

Many security consultants say the outlook for the safety of the oil industry in the Niger Delta is as good as it has been for years following the victory of Jonathan, the first head of state from the Niger Delta, in last month's presidential race.

Former MEND commanders have shared intelligence with the military to help flush out remaining gangs and the amnesty programme is continuing apace, although finding jobs for the disarmed fighters is a major long-term challenge.

Oil infrastructure in the delta, one of the world's largest wetlands, is exposed and easy to opportunistically attack.

Togo is one of the more dangerous criminal leaders in the region, responsible for violent armed robberies and ambushes, according to security sources.

The army, navy and air force raided his camps around Ayakoromo in December, triggering fighting which killed several civilians and displaced dozens more. He escaped the raids.